Large and In Charge

Large dog breeds include Newfoundlands, Great Pyrenees, Mastiffs, Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds, and Otterhounds, to name just a few. My home happens to be populated by Newfoundlands. and the Newfoundlands in my house are large and in charge.They have big hairy tails, and when they wag they can knock you right down or bruise your legs. They have big feet and can track in tons of mud. They often literally "drip" hair, especially in shedding season. And they often "drip" drool. With few exceptions, most of the dogs that can be classified as "big dogs" also have "big drool". My Newfoundlands are sort of in between. One newfy has big drool, the other one doesn't. So I guess they even out. My house needs a sign out front: "Caution: Slime Zone" (As a matter of fact, you can find the "slime zone" bumper stickers at my Dogdaze Designs Shop)

There are three types of people who visit me: "Dog People" (they come often and stay late), "Family" (it depends...) and "Normal People", (small minded people) Dog people stoop down to get the kisses and step aside from the wagging tails. Dog people often bring treats for the dogs and say hi to the dogs before they say hi to me.  Dog people know what the drool towel draped over the back of the chair is for. Dog people don't say anything and pick out any stray hairs that land on their coffee cup. Dog People don't care that my dogs likc the plates off after we eat, they even sneak table scraps to the dogs whil we are eating! In short, "Dog People" are my forever friends.

Family is almost as good as "dog people". (Especially since most of my family is already in that classification, exept THEIR dogs aren't as big as mine.)  Only the teenage girls in the family will roll their eyes and show disgust at drool. And they usually outgrow that. Family tolerate most anything from my dogs and the only time they get "touchy" is when they are in their good clothes. (And that isn't often, since they are dog people too!)

Normal people however, (small minded people) keep pushing the dogs away when they arrive at the front door, or stand rather stiffly and awkwardly without moving at all...sort of frozen as if they just might be afraid. Normal people don't know what the drool towel is for and probably think that the hair on the floor is a health hazard. Normal people  make a show of brushing off the dog hair that lands on their clothes and picking off the hairs that might land on their coffee cup. Normal people hate it when they go into the bathroom and one of the dogs slams the door open with his paw, they don't even laugh and think it is funny! Normal people usually don't stay long and often don't come back.That's okay with me though. My dogs are in charge here.

It's not that my dogs are unruly or dangerous or even mildly aggressive. They are just big and sweet and goofy and have never been told that there is anyone in the world who would not consider a kiss from them one of the finest things in life. And after all, they can't help it if they are big, and have lots of hair, and have heavy duty wagging tails. And they DO eventually lie down and snooze, making big bear rugs that a person has to step over on the way to the coffee pot.