Dog Speak

    Today's blog will be special. Today I will talk about how our dogs communicate with us. I'll start off with Lizzie because she is the biggest talker. The way Lizzie tells us she wants to be petted is she whines. And when she whines, she whines. She stops as soon as you place a hand on her and she starts whining again as soon as you take your hand off her. 
     Lizzie woo-woos when she hears the word walk. She has learned English! Hoover just follows Lizzie's lead. She has also learned the concept of time. Around 8:00 pm , Lizzie starts woo-wooing again, she knows when dinner time is. We really hear it when we haven't given her dinner on time. Lizzie also will woo-woo when she wants out but barks when she wants in.  Lizzie will bark at Hoover when she wants to play, but Hoover doesn't like her loud voice. 

      Next up is Hoover. He is a pretty quiet dog except when the neighbor's dogs are out. Then he is a big loud mouth. When Hoover wants to come in he knocks on the door like a fine old gentleman. However, when he wants to go out he waits by the door. Sometimes Lizzie has to bark to let us know they both want out. 

      Hoover LOVES attention. If he isn't getting it, he will paw you. His big paw can be dangerous. Everyone in the family has experienced a Hoover paw to the face. Hoover even uses his paw to acknowledge Lizzie and Nikita by patting them on the head.   

    When Hoover wants to play, he throws his toy in the air. Sometimes he will catch it and other times he'll toss it at you. That ball really stings if you get hit in the face. Hoover takes his playing very seriously, as you can see in the picture at the end. 
      And last but certainly not least is Nikita. She is more subtle than Lizzie and Hoover when seeking attention. She will rest her chin on a leg. She is usually sleeping so she doesn't ask for much attention. Nikita will also put her chin on your leg and stare at you if there is no water in the water bowl or she wants a snack.
       When it comes to going outside, we just kind of have to guess. If she gets up, that is a good indication she wants to go outside. When she wants to come in, she gives one very demanding bark. If we don't come to the door right away, she waits a little bit and gives one more demanding bark.

      Nikita also has a history of tattle telling on some of our fosters. In other words, Nikita is a snitch. One time Alue managed to get the pantry door open and pulled out Nikita's dog food. So, Nikita found mum doing laundry and started barking. She lead mum right to Alue. He was busted. She also has a history of ratting out other fosters, like Sebastian.

Alue

 

      This is a just a bit of how our dogs speak to us. How do your dogs speak to you?