Date With My Dog-Child

Single red & white pup seeking new loving relationship. 

I live and die for this face.

Indy wiggle-wormed straight into my life and heart almost 6 years ago when, as a stray puppy, she cased my boyfriend out in his parking lot and followed him to his front door. My life has been 200% better since she became a part of it - she is an incredibly sweet and loyal pup. Making sure she gets enough stimulation and attention never feels like work, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a challenge sometimes. Luckily, I live in a fantastic town for being a dog-lover. 

Read on, dear friends. Let's talk about spending quality time with your canine.

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Dogs evolved to live with human beings. According to the Monks of New Skete, in Native American lore it was considered good luck when your dog tore up something that belonged to you. The great Shawnee grandmother Kukemthema is always weaving a basket - and when it's finished, the world will end. Luckily for us, dogs unravel her work every night while she sleeps, so she never gets further than she did the day before. As writer Louise Erdrich said on the topic of why there are always dogs in her novels, "there is a special relationship there. Dogs chose us."

(Evidently, some extra-special dogs chose Louise Erdrich. If you don't believe, me, then go find out what her dogs are currently reading and decide for yourself)

After graduating from college I figured it was high time to get a degree in pupology. I found myself favoring the behaviorist perspective and wound up selecting Temple Grandin's Animals Make Us Human to start. What was fascinating was how it challenges the premise that dogs are primarily pack animals. Grandin describes the current state of evidence as supporting the idea that wolves actually prefer to live as families, meaning that pups are raised by their parents. Instead of the ubiquitous wolf pack being the central family unit in the wild, Grandin suggests that packs are the immediate result of adolescent pups being estranged or separated from their parents.

Which means that wolf packs tend to form for the same reason that human gangs do. Is your mind blown yet? It should be. Because dogs really are people, too.

Aside from conceptual knowledge gained, the thing I paid the most attention to in this book was Grandin's suggestion for how to care for your animal. Her recommendation was that if your dog is the only one in the household - and if, like us, you tend to spend 8-10 hours a day at work - then it is crucial that your friend receives a full hour of unadulterated attention every day.

Between the daily constitutional that Indy and I take together, and the unmitigated fawning that occurs nearly every time she catches mine or my boyfriend's eye, she gets a sufficient amount of love from us, no problem. But sometimes it still doesn't seem like enough.

That is when I get the itch to go all out.

So romantic, right? 

So, when time permits, her and I will go on a day date together. This day pictured all throughout was a special one. I took a wrong turn on the highway when on the way to our trail destination, and suddenly realized we were only minutes away from the Mount Bonnell lookout point. After a