Dogs and Cats

Before I get down to business on this entry’s topic, I would like to refer my readers to an interesting paper written by a member of a discussion group that I was invited to join recently.  His analysis of why Governor Palin resigned is a very interesting read.  http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/hating_palin.html

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Last week my daughter, Christine, and her husband, Bret,  came by an overnight visit on their way to someplace else.  On this trip they brought their dog, Adie, who is mostly a Lab.

When they came back to our place after spending the day in Galveston, Trish, my wife, had takeout ready for them. Adie was penned in a space in the yard that the previous owners of the house had installed for their dog.  Since we are cat people, the presence of the penned up area was purely a matter of fortuity.

As they were eating and talking, Adie started to make a big fuss in the backyard. So I excused myself and went outside to calm down their dog. Having grown up with dogs–several German Shepherds and a Rottweiler–and having lived with cats for the last thirty seven years, I have developed a pretty good sense of understanding our fur covered companions.

When I went out to Adie, I did what I do with my cats. I talked to her in a calm, deep, slow voice. After a few minutes, the sound of my alien voice was enough to get the poor excited dog calm enough to quit yapping and moving about like an unmedicated manic. Eventually, she stopped moving and lay down.

When Christine and Bret came out to visit the dog, they were impressed with how well I had calmed the dog. I told them that if anyone was going to get any sleep that night,  they were going to have to spend time with their dog,  giving the dog enough time to relax and fall asleep. They did that.

When I left Christine and Bret, I knew that when I went to the bedroom, I was going to confronted by my two Tonkinese cats–Boo Boo and Jazzy.  They were seated on the bed with looks that told me that we needed to discuss the matter of the alien presence in the backyard.

Having lived through Hurricanes, power outages and other unsettling events with my two blond babes, I knew what to do. So I sat down an explained to them that the dog in the backyard would be leaving the next day, so they could relax. I guess that it worked. When I retired a few minutes later, the two furballsfurballs curled up next to me and went to sleep quickly.

My experience illustrates what I have long believed. Our fur covered companion animals have emotional needs that need to be addressed–if they can be understood. I have learned over the years that talking to my pets have a calming influence. Now I have not a clue in this world as to whether the cats understood what I was saying or not.  But I do know that my calm voice and presence did a lot to calm them down.

The contrast between dogs and cats was also very visible that night. Dogs are vocal. Cats are not. I prefer cats because they are much more emotionally complex than dogs.  Dogs can be wonderful companions. I just prefer cats, who are much more complex and difficult to read.