Doggie Discrimination

Hello Friends!

 

I am a very lucky dog. Mamma walks me at least two times a day, every day, no matter what the weather brings. Now that the weather is getting warmer, the walks will increase in length and quantity, until it gets too hot, then it may change again. I love to walk! I love to sniff, after all, I am a dog gifted with a pretty good nose for sniffing. We have our usual routes we walk, and I have my favorite potty spots, and even if Mamma changes our walk direction, I still find my favorite spots.

 

I admit, I’m not always the best walker and I test Mamma’s patience sometimes. She has tried lots of different training techniques, but I’m still “bad”. I am good until I smell something, of course, Mamma doesn’t always see what I smell, but I dig in and collapse low to the ground, so no one can move me until I’m good and ready. Or I see something, and then I pull and pull some more, choking myself until I get to where I want to go. Oh, and if there is another dog, forget it, I lose my mind barking with excitement, and pull like a crazy dog, and this just totally freaks the other dog out, so it becomes a very stressful situation for all. Mamma says it’s in my nature to be stubborn and protective because of the German Shepherd in me, but she also concedes it’s her fault for not training me better.

 

Well, today, Mamma took the neighbor’s 7 month, 50 pound, female, Golden Retriever puppy for a walk, and I was not invited to go! Mamma says it was a totally different walking experience, mainly because the puppy never gets to go on walks, so it was new, and because the puppy is just that, a cute puppy. Mamma says the puppy was very good, no pulling and no barking at other dogs, unlike what happens with me (uh-oh)! The biggest thing Mamma observed, and found a bit upsetting, was that puppy got lots of attention, oohs and aahs and requests from humans to pet puppy. That doesn’t happen with me. People fear me and turn the other way or cross the street to avoid me. I love to be petted too, you know! So, without any scientific data, Mamma believes this was just another case of doggie age and breed discrimination, plain and simple. Mamma says it’s ok, though, because she would never trade my mature and protective nature for anything in the world, not even a cute puppy.