Springtime? Is that you? Come closer so I can see.

We had two (!) days in a row that were sunny and warm. Maybe we're over the hump?

Of course, I was at work for one of these days. But the next, Elka and I went on a nice long jaunt to soak in the sun.

Why We Give Elka People Food

Last week, in North Carolina, my family was on vacation as well. At dinnertime, Elka was very attentive of what was going on with regards to peoples' plates (at at non-nose touching distance, but close sometimes), and I did confirm that yes, she will eat a baked potato (she loves them, even plain!)

Doberman Do's: a short list

Elka is my first dog, and my first Doberman.  We've been over this, I know.  And of course, as my smart and beautiful girl, I find her to be unique and, well, some days more perfect than others.  Of course, some days I'm more perfect than others.

What I'm going to lay out for you I'm sure applies to living with dogs in general, but definitely applies to Doberman living.  Their distinct intelligence and personality makes life with them both easy and hard, from what I've experienced and from what I've gathered visiting Doberman forums.

Dog Manners: the barking edition

Hey, you know what really bugs me?

Walking down a street and having no fewer than six dogs bark uncontrollably the entire time I'm on their stretch of sidewalk.

Do you know who I blame for this?

The owners.

I continue walking down that street, despite my annoyance, because I'm using those horrible animals to train Elka to behave calmly and look to me for guidance, regardless of the situation.  I talk her through as we walk by, and I assure you I keep my language clean, but what I say is not complimentary to those dog owners.

Dog manners

Manners around dogs work both ways.  You don't want your dog to jump, to sniff intimate human places, to lick indiscriminately (I don't mind licking. Elka just needs to stop when asked.), and especially not to bite.

Dogs don't want humans to approach them too fast, move erratically, hit them, that kind of thing.

These are the basic, mostly understood manners.  Then there are the laws, which allow for the existence of dogs, but more or less don't want them to exist.  In my town, a dog is not to be on a leash longer than 6 feet off of the owner's property, for example.  There is nowhere "sanctioned" to take dogs to run, if your yard is small, or if you have an apartment.  Of course you  have to pick up dog waste not on your property.  Also, "nuisance barking" is ticketable, but that doesn't seem to be enforced very much, judging by the block that I think of as "the gauntlet", as there are six or more dogs barking in houses anytime anybody is on that block.  There don't seem to be laws like that if a child is misbehaving, and I firmly believe it's up to the parents or caregivers to train a child, much the same way owners are expected to train their dogs.  How else will either learn how to behave in public?