It's against all odds, really. Our back yard can be very muddy. Our walks in the park are not entirely grassy areas. She frolics in the creek. Oh yeah, and in the occasional mud puddle (this is new). And to top it all off, I let her sleep in our bed!
Lots of people don't let dogs on furniture because they think letting them on a "high place" will "make them dominant". Same with not letting dogs in bed. Or, the latest claim, having a dog in bed will make you sick.
I don't buy it.
So far as the dominance things goes, I covered it in Dogs on Furniture.
As far as the "making you sick" thing goes, well, I don't wash myself before I go to bed. I shower in the mornings. And I'm barefoot in the house, albeit not in the yard. So, is the dog dirtier than I am? I work with the public, I drive a car, I go to stores. Who knows what weird airborne germs I bring home. I hope I don't make Elka sick!
Elka, strangely, found this mud puddle irresistible. We passed it going one way and she didn't give it a second glance. On the return trip, though, I guess it looked at her funny, because she pounced on it. And danced around it.
Then she heard something.
And investigated an adjacent puddle to see if it wanted some.
It didn't, so she returned to the first, pouncing, splashing, and dancing around.
Then she heard a squirrel. Or something.
And then she was done and came back to me, and we continued on our way.
Really, I'm surprised I had the presence of mind to get out the camera; she was just so funny! And you know what? When we got home, I got a towel to wipe the mud off, and there wasn't any. It's not like I Scotchgard the Doberman, so I don't know what's going on there.
So, my point? Dogs are dogs. They get dirty, or not. They do wacky, spontaneous things, for the joy of it. They like it when you laugh, too. And they want to be with you.
I totally agree about dogs being dogs ... and the fact that just because they sleep on your bed (or in the bed in Frankie's case!) they're not going to raid the knife drawer and slit your throat while you're asleep one night!
ReplyDeleteIt often amazes me how clean Frankie and Beryl are when we get home from a muddy walk. I love short coated, self cleaning dogs:)
Elka looks so cute playing in the puddle, you did well getting photos!
Yeah, the only real hazard of Elka being in bed is Elka will sometimes stomp on you like a horse. Adult humans get no mercy from the ElkaNator.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree; short coated is the way to go! I didn't realize I'd hit the "self clean" button, but I hope I con't accidentally hit it again and turn it off. It's kind of nice, this clean dog thing. I mean, she does get periodic baths, but the absence of mud was inexplicable.
I've mentioned before that Elka moves at exactly the wrong moment when I'm taking pictures, but this time, she was so concentrated, it just worked out! Of course, I just kept pressing the "take picture" button and hoped it would get what I saw. Not much time for review or re-dos on walks! Besides, "attack the mud puddle' isn't a cue we currently have. The spontaneity would've been lost.