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Wylie's quirk has earned him the nickname Tipper.
One of the things I love most about dogs is all the quirky things they do. I am not talking about circling around three times before laying down, or drinking out of the toilet. Those are funny, to be sure. What I am talking about is some distinct personality quirk that one dog develops for some unknown reason.
In talking with others I find that almost every dog has an observable quirk, something that the humans close to the dog have seen and wondered about.
For example, my Bennie, who has a past as a San Francisco street dog, but now lives in a typical suburban tract home with a fenced yard, is into false bravado. I think he must have learned on the streets that he's big enough to be threatening if he just acts a bit brash. He has a certain stance when he meets dogs on the street that seems to say "I am holding my ground and watching your every move" as he observes a stranger, human or canine, approach. Inside, however, Bennie is a big wuss.
But where this quirk is most fun to observe is at home. Only when it's dark, when I let him out the back door, he charges out into the yard, barking and leaping. There's nothing there. I am pretty sure he knows nothing is there. But he goes through this routine every evening, He barks gruffly, leaping forward. He doesn't take time to sniff the air or do a perimeter check. He just leads with his false bravado.
My other dog, Wyiie, who 13 years old, came to us 3 years ago with, shall we say, some emotional issues. The very first night in my house, he woke from sleep and walked into my bathroom shower and tipped over all the shampoo bottles on the shower floor. He also tipped over two wastebaskets in other pars of the house. I got up and righted everything. Of course as he was new to me, I thought I better let him out in case that was a signal. He just looked at me like I was crazy. We went back to bed. About ninety minutes later, I woke to hear him tipping the same items over again.
Since then, I've come to believe that Wylie's tipping of things is an interesting quirk and not a communication device. He tips over wastebaskets while looking me square in the eye. His favorite thing, though, is to wait until the household is sleeping, then creep around and tip over vases, toiletries, floor lamps - anything he can. The latest new item was my coin jar, which was relatively empty. It's more than two feet tall, made of heavy glass. And just light enough he could draw it over with his paw.
How about your dogs? I'd love to hear what quirks they have. Add your comment below!
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