I like to interact with dogs, and sometimes I feel moved to interact with children (damn ovaries!). I start the interactions the same way with both: by smiling and (if appropriate) saying hi, then I continue if the creature responds positively.
Somewhere between 50% and 75% of the time, the dog people try to temper the dog's interaction, by making it sit or scolding it about approaching me. I'm not sure whether this is intended to protect the dog from me or to proect me from the dog. (And I'm not sure what an appropriate response on my part is - I want to pet the dog and it seems to want me to pet it, but I don't want to mess up its training. But it doesn't seem fair that dogs with stricter training should never get to play with a willing passer-by.)
But I have never in my life had anyone try to temper my interaction with their child, not even total strangers. They let me say hi to their kid, they let me do finger-grabby with their baby, they let their kid tell me all about Dora the Explorer, they let me convince their kids to press elevator buttons for me, I've even had strangers stand by smiling while their toddler hugged my leg like I was her new best friend (I thought she had the wrong person, but even when I looked down and made eye contact she just kept hugging my leg and smiling back up at me).
I'm not sure what this means. If it had to be one or the other, I'd rather get to play with the dogs.
Showing posts with label doggies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doggies. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Shiba Inu!
This is a Shiba Inu puppy.
I'd never heard of that breed before, but I think it might be my new favourite (insofar as I might have favourite breeds - I'm not a huge breed person).
I'd never heard of that breed before, but I think it might be my new favourite (insofar as I might have favourite breeds - I'm not a huge breed person).
Friday, October 24, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Voted
Today I actually had to wait in line to vote, which has never happened before. It was the most crowded polling station I've ever been at. I'm not sure if this means high turnout, or if it's just because there are at least two (and possibly as many as four) new buildings in the hood since the last election. There were a lot of young voters there (or at least people who were dressed like they'd never been to the 80s before) and so many people were en couple that I felt kinda awkward not having a date.
I didn't get to pet a doggie (every election I've ever voted in that turned out positively I got to pet an awesome doggie on the way to or from voting) but I did see six awesome doggies (including an itty bitty baby puppy, a pointy pointy greyhound, and a little guy with the floppiest ears I've ever seen). I don't know how many awesome doggie sightings make up for one petting. I also saw like half a dozen cute babies/toddlers, but they don't seem to influence the outcome of elections.
I also saw scrutineers for the first time ever (unless they were there before and I didn't notice them). I saw three Conservative scrutineers and none from other parties. My riding is universally considered a safe Liberal riding.
I wish they timed the election returns better. The Atlantic returns come in, and then it's hours and hours until the rest of the country happens. Why not either everything at once, or staggered more regularly so there's a constant stream of results coming through?
Or I wish there were some way to let people who've already voted access the blacked-out information from other time zones. I've already voted! They can't influence me! Let me watch the returns!
I didn't get to pet a doggie (every election I've ever voted in that turned out positively I got to pet an awesome doggie on the way to or from voting) but I did see six awesome doggies (including an itty bitty baby puppy, a pointy pointy greyhound, and a little guy with the floppiest ears I've ever seen). I don't know how many awesome doggie sightings make up for one petting. I also saw like half a dozen cute babies/toddlers, but they don't seem to influence the outcome of elections.
I also saw scrutineers for the first time ever (unless they were there before and I didn't notice them). I saw three Conservative scrutineers and none from other parties. My riding is universally considered a safe Liberal riding.
I wish they timed the election returns better. The Atlantic returns come in, and then it's hours and hours until the rest of the country happens. Why not either everything at once, or staggered more regularly so there's a constant stream of results coming through?
Or I wish there were some way to let people who've already voted access the blacked-out information from other time zones. I've already voted! They can't influence me! Let me watch the returns!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Things I learned today
1. It is, in fact, possible for a black dress that looks perfectly innocuous on the rack to make me look fatter than I do naked. No, it wasn't the bad empire waist phenomenon, but I can't tell what specific aspects of its design created this effect.
2. Two Always Ultra Thin Long with Wings and three O.B. Mighty Small are nowhere near sufficient to absorb 500 mL of water spilled in your purse.
3. The face I make when I unexpectedly encounter an impossibly adorable puppy causes my earbuds to fall out.
4. Those teenage boys who walk along the sidewalk taking up the whole sidewalk so people have to step onto the road will move aside for me if I look them in the eye with a look of "Yeah right, you have GOT to be kidding me."
2. Two Always Ultra Thin Long with Wings and three O.B. Mighty Small are nowhere near sufficient to absorb 500 mL of water spilled in your purse.
3. The face I make when I unexpectedly encounter an impossibly adorable puppy causes my earbuds to fall out.
4. Those teenage boys who walk along the sidewalk taking up the whole sidewalk so people have to step onto the road will move aside for me if I look them in the eye with a look of "Yeah right, you have GOT to be kidding me."
