Walking, sniffing, tugging, jumping - all in one

I'll admit, I'm a lazy ass and don't take Aschiuta out as much as I should. But when I do, there's no stopping her.

 

Woo, what's that?

Living in a dirty neighbourhood and very close to the market doesn't make for very nice places to walk in. Plus, there are a lot of people and cars all around.

I'm not a very sociable person, but when you walk your dog, it's inevitable to meet other people and dogs. Here are a few approaches to meeting Aschiuta...

Other dogs

If the dogs are strays, things are quite simple. They are either protecting their territory (and we have to keep our cool and show them we're not afraid of them), or they want to know and play with Aschiuta. There is a lot of sniffing, a bit of shyness. Then we will see some dancing and jumping and there's no splitting the new playmates apart.

Some dogs walking with their owners can be a bit different though. Of course, there are the friendly dog&owner pair, when we usually exchange the "is your dog a boy or a girl?" "oh, she's so friendly!" small talk. Sometimes, the dogs are a bit grouchy and bark (I noticed Pekingese are like that... and there are a lot of Pekingese where I live), so we just go on our way. The weirdest meetings are when the owners don't want their dog meeting other dogs. The usual inexplicable paranoia (like all paranoia cases, actually).

Other people

Maybe they smell in a certain way. Maybe they also have dogs at home. Maybe they bought something yummy from the market. Maybe they're children. Whatever the reason, Aschiuta selects some people to desperately try to meet. This often implies tugging on the leash towards them or trying to jump on them happily. This behaviour is also triggered by "dog calls" (you know, whistling after a cute doggie passing by? or maybe at their cute owner) or kissie sounds or just waving hands in front of Aschiuta.

The dog-squeamish people will just hurry along the way or give a startled "oh!". But the people who want to attract Aschiuta's attention sometimes don't know what they're getting into... Aschiuta shows affection in a very jumpy, clingy way. And, like I mentioned before, our streets are often dirty and muddy. We always warn them that the dog will get them dirty, but sometimes...

One very funny incident happened when we were getting back from Brasov. Aschiuta was wearing her cute winter coat, but she was very muddy from the train floors and from walking most of the way from the train station. Right in front of our building, a nice young lady came and she was all "oh, such a cute doggie!" and kept patting her head. We told her "please be careful, her paws are muddy, she will get you dirty". Her only response was "aw, bad doggie, you sweetie! getting people dirty like that!" and just kept playing with her. She was wearing a cream-coloured jacket. The kind that doesn't wash easily. Only when she turned to leave, did she realise what had happened. One more inexplicable thing for you, my dear readers...

Have fun walking and remember... Doggies are cute, but they also leave a lot of pawprints...