Puppies

[tikistitch]

There are two types of people, or so the saying goes, cat people and dog people. And even though tiki began her life firmly in the cat person category, she has, in her dotage, succumbed to the charms of waggedy tails and flippy floppy ears and lolling tongues. That is to say, we like little puppies.

Which is not to say we're unaware of the beasts' less charming aspects. As a runner, one is ever vulnerable to the dog--or more specifically, the dog owner--who thinks of their charge as doting parents of a drooling toddler, that is, that of course everyone will find as charming as they a two-year old tyke who, after a few minutes jamming hand as far down the back of his pants as they will go, then proceeds to skip around Starbucks applying that same hand to every cup, box and wrapped pastry within reaching distance (and yes, we really witnessed this, and yes, EWWWWW!).

For those who haven't yet had sufficient caffeine, let us 'splain: many doggies have a natural tendency to give chase to swift objects. For some, squirrels and annoying crows will suffice, but many are not so discriminating, and will also pursue runner, cyclists, Honda Civics, and whatever else crosses their path.

Considering that tiki runs nearly every day of the week, and considering the number of friendly dog walkers we encounter, this is not a widespread problem, but a persistent one. There is actually one running route we can no longer take due to a certain bull mastiff belonging to a household whose denizens boast none-greater-than-first-class-postage-stamp IQs.

Today, on the way home, we encountered the man with the Scottie doggies, and since they were in more than usually effusive moods, and since we are suckers for little Scottie doggie, we paused for several moments while to let our running tights be covered in adorable little muddy pawprints.

It was two blocks later, within sight of Casa de Tikistitch, that we heard the shout. A cyclist had dismounted, and, as they tell you do to, had inserted her bicycle between herself and a great Scooby Doo-sized beast. The apparent owner shouted again, and Scooby made a U-turn, and came barrelling, and barking, straight towards us!

"Oh great," came our Last Thoughts. "We've just been playing with some teensy Scottie doggies. WE SMELL LIKE A SCOOBY SNACK!"

Time froze. But at length, to our surprise and relief, the Great Beast charged straight past us, and lit around a corner, out of sight. The owner muttered some words of apology before he too disappeared in chase. We thanked him, in somewhat colorful language, for providing us with our first Myocardial Infarction of Pacific Standard Time.

Attention, dog walkers of Seattle: tiki has made a decision. We are going to start carrying pepper spray. Not for the dogs though. For owners too stupid to know how to use a leash.

Comments

[typicalfemale.livejournal.com]

"Oh great," came our Last Thoughts. "We've just been playing with some teensy Scottie doggies. WE SMELL LIKE A SCOOBY SNACK!"

Hahaha, awww! This is a great entry. I'm happy you weren't devoured by Teh Beast. Having a huge St. Bernard myself it's hard to imagine that anyone thinks she's huge, we still get surprised - other dogs look small, but the St. Bernard looks normal sized to us!

Seriously though, I don't understand why dog owners don't use leashes, at least with a running cat you don't have to be afraid that it's going to jump on you and devour you. In Scotland dogs don't have to legally be on leashes so when I was living there I'd walk down a busy street in the business district and just see a dog and their owner crossing the street together with nothing to stop the dog from just bolting. I didn't see many in London so I don't know if it's just Scottish law but you should ask Mr. Tiki if he ever saw that when he was over there - it's definitely scary! But kudos for slowly becoming a dog person - even though you don't have to walk a cat which I can imagine is a nice assurance in the Seattle rain. :)

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

I actually adore super-sized doggies. My aunt has a Great Dane, and he is like the sweetest most lovely thing in the universe. It's just when one is charging you, you can never tell if there is malice intended.

We have leash laws here, but they're not enforced too strictly.

[nitasee.livejournal.com]

I've gotten a bit concerned about my mom's neighborhood since some moron in the area has a Presa Canario that I've seen running in the area loose. The one time I saw it on a leash, the owner had a muzzle on it. A dog you walk with a muzzle and yet you let it run around loose or at least get out of it's yard loose?

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I always figure, if it's muzzled, or they do the thing where the leash is wrapped around the mouth, there's probably a reason. Sometimes it's because they're fine with people but just aggressive with other dogs, but you can never tell!

[nitasee.livejournal.com]

Well, I love doggies but Canarios rank righty up there - and maybe beyond - chows for agresseive behavoir. I can understand having the dog muzzled but not allowing - by accident or otherwise - it run around loose.

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Well, especially if they know there's some kind of problem! That's the trouble, you can pass leash laws, but you can't legislate against stupid.

[homestar.livejournal.com]

Dogs not on leashes make me incredibly nervous.

Besides, it's against the law in most places not to have your precious li'l animals on a leash! Yeeeesh. I do not care how 'good' your dog is, leash it! Leash it for its safety!

_{...and, more importantly, mine.}

Head Collars

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Pam! I like to check in with you via your blog (ok, I'm an occasional lurker). A newer style of collar for dogs is a head collar, called a gentle leader, can look like a muzzle because it runs a strap over the snout but it isn't really a muzzle. It controls the dog from behind the ears, like a horse, rather than using the neck which is quite strong. I ended up getting a head collar for my cocker mix because I couldn't stand her pulling me and they work like a charm! Because people mistake them for muzzles I got her a black one which blends into her fur so that they don't make the wrong assumption about her because she is really sweet! And now you know more about dog collars than you ever wanted to! Hope all is well . . . Lyn

Re: Head Collars

[tikistitch.livejournal.com]

Feel free to lurk! I partly started this blog because I've grown too lazy to answer all my email any more.

That newfangled dog collar actually explains one of my puzzlements--on my morning run, I often encounter a mom with two toddlers strapped into a double stroller, plus a big friendly-looking doggie who has a leash wrapped over his muzzle. I thought maybe he was a "snapper," but didn't see why you'd have a biting dog with two teensy kids. Maybe she just has one of those leashes.

Re: Head Collars

[(Anonymous)]

Yep, probably she does. Before I found about the head collars I thought they were muzzles too. Dog trainers call them "power steering for dogs" and it's kinda true! Lucy doesn't need hers anymore because with it's help I was able to teach her to walk with me on a loose leash, thank goodness, because with all the pulling the joy of walking was kaput!

And, I totally agree with the pepper spray and the people! I have my dog on leash and yet I've had loose dogs scare the you-know-what out of me as they head towards my Lucy.

We now have a new puppy, a miniature Australian Shepherd who is going to puppy school (no, I'm not kidding!) so that we learn good manners from the get go before they are so bull headed! Actually the school is just as much for the owners training as anything else!

Have a good one! Lyn