Friday, August 22, 2008
Open Letter to the extremely attractive couple on the subway with the pointy yellow puppy
Dear yellow doggie's humans:
You have the most awesome and adorable puppy in the world. But you can't just let him wander around the subway car on a long loose lead and lie across the aisle. I see that he's harmless and I totally get that interacting with him is a privilege and a joy - seriously, it made my day when he jumped his front paws up on my lap and let me pet him.
But there are people who are afraid of dogs, there are people who are allergic to dogs, there are children who might not know how to behave around dogs, there are blind people who might not be expecting a leash stretched out against the aisle, and there are people who just don't want paws on their lap or a snout up their skirt.
Please, before anything goes wrong, make sure that when you're on the subway you keep him in a sit or down right next to you and on a tight leash so he doesn't wander around. I don't want such a happy and adorable dog to get in trouble.
Sincerely,
Someone who doesn't want to give anyone any reason to prohibit dogs on the TTC
You have the most awesome and adorable puppy in the world. But you can't just let him wander around the subway car on a long loose lead and lie across the aisle. I see that he's harmless and I totally get that interacting with him is a privilege and a joy - seriously, it made my day when he jumped his front paws up on my lap and let me pet him.
But there are people who are afraid of dogs, there are people who are allergic to dogs, there are children who might not know how to behave around dogs, there are blind people who might not be expecting a leash stretched out against the aisle, and there are people who just don't want paws on their lap or a snout up their skirt.
Please, before anything goes wrong, make sure that when you're on the subway you keep him in a sit or down right next to you and on a tight leash so he doesn't wander around. I don't want such a happy and adorable dog to get in trouble.
Sincerely,
Someone who doesn't want to give anyone any reason to prohibit dogs on the TTC
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Criminology
You know how sometimes the most obvious most suitable consequence for a particular crime (either as punishment or to prevent the crime from happening again) is something the criminal justice system can't do? The offender should have the choice between the logical, natural consequence that's normally outside the scope of the criminal justice system, and whatever the standard sentence for the crime is. Standard sentences shouldn't be inflated to coerce offenders into choosing the logical, natural consequence, it should be a free choice where they can go with whatever they prefer.
The first thing that comes to mind for this is castrating sex offenders. I don't know if the castration would mitigate whatever psychopathic tendencies they have (it might vary from case to case?) but if it actually would prevent them from re-offending, why not put it out there as an option? The other case that comes to mind was one from a while back where a lady killed her baby through neglect because she was too stupid to take care of a baby. I forget the details of how the kid died or whatever so I can't google it up, but I distinctly remember that she honestly did not grok that her baby would die if she neglected it. Now the logical thing to do would be to sterilize her, wouldn't it? That's way outside the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system, but if she had a free choice in the matter and chose sterilization, then everyone would be better off and there would be no chance of recidivism.
I'm sure there are some examples that don't involve cutting people's genitals off, but I can't think of any offhand. Psychoanalyze that at your leisure.
*****
The following is a quote from Successful Dog Adoption by Sue Sternberg. Any typos are my own.
That sounds exactly like my young offenders theory!
*****
Speaking of (young offenders, not dogs), I have a question for people who think Omar Khadr should be punished on the basis that he was wherever it was that he was:
How could he have gotten out of that situation?
I have been 15 years old and taken to a foreign country by my parents, and even with an additional 12 years' life experience and 20/20 hindsight, I have no idea how I could have gotten out of there. How do you plan your escape without unmonitored internet access? How do you buy a plane ticket when you don't have a credit card? How do you flee when you haven't learned to drive yet? How do you get through customs without parental consent to travel? What if your parents are holding onto your passport for safekeeping? How do you judge whether local authorities will assist you or whether they'll just return you to your parents as a runaway? How do you carry this all off with the minimal (if any) pocket money a 15-year-old generally has on them?
People are talking like it's the most obvious thing in the world that he made a fully informed choice to be there, and while I agree that he may well have been able to grok the politics and moral impliciations at that age, I simply cannot see any way that he could have left the situation.
Explain this to me please. Give me specifics, give me logistics, give me solutions to all the problems I've mentioned above. I don't see it at all, help me out here.
And then, once you've explained it, perhaps publicize the procedure to help other teenagers who find themselves forced into untenable situations by their parents.
The first thing that comes to mind for this is castrating sex offenders. I don't know if the castration would mitigate whatever psychopathic tendencies they have (it might vary from case to case?) but if it actually would prevent them from re-offending, why not put it out there as an option? The other case that comes to mind was one from a while back where a lady killed her baby through neglect because she was too stupid to take care of a baby. I forget the details of how the kid died or whatever so I can't google it up, but I distinctly remember that she honestly did not grok that her baby would die if she neglected it. Now the logical thing to do would be to sterilize her, wouldn't it? That's way outside the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system, but if she had a free choice in the matter and chose sterilization, then everyone would be better off and there would be no chance of recidivism.
I'm sure there are some examples that don't involve cutting people's genitals off, but I can't think of any offhand. Psychoanalyze that at your leisure.
*****
The following is a quote from Successful Dog Adoption by Sue Sternberg. Any typos are my own.
Behaviourally adoptable dogs get adopted more quickly than the problem or unadoptable dogs, so the shelter gradually clogs up with the problem or unadoptable dogs. [...] May dogs who start out as behaviourally adoptable dogs wil, over time, deteriorate in the shelter/kennel environment, becoming less and less adoptable with each passing day. [...] The more aggressive, "kennel crazy" unadoptable dogs there are, the quicker the behaviourally adoptable dogs deteriorate because of the heightened state of arousal and aggression in the kennels, until they're all lunging at the front of their cages.
That sounds exactly like my young offenders theory!
*****
Speaking of (young offenders, not dogs), I have a question for people who think Omar Khadr should be punished on the basis that he was wherever it was that he was:
How could he have gotten out of that situation?
I have been 15 years old and taken to a foreign country by my parents, and even with an additional 12 years' life experience and 20/20 hindsight, I have no idea how I could have gotten out of there. How do you plan your escape without unmonitored internet access? How do you buy a plane ticket when you don't have a credit card? How do you flee when you haven't learned to drive yet? How do you get through customs without parental consent to travel? What if your parents are holding onto your passport for safekeeping? How do you judge whether local authorities will assist you or whether they'll just return you to your parents as a runaway? How do you carry this all off with the minimal (if any) pocket money a 15-year-old generally has on them?
People are talking like it's the most obvious thing in the world that he made a fully informed choice to be there, and while I agree that he may well have been able to grok the politics and moral impliciations at that age, I simply cannot see any way that he could have left the situation.
Explain this to me please. Give me specifics, give me logistics, give me solutions to all the problems I've mentioned above. I don't see it at all, help me out here.
And then, once you've explained it, perhaps publicize the procedure to help other teenagers who find themselves forced into untenable situations by their parents.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Saturday, March 01, 2008
I wonder if dog shows have dress codes for humans?
I was watching a dog show on TV, and I noticed that all the female handlers were wearing skirts, hose, and closed-toe flats. That seemed odd to me. Under normal circumstances and given the normal variation of human wardrobe preferences, you'd think at least some of them would be wearing pants, or bare legs, or heels or boots or sandals. I wonder if they have a dress code? That would be a strange thing to have a dress code for.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Tales from the commute
1. There was this lady with incredibly skinny legs wearing skin-tight pants. Like her legs were unhealthily skinny, sponsor-a-starving-African-child skinny. But she was wearing skin-tight pants. And they weren't leggings, they were actual proper pants, made kind of like jeans although not made of denim. And skin-tight. Where on earth do you get pants that skinny?
2. Walking up Yonge, I saw a cameraman filming something outside of Starbucks. Being a oh-so-cool Torontonian, I pretended I didn't see the camera whilst nonchalantly altering my vector so as not to be filmed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a guy lying on the ground in the area the camera appeared to be filming. Nu? So once I was past the camera, I turned and looked back, and saw that the guy on the ground was a puppeteer, and his puppet was "sitting" at the table outside starbucks. The puppet looked kind of like the Count from Sesame Street, but I don't think it was him.
3. There's this dog in my building with the most expressive eyes. He has the very most perfect markings to emphasize his eyes. Imagine perfect, subtle, impeccable eye makeup on a German Shepherd - that's what this guy looks like. If I had a camera, I'd take a picture. Although that would be kind of a weird interaction - "Hey, can I take a picture of your dog and post it on the internet?"
2. Walking up Yonge, I saw a cameraman filming something outside of Starbucks. Being a oh-so-cool Torontonian, I pretended I didn't see the camera whilst nonchalantly altering my vector so as not to be filmed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a guy lying on the ground in the area the camera appeared to be filming. Nu? So once I was past the camera, I turned and looked back, and saw that the guy on the ground was a puppeteer, and his puppet was "sitting" at the table outside starbucks. The puppet looked kind of like the Count from Sesame Street, but I don't think it was him.
3. There's this dog in my building with the most expressive eyes. He has the very most perfect markings to emphasize his eyes. Imagine perfect, subtle, impeccable eye makeup on a German Shepherd - that's what this guy looks like. If I had a camera, I'd take a picture. Although that would be kind of a weird interaction - "Hey, can I take a picture of your dog and post it on the internet?"
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