Prick-Eared

Riley doesn’t get enough credits these days. To be honest, after so many years spent with a vocal dog who yodels, yips, yowls, screams and hums back at a human to carry an actual conversation, eerily close to actual words, with everyone he met, it gets pretty lonely with all the quietness; and a dog whose range is mostly limited to barks and whimpers get shoved to the back of one’s mind. Also, when one grew up with an affectionate dog whose limit is being hugged; having a puppy who crawls on the lap is off-putting. The fault is the expectations, not Riley’s.

However when it was time to sought out a dog, a more obedient, but still cheeky, and strong-willed dog who doesn’t have a problem being shoved under a bus seat without the certification of a guide-dog was wanted. Existentially, Ri meets the bill. The new-found sentiment and fondness toward the dog of old didn’t arise until a Finnish Spitz came into the picture inspiring teenage nostalgia. Furthermore, on the 14^th of February visiting the family, the old dog wasn’t in a good shape. Consequently, I became emotionally-distraught over the ordeal. When Ri came home from being babysat, the new behaviour of refusing to sleep on the bed or in the hammock with his best friend was not well-received.

The sleeping in a crate wasn’t the only change. Sleeping out on the patio instead of watching movies became a new precedent; and staying about five feet away became the new norm. Very atypical of people-orientated breeds.

As of late, the yearling started sleeping on the bed again. In addition, he started asking to be assisted onto the hanging furnitures once again. It occurred he might be quite socially-sensitive and now he is interactive again, always paying attention to every action and word. For awhile, the one-time babysitter was blamed for the disassociative attitude due to the alpha methodology borrowed from Cesar Milan. However the new trend began once the sorrow over the old dog passed; coupled with going through an existentialist crisis. Whatever the case, when the zeal for life returned, Riley’s spunk has come back.

Now it is clear he is the ideal dog: cute, attentive, interactive, confident, not easily cowed and has good judgment. He is almost too human to avoid anthromorphizing. So what if he is not naughty enough to experiment independently? He is well-liked by everyone for good reasons. A confident dog comfortable in his skin is a rare gem.

I came across these photographs from February 4^th, 2011 on my BlackBerry’s microSD card while looking for images to post for diary-esque posts. The quality is horrifying, but I do think the size disparity of a 7-months old Vallhund and a 5-months old Bullmastiff, according to the owner, is interesting to note. Click to view.

The only time I see dogs dig is when they are thirsty, which occurs when the water valves have been turned off to prevent freezing of the pipes resulting in the fountains and pumps being placed out of commission.

I confess: I have no plan whatsoever to put a herding title on the Vallhund. I just don’t see the point of doing so. Maybe entertain myself with a herding instinct test just for kicks– that’s it.

Sure, when I first purchased my Vallhund, I had wild fantasies about being a lifestyle farmer with goats and ducks with a yard dog. But frankly, I prefer hiking in the woods, with a cabin, writing in solitude, over the ridiculous notion of squatting on a piece of land with livestocks, being a self-hating hippie, bitching about homesteading comrades’ dogs chasing my cows. So, I am not going to breed Vallhunds, even if I could peddle them to organic hipsters and old-timey ranch hands to “prove” my line of dogs can still work.

And no, taking a dog out to herding clinics is not sufficient. All the clinic is a measurement of whether or not they can herd; it’s not a measurement of whether or not they have what it take to be responsible for a herd of cattle without their master’s participation day-in and day-out over the years. So the clinic and trial dogs are not “working dogs” earning a living. They are just merely playing with sheep under supervision. If a dog is too clingy or too handler-orientated, forget about it.

Riley is, however, a very good bear dog, a stellar hiking companion and is great at pointing out wildlife, people and other dogs in the area. However those attributes are not measurements of his herding instinct or his ability to work independently since he is not herding goats or diary cattle. So I will leave the dirty deeds of developing the Swedish Cattle Dog up to his breeder– unless I want a Swedish counterpart to the Tahltan Bear Dogs, or attend a cattle drive on vacation.

Despite all the chest-thumping about working dogs, I need to be realistic about what I actually ask of my pets.