Posted by Dinah on September 8, 2011, at 23:01:27
In reply to Re: Thanks » Dinah, posted by floatingbridge on September 8, 2011, at 10:46:15
I think I probably shortchanged the other two. The Maltese is as sweet a dog as you could ever want to meet. It's clear he's been bred for centuries to be a pleasing lap companion. He snuggles wonderfully and makes Maltese noises, which are unlike anything I've heard from any other breed. A sort of snuffling. A vet assistant once told me he was fiesty, but the idea of that makes everyone in my family fall over laughing. Anything less fiesty would be hard to imagine.
The spaniel has those wonderfully sweet and soulful eyes, which I think are a bit misleading. She's nowhere near that sad. She's mostly a happy and sensible grande dame. She did a wonderful job of raising the younger dogs. When the sheepdog was little, she'd look to the spaniel whenever she was scared. When she saw the spaniel wasn't scared, she'd feel more confident. Perfect modelling of affect regulation. She's overweight (although not nearly as much as she does), and we laugh that when she sails forth she looks like the Queen Mary. It really is amazing how much she resembles a ship's prow. We call her the duchess, or "her grace".
On the other hand, she's a shameless hussy when it comes to strangers. She sees a stranger and she barks and whines and wiggles and shamelessly trolls for attention. She ignores us completely. It's such an unexpected quality in an otherwise dignified and sensible dog. I think she never has gotten past outgrowing the adorable puppy stage.
I can understand that.
poster:Dinah
thread:995638
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20110722/msgs/996231.html