11:37 PM
| Sunrise at | 6:33 AM | in direction | 69° | East-northeast |  |
| Sunset at | 9:06 PM | in direction | 290° | West-northwest |  |
Have you ever heard a Doberman howl? No? Well, there is a good reason for that. Aria and JayJay have taken to joining the chorus whenever Cutter - who has an EXCELLENT singing voice - sees fit to sing. A doberman howl is not full throated. JayJay and Aria both have full-throated, deep barks, but it does not translate to their singing. Instead they sound more like an alto that is trying to reach the top registers of a soprano duet and just can't make it; their voices are high pitched and squeaky.
Nevertheless, the choir unifies under his leadership and sings.
All three girls and the two cats fully accept Cutter now and he accepts them, although he will chase the cats on occasion, just as JayJay did when she first got here. Chastisement does not seem to have the same effect on him that it does on the dobies. If they are in trouble, they will hang their heads, look at you out of the corner of their eyes and adopt that - "Oh, I am a baaaaaad dog" posture. "Please don't be mad at me. I am truly sorry; really I am." Even if they are not truly contrite, they sure can act it. With Cutter, it is closer to water off a duck's back, actually. He will go into what I call the sled dog avoidance dance, but he never really looks guilty - just like he doesn't want to pay the consequences for his actions. He is an honest dog.
The girls love to dash along the deck and along the back yard if they sense an intruder. Cutter thought they were nuts for the most part, but lately, he has been joining them! He isn't doing it because he thinks it's his job to defend the house so much as because it is a great run. Sometimes he will be out there by himself and just run back and forth across the yard and deck and back again with a big grin on his face.
He has become more handsome, it seems to me, and I am seeing a shift in his intelligence. It is in his eyes. He is more observant, more focused on me, more interested in what I am doing and learning what I am all about. He often comes up for loving and has learned to ask to go outside and for treats. It's amazing how quickly they learn to communicate that. I wonder when we lost the ability to consciously use our telepathic skills and changed to voice. I wonder why we did that, but the dogs have no trouble getting the message across, so we must still have it.
At first, he would lie by the door and I thought it was because he wanted to be outside. It was warm and we kept the door open; it opens onto the deck and fenced yard off the back. Gradually that changed and he developed favored spots. He likes the landing where the stairs to the upstairs loft change direction. He likes lying near the door. He likes lying behind the couch near the door to garage. He likes lying all stretched out up in the loft between the TV and couch. He likes lying near the bedroom door. He still does not like lying on one of the beds we have on the floor. He tends to sleep stretched out while the girls tend to sleep curled up in tight black balls.
One day he insisted on going out. I let him and instead of flopping down on the deck or going off to do his business, he stood at the front of the deck, looking and smelling toward Farmer's Loop and Steese Highway. He did that for a long time and when I let him in, he was by the door again. I wondered if this was where he was when he expected Aliy to come get him after we first brought him home. I wondered if she or someone had driven by on Steese Highway in Big Red and he smelled his family and that again awoke that expectation that he return to what was his home and what was familiar.
It passed.
He is never overly demanding, but is confident in asking for attention. He is happy to see us when we come home. He gently licks my hand in greeting as I pass by. He loves getting treats and will now come each time I call, even if it against his better judgement.
He does not like being in the rain. No kidding. He dislikes it enough that he would not go out and use the back yard to relieve himself and we came home to his one and only "accident". We keep him downstairs when we go to work now, just to be sure. It is a good sized pen, and we have a crate. Yesterday I came back from getting Gary and he was on top of the crate, just like he used to be on top of his dog house at SP Kennel. Last night while I worked in the garage, sorting, cleaning, getting things ready to stack wood, he went into his pen and lay down. He would come out to check on me, but basically was content in his space since I was down there.
He was so grateful when I walked him and JayJay at Creamer's field. I am buying a sled this season. We will explore the tame regions of Creamer's field together and wherever else he, JayJay and I can go that make sense for a small sled and team.
He is a good dog.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for taking time to comment.