Bonzo found his bark!
May. 9th, 2006 02:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ambericaFrom the very first time we saw Bonzo in the Humane Society shelter, up until today, we never once heard him bark. And believe me, when people walk into the dog room at the shelter, there is a LOT of barking from (almost) all the dogs. A veritable cacophony, if you will. But never Bonzo (who was then known on paper as "Paddington".)
I know he had vocal chords, because he yelped when Indy smacked him in the face as he was sleeping, and he audibly moans and sighs when he is rolling around on his back. But I'd never heard him bark.
This morning I put him out in the yard to do all his potty business, and I continued to putter around the house getting ready for work. After a couple of minutes I heard a dog barking outside! I peeked out the window, and sure enough, it was Bonzo! It looked like he saw a squirrel or something in the trees on the far side of the driveway, across from where I had him tied in the yard. He gave about 8 good BARKs, and then I opened the window and said, "Bonzo, shhhh...." and he replied with a whispered, "wuff," and then fell silent and continued trotting around in the wet grass.
1) I am happy that he knows how to bark. I would rather have him react noisily if a stranger approaches the house or yard than to just run up and grin and offer to cuddle.
2) I really hope he doesn't turn out to be one of those problem-barkers that is impossible to shut up. I doubt this will happen, and if it does, I'm pretty confident that there are training resources out there to help make sure he doesn't get out of hand. Still, it's not something I want to deal with if I don't have to.
Slightly unrelated, but it was cute... When I let Bonzo back inside after he went potty, he came up to the living room, got on his back, and just squirmed and rolled back and forth, laughing, and rubbing his face all over the carpet while he was upside-down. This filled me with much happiness, because it is a very funny and clowny thing to see a dog doing, and because my dog Muffin used to do the same thing and I missed it.
I know he had vocal chords, because he yelped when Indy smacked him in the face as he was sleeping, and he audibly moans and sighs when he is rolling around on his back. But I'd never heard him bark.
This morning I put him out in the yard to do all his potty business, and I continued to putter around the house getting ready for work. After a couple of minutes I heard a dog barking outside! I peeked out the window, and sure enough, it was Bonzo! It looked like he saw a squirrel or something in the trees on the far side of the driveway, across from where I had him tied in the yard. He gave about 8 good BARKs, and then I opened the window and said, "Bonzo, shhhh...." and he replied with a whispered, "wuff," and then fell silent and continued trotting around in the wet grass.
1) I am happy that he knows how to bark. I would rather have him react noisily if a stranger approaches the house or yard than to just run up and grin and offer to cuddle.
2) I really hope he doesn't turn out to be one of those problem-barkers that is impossible to shut up. I doubt this will happen, and if it does, I'm pretty confident that there are training resources out there to help make sure he doesn't get out of hand. Still, it's not something I want to deal with if I don't have to.
Slightly unrelated, but it was cute... When I let Bonzo back inside after he went potty, he came up to the living room, got on his back, and just squirmed and rolled back and forth, laughing, and rubbing his face all over the carpet while he was upside-down. This filled me with much happiness, because it is a very funny and clowny thing to see a dog doing, and because my dog Muffin used to do the same thing and I missed it.
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-09 03:58 pm (UTC)Was he trying to dry off, do you think? After a bath Chelsea gets pretty comical in her attempts to dry herself on the rugs, the couch, the jeans I'm wearing...
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Date: 2006-05-10 06:34 am (UTC)