Preferences

I had to laugh today when I read Susan Garrett's blog about preferring female dogs over male dogs. I really prefer males, and here's why...one mood, all the time. I like the steadiness of the males, the sweetness in their character, and the eagerness to do whatever you're asking of them.

My experience with Jenny is exactly what Susan pointed out: She's a problem solver. Jenny may not do what you asked her to do. Instead she'll find a way (better?) to do it her way. This frustrated the daylights out of me when we did agilty together. Example: I would run Brisco on a short course in the yard with Jenny watching from the enclosed porch. I would bring Brisco in and ask her to come play. She came out, ran past me, and began to run the course without me. *sigh* Isn't agility supposed to be a team sport? Not according to Jenny.

Susan also talked about breed preferences. As I watch conformation dog shows on television, I like to breed shop and play the game of, "If I could have any dog, what would it be?" Or Kathy and I like to choose our "old lady dog"--which breed will suit us when we're in the rockin' chair? The herding group and the terrier group often have the breeds that I find asthetically pleasing: Shelties, Tervs, Pyrenean Shepherds, Norwich terriers, and Scotties. I like a pionted face and fur, fur, fur. Anna and I were talking about this just this past weekend. She likes short-coated dogs, and I like the hair. I enjoy grooming, so it's not an issue to me to spend an hour a week combing, trimming, and detangling my dog's coat. And then there's the look--a coat that flows in the breeze, the ruff on a Sheltie that stands out and frames a face, or the way the coat just makes the look like an Afghan Hound. Here's one of my favorite pictures of the boys on a breezy day:

The opposite is when a dog who should be coated is not there yet. When I first met Cosi he was a year and a half and not quite the beautiful boy he is today. When a dog is that age, he's gangly, not done growing and filling out. And the coat is there, but not full and glorious. To this day, Marilyn teases me about what I said about Cosi. "He's not very pretty, is he?" How wrong I was. Cos is drop-dead gorgeous. I just had to wait for that coat to come in to see it. Mike is the most heavily coated dog I have, and I love it. It's so thick and lovely and flows when he runs.

So for me, it's the boys, the fur, and the pointed face. What's your preference?