A small rant.....

On our walk, Elka and I saw a person standing in the middle of the sidewalk up the block from us, talking to another person. There was a chihuahua on a retractable leash, that squared off and stared as we approached. Person 2 went back to their house (and I noticed they were holding a small dog as well). Person 1 (with chihuahua on retractable leash) turned and saw us. Her dog exploded in lunging, snarling, and barking, staring at Elka, eyes hard, ears forward. Elka looked at the dog, and looked at me. I gave her a treat. Person 1 crossed the street with her dog, still lunging and snarling, for which I am grateful. However, she did not lock the retractable leash, so she ended up on the sidewalk across the street from us, with her dog barking and snarling in the middle of the street. Elka looked at the dog, and looked at me. I gave her a treat. The woman didn't call her dog to her, but said in kind of a breezy voice "oh, now, come on, don't do that." Elka looked at the dog, and looked at me. I gave her a treat.

If our roles had been reversed, I don't doubt that the woman would have been quite upset with me. If my Doberman acted like that, barking and snarling and lunging, people would call the police. People would yell at me, and feel justified in their suspicion or hatred of Dobermans. I don't hate chihuahuas; I just hate that we encounter so many small dogs who don't appear trained in any way, and whose owners, purposefully or no, encourage these horrible behaviors.

Size should  not matter in dog behavior. Dogs should be polite, and trained, and managed. Dog owners should be conscientious. I don't care how big your dog is; if you're on the sidewalk or at the park, and your dog poops, pick it up and put it in the garbage. Don't bag it and throw the bag into the woods. Don't just leave it there. Take responsibility. These kind of behaviors make it so hard for dog owners to get allowances in towns. There are no off leash areas in my town, and few businesses that allow dogs.

Rolling Thunder

We had severe thunderstorm warnings in my are today, and, for a little while, a Tornado Watch.  In light of what's been happening in the Midwest, the tornado thing  made me a little iffy (but it was a watch, not a warning, so that was good).  Otherwise, thunderstorms don't bother me, other than the occasional startle at how loud thunder can be.

Thunderstorms don't bother Elka in the slightest.  After she's done watching out the window (she'd really like to watch from the porch, which we do, sometimes), she typically snoozes through them.  The thunder doesn't make her jump, or pace, or bark, the lightning causes no anxiety.  She typically won't go potty in the rain is really the main hangup (well, that, and I don't take the dog out when there's lightning. Just common sense.)

Not all dogs (and owners) are as lucky as I am, that they can be so casual about storms.