More dog thoughts

I’ve been reading about Labradors, because I think Dante has the temperment of one. His white streak makes identifying what else might be mixed in hard, and heck, he might even be what people say he is: flatcoat/golden retriever cross. But behavior-wise… very Lab-like.

It’s always been weird matching up dogs to breeds by reading about temperment as well as physical traits–I’d been hoping Dante was actually another flatcoat just so I could see a different personality from the same breed, with presumably the same temperment-traits. This is because I kind of wonder if all dogs of the same breed have the same personality with only different quirks. I’m sure many people would argue.. so I was curious.

But anyhow, reading about Labradors, I took a moment to think about why I have two dogs– I’ve repeatedly wondered the last week if I was CRAZY, if the reasons I’d previously offered were actually good enough to justify the Total Chaos Dante has brought into our lives. I’ve always wanted two dogs: to play with each other in the ways humans can’t without getting hurt, and so that I’d always have a dog around and, well, you know: twice the fun. But right now Dante is work and annoying more than he’s fun right now. I expected that so I’m not traumatized by not instantly adoring my new puppy. But it’s clear that having two dogs that behave the way I want them to behave isn’t just a matter of doing what I do with Hannah a second time. When one dog barks, the other one joins in, even before seeing the reason for barking. They influence each other, left to their own devices. That’s quite a challenge to overcome.

But then I realized that I’ve loved dogs so long that it predated my understanding of why I love dogs, and so everytime I thought of dogs, the deepest reason was concealed by the vastness of the joy I take in them.

I’m not actually a ‘dog person’. I’m not attracted by the energy, the enthusiasm, the blind loyalty, the hair. What I am attracted to is the fact that they are not human but I can communicate with them. That’s the primary trait they have that attracts me: they love to communicate. And they’ve been bred to easily learn how non-canines communicate, so it’s easier to communicate with them than most other animals. That’s what I love. I’m a xenocommunications person.

You’d think this would mean I’d love to learn foreign languages, but I don’t. I think probably other traits are at work balking me there. I bet I could pick up sign language, though.