posted
Ok, I know dogs don't have hands, but I can't help but think of them that way. Does anyone know if retrievers as a breed use their paws a lot? Max uses his to tell us he wants petted, etc. Mr. Opera had a golden as a child and said it used its paws a lot as well, and one of Boy Opera's friends has a golden that's the same way. Just a weird coincidence I've noticed.
Also, Max is VERY protective of "his" yard. If the neighbors are outside that's fine, but if they come near our fence he barks at them. But he's not protective of our home as well; someone can come in the door and he's just happy to see them. He's an indoor dog, by the way. Is there any way to get him to be a bit more concerned about who's knocking on our door?
posted
My border collie/beagle (we call her a borgle) Annie uses her paws quite a bit. She has something we've dubbed the "I want" gesture: when she wants something, she'll hop up on the couch next to you and, not go after it necessarily, but put her paw on your forearm or elbow and then look at you expectantly. She will also hold your hand or arm between two paws if she wants to bathe it. She manipulates a lot of things using her paws, far more than her mouth, actually.
As for the door thing, I'd be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it! Our other dog (who is, oddly enough, also named Max) barks whenever anything moving is visible or audible from any part of our house. When someone comes up the walk, he completely loses it. The result is that we cannot actually answer our door unless Max is restrained--and that's no small task, considering he's 90 lbs (Great Pyrenees mix).
Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
When we come in the door after being out he doesn't make a sound until we yell, "Hi Max." We've come in several times without speaking until we say "hi" so I don't think he's quiet because he knows it's us. Of course, Max is a weirdo, so all of this could be easily explained.
Oh! Last night we got to take care of a Mini-Max for a few minutes. A little girl in the neighborhood found a black lab mix puppy and we offered to care for it till the owner could be found. The owner came by a few minutes later - I was almost sad to see the puppy go!
space opera
edit: he's crated while we're gone
[ October 22, 2004, 01:09 PM: Message edited by: Space Opera ]
Posts: 2578 | Registered: Apr 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I don't know how it goes by breed, but I've had dogs that used their front paws as hands, to some degree, and some that didn't. The sweetest dog I've ever known used to try to pet me, which was typical of her personality. If anyone actually follow's the "Jake's Pets" stories, this is Stick, the one who was friends with a skunk.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I wasn't talking about you guys Space opera I was talking about Strangers that might come to the door while you aren't home. I know my corgis would bark and then go hide under the bed while the house was ransacked....
posted
In "Fire Upon the Deep" there are creatures called Tines, which are sort of a mix of wolves and dogs with big scary claws. Well, that sounded dumb, but I really loved the book.
posted
"In the Doghouse" is the one OSC story that I haven't read at least 50 times, because the image of the dog crying is just too much for me. I am one of those nuts who thinks that dogs are better people than most humans I know. I couldn't stand to read the story a second time; the emotions were too intense.
Although I could believe that my dog Annie might be a host for a highly intelligent alien. I'm sure it's the border collie intelligence, but she's done things like fake a limp to get sympathy and deliberately distract me by picking a fight with Max so that she can steal my food.
Posts: 4077 | Registered: Jun 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:The sweetest dog I've ever known used to try to pet me, which was typical of her personality. If anyone actually follow's the "Jake's Pets" stories, this is Stick, the one who was friends with a skunk.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
