The Dog Blog: quiet dog

Sunday, August 26, 2018

We've had five dogs since we moved to Rural Hall (one is still alive), and barking has often been the big problem for them.

BUDDY THE BARKER

Actually, Buddy was the only big barker in the family. Katie only barked when she'd be outside and Buddy would bark. Then Katie would start barking, and I'd have to tell her to shut up. Otherwise, she was quiet.

Scottie (like Katie, a collie) was not a barker at all, even when he was outside.

Lady sometimes barked when she heard someone or something outside, but she wasn't much of a barker, either. There IS a story about Lady barking a bit at the dog park. In fact, there's another Lady barking story.

Dixie, our current dog, isn't a barker. My wife Holly had feared getting a beagle, thinking that all beagles are barkers. Dixie was quiet at the Forsyth Humane Society, and I figured she'd be quiet here, too. So far, she's only barked with other dogs (or cats) around, and even that is extremely rare.

Actually, it's been quiet with Dixie around.

• Woof! (it didn’t need translation)

• Woof! One barker in the family (Buddy)

• Woof! Lady barking up the right tree

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

Other entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2015)

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• OOH! OOH! The stereophonic huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Good Samaritan

• The PRESS cap and my friend Mike

• Watching TV

• No luck with Billy Sims

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

WE WERE AT THE DOG PARK

The last couple of years of Lady's life, Holly and I often talked about getting another dog. Holly didn't want to get another dog while Lady was alive. I understood her reasons (a lot of worry and pressure on an old dog).

We also talked about the type of dog we wanted. I was leaning to a beagle (small, short-hair), but, again, Holly wasn't so sure. She was afraid a beagle would be too loud for the neighborhood (we went through that years ago with Buddy, although he was a mutt, not a beagle).

Dixie's a beagle, but she's not loud at all. Where Lady was pretty talkative for a dog -- she actually mimicked human speech when trying to talk to us -- Dixie has been amazingly quiet. And she doesn't wake up the neighborhood.

The only time she's made any noise is when she's tried to chase away a dog, mostly at the dog park. Otherwise, she's as quiet in the neighborhood as Lady was.

NOTE: Lady passed on Sept. 17, 2016.

• Woof! (needs no translation)