If you are my Facebook friend, you already know that when I pulled the couch cushions off of the couch today to wash the covers, I discovered that one Mitchell Pancake had buried nine rawhide bones within. NINE. It's like he grew up during the Depression or something. (Looking back, he kind of did. Matt and I were super broke during the first years of Mitch's life.)
Somewhere in my brain I know that Mitch is not actually a human, and that he doesn't view the world the same way that we do. But I refuse to believe it. The dog uses armrests for Christ's sake! It's only when he acts on his dog instincts (i.e. burying bones around the house) that I must acknowledge that he is a dog, and not a cuter, more furry, more quiet human companion. (Though it must be said that I would prefer the company of the dog to the company of approximately 97% of humans. I mean, we are E.T. and Eliot.)
Matt and I will talk about what Mitch is thinking, and we constantly put words in his mouth (and an occasional blog post in his, what, paws?). Today my friend Brian sent me this fascinating doggy article, "The last word: Inside a dog's world," that attempts to explain the world from a dog's point of view. If you have a pup, I'd recommend reading it. Did you know that human noses have about 6 million receptor sites, but beagle noses have more than 300 million?
You would know that if you had read the article.
One of my favorite passages, on the topic of kisses from a pup:
First, the bad news: Researchers of wild canids—wolves, coyotes, foxes, and other wild dogs—report that puppies lick the face and muzzle of their mother when she returns from a hunt to her den, in order to get her to regurgitate for them. Licking around the mouth seems to be the cue that stimulates her to vomit up some nicely partially digested meat. How disappointed Pump must be that not a single time have I regurgitated half-eaten rabbit flesh for her.
I know that, regardless of what experts may say, my Mitchell experiences the same emotions I do. I dare you to disagree. . .
Desperation
Melancholy
Frustration and Annoyance
Suspicion
Pride
Adoration
Compassion, Sympathy
Apathy
And that's just to name a few. What about your dog? Is your pup just a human trapped in a body with a tail?
Interesting article. It reminded me a little of Patricia McConnell's book The Other End of the Leash. That's definitely a good read, especially about dog body language and how humans can learn to mimic it for training.
ReplyDeleteWe have at least a dozen Nylabones around the house, although Ein doesn't tend to hide them. Sometimes he pushes his tennis balls and Kongs under the couches "accidentally". Usually it seems like he does this when he wants attention.
And we both give a running commentary on what Ein is thinking in Ein's voice way too often. I'm glad no one is recording it. ;)
Ein is cute! How old is he now?
ReplyDeleteYeah, Mitch hates it when he is not receiving attention. He especially hates it when we watch Lost. We have a special kong toy that we fill with cheese that we reserve for Lost time.
I think you should start a blog. I want to read it.
Hey, why aren't you at the '99 reunion?
Ein is about 2 - We don't really know when he was born, so it's a guess.
ReplyDeleteWe freeze plain yogurt and kibble in a Kong toy for Ein for important TV watching like Lost! We call it a Pupsicle (I know that's goofy).
I do have a Livejournal that I post to pretty regularly, but all of my posts are "friends only" - If you get an account you can read them - http://dariacarly.livejournal.com. There are some other Westminster people on there too.
My excuse for not being at the reunion is a) Facebook has reunited me with just about everyone I care to be reunited with and b) Ben got laid off this summer and is still looking for a new job, so I decided I had better uses for the $70 plus parking the reunion would have cost. (Mostly I just didn't want to go.)