No pictures, here. My mom wishes she had had a camera with her, but even if she had one, it was too dark to take a picture of this interaction. I wonder if any of my TT buddies have had this happen to them, too.
Picture this: My mom has taken destructo-girl, Izzy, out for a walk alone. She doesn't do this often, but Izzy seems to like it. Mom knows that I like it as well, so after she dropped off Izzy at home (who by report, waited patiently at the door for my return for over 30 minutes), she put the lead on me and we went for a walk in the dark. Mom walks pretty fast. Actually our gaits seem to match up well as I can trot along side her. We walked about one block on a major street and then turned the corner into a more residential setting, when we both saw a woman walking her young dog about 50 feet in front of us.
Normally, in the dark, I would have taken a barking pre-emptive stance to let the dog know that I am around and to watch out (as well as to warn my mom, who at times is totally clueless). This time, however, Mom saw the dog and although I was pulling towards the dog, she stopped me with a "settle" command and we simply watched until we walked up to the woman and her dog and introduced ourselves.
The woman seemed nice. She told mom that her dog was a 'small' Swiss Mountain dog who had very "alpha" (her words) like behavior and was very dominant even at home and she was uncertain about how her dog would react to me. Mom stood very still, listening, and so did I. Actually, I was in a great stack ... head held high and watchful. Mom couldn't tell if I was staring at the dog because my head fall has gotten rather long and she has trouble seeing my eyes. The other dog was 2 years old and alternated between trying to be dominant with me and then placating me with a puppy bow ... back and forth, not really knowing how to react to me.
As mom later told dad, it was one of the most interesting 10 minutes of her life with me, watching me and how I handled it. Normally, I would be barking or pulling on the lead with my butt wiggling (as per my name). This time I was a statue, standing proudly. I allowed the "meet-and-greet sniffs" and I sniffed in turn. But every time the dog tried to lay his head on my back, I back off with a jump, then scratched my hind feet out like a stallion or bull (with its front feet, however), then returned calmly to the other dog and simply stood. I never barked. I was not aggressive in any way. I just .... WAS. The other dog didn't know what to do to engage me. I was very calm. Now all of you know that Tibetan Terriers are not noted for being calm, non-barking dogs. But this time, I was the epitome of .... whatever.
This went on for several minutes. I stood proudly and fearlessly. Then mom said, "Let's go, Dunk" and off we went.
My mom continues to be perplexed by this new behavior. I didn't seem anxious to her ... a better word would be 'watchful.' She needs to look this up in her books, unless any of my friends or followers out there can explain my behavior to her.
Signing off for now ....
Wigglebutt Duncan
Wigglebutt, you are a real storyteller!
ReplyDeleteSue this is the way Murphy behaves when I stop with people to have a chat, he stands firm, Kizzy is the one who does the sniffing and jigging about, offering play, I always say Murphy remains aloof....he has behaved like this since we got Kizzy, not sure how he would behave off lead, the only two dogs he acknowledges are an Akita and a Rotweiller and we are passing them not in close contact.
ReplyDeleteWish Petey would do that, Petey does Dunkie's usual behavior. But then of course his owner didn't do a great job of training him
ReplyDeleteTashi is not consistent with meeting other dogs. Sometimes he barks and sometimes he doesn't. I always praise him when he doesn't bark, of course. RE: "every time the dog tried to lay his head on my back, I back off with a jump, then scratched my hind feet out like a bull"
ReplyDeleteThis is Dunc's way of saying "Oh no you don't! I will not be submissive to you. But you can be submissive to me. See I'm marking this spot."
A Dog putting his head on Kashmir's back is time for a dust up. I have to be careful about that. Other dogs seem disconcerted when they can't see a TTs eyes. Must be a communication thing.
ReplyDeleteKeep her confused, Wiggles!
ReplyDeleteLovin' your comments!!!
ReplyDelete