Red Dogs in the Morning…

…Rubin take warning! Gray dogs in the afternoon, they day will end soon!

Okay, so I’m not a poet, but today we saw a clear division between the morning dogs and the afternoon dogs. Red dogs in one clump, gray dogs in another. And let me tell you, there is a distinct difference between the personalities of red dogs and gray dogs…very distinct.

Red dogs are frisky. They have great spurts of energy and a slightly stubborn streak. Take Ollie, for instance. Sweet, sweet fellow but he has his moments. Today it was the need to bark at squirrels (which I completely understand) and to get all excited when he saw another dog. He walked me home, but then got to play with Gemma — another red head — at the tennis courts where they raced around like only red heads can do!

Then there’s Gemma. Stubborn as a fence post. Unmovable if she’s fixated on something like a squirrel, a dog behind a fence, a dog she’s playing with, or avoiding the command “come.” Gemma and Ollie are perfect examples of red dogs being a lot of fun, but they each have their quirks. Ollie’s a little nervous; Gemma’s bold beyond belief. Ollie likes to reassured; Gemma is extremely independent. Ollie waits to be invited; Gemma barges right in. While these may seem like opposing qualities, they are often the behaviors we find in red-haired dogs and they demonstrated these behaviors today while playing.

Gemma walked Ollie back home after their romp and then Gretchen and Gemma stopped by to pick up Alice…another red head.

Alice contains a little of both of the opposite sides of red dogs — stubborn on a leash, yet a need to reassured especially if she gets spooked. Gemma and Alice had met before, but they’ve never had a chance to play together. When they swung by our house to pick me up, I was a little worried that perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to have tenacious (Gemma) play with nervous (Alice), but Gretchen assured me it would all be okay.

It was for awhile…

…but the Gemma got bossy and Alice wasn’t very pleased.  After some pushiness, Alice decided the best place to hang out was between Gretchen’s legs, which to Gemma, was an invitation to push Alice around even more. Gretchen put a stop to that right away and since it was time for Gemma to go home, that’s exactly what we did. While I was sad to see her go, Alice was relieved so we headed back over to the courts to play — just the two of us. Alice thought that was just fine!

Yes, that’s a sheepish Alice to the left and then a frisky red-headed Alice above.

I guess I know how to handle my red heads!

Alice does have some herding instincts. While she played fetch with her own ball, she often spent a lot of time telling me which way to go.

What a red head!

We took Alice home after that and then walked up the street to the gray side. Woobie was first and she exemplifies gray-haired dogs — playful, goofy, and friendly. I’m always happy to see Ms. Woobie and she’s thrilled to see me, too. We walked down through the park where Gretchen posed us in front of Mt. Rainier for off in the distance. You kind of have to squint to see it, but it’s there! (More in the second photo than the first…right above my head. Hey, my head is the same shape as the mountain!)

Then we got to play some fetch at the little field before we picked up Saber. Well, let me rephrase — I played fetch and Woobie chose not to. Some days she likes to play fetch and some days she doesn’t. Today she didn’t instead she just walked around the field sniffing everything and then waiting patiently by the backpack while I chased after the ball.

Little did she know we’d be heading over to get Saber and come back to the field (tennis players were occupying the tennis courts) where Saber and I played more fetch, chase, and battle for control of THE STICK! Saber exemplifies the sometimes rowdy nature of gray dogs, but for every ounce of rowdiness there’s a double dose of sweetness. While Woobie has learned to choose when she’ll be rowdy, Saber has little control over it at this point in his puppyhood, but he’s still as sweet and lovable as Woobie!

What did Woobie do while we played? She waited patiently by the backpack…showing restraint! And sometimes we joined her for a little break from all the frolicking!

…until Desi showed up! Woobie wanted to play with Desi, but he just wasn’t into it today. Yep, another gray dog. Still, he’s as sweet and adorable as Woobie and Saber!

And me? Well, I’m officially considered apricot, which I suppose is partially red, but Gretchen tells me I’m a unique boy with my own unique qualities of both temperament and personality. Ahhhh…isn’t she sweet…and yes, she’s gray-haired, too!

Until tomorrow (I hear hints of the possibility of snow!!!!!!!)

Rubin