Dogs Keeping Warm, Human Improper Behavior, and Happy New Year!

First, let me say that as of this moment in time, it is -4C.  Which is damned cold.  I finally noticed this morning that when Rhyn goes out in this temperature, his tail never raises up, but it's kept tucked against his ... sensitive bits.  Zoey's tail never goes down unless she's completely relaxed or is afraid of something.  Another difference in dog breeds and personality.

Rhyn, January 4, 2017

I and my husband attended a New Year's Eve gathering this past Saturday, which is nothing amazing (well, it is, considering how we don't go out on NYE).  However, this was in the neighborhood, so it was easy to get to. We discovered on arrival that the guest's dogs had been invited as well, so the house was rapidly filling with dogs; their owners had brought their crates and bedding and - well, it was interesting. I thought to myself that it is possible to get a dog-sitter if one plans ahead, but - ? Apparently there is a group of people who treats dogs as their children... but I digress.

One 7-month old puppy was playing with the resident dog, being silly as puppies will, and he started "humping" his doggy host.  His owner, a young man in his 20s, back-handed this puppy, which caused me to loudly ask him "Hey!  Why did you just hit your dog?" The young man said he didn't want his dog to "do things like that". I said, well, that's a natural behavior for a dog, and especially at that age - they do it when they feel good and life is going well and is nothing alarming. I had to walk away after that else risk starting a confrontation.  (Although, trust me, I would have, if he'd continued to harm his puppy).  About that time, another guest showed up with his dog, off leash (!), and my husband and I decided to leave.

Canine humping is worlds away from human humping. Anthropomorphizing your dog is a big no-no, and can only lead to heartache. That big word means "putting human behavior standards on your animal". Obviously that doesn't work out well, and may be why so many newly-gifted puppies end up in the shelter or unwanted, because their owner didn't have a clue as to how they should be trained.  The sad part of this young man hitting his puppy while he was playing - what is the puppy supposed to think? He was playing at the time, in his mind, so what does he think he was doing wrong?

That party, with dogs, went on until 2 in the morning.  I can only hope that the puppy was put in his crate or a quiet room and allowed to rest, because puppies that age still have a sleep requirement...

Here is Zoey with her look of 'ghost of Christmas past'.

Happy New Year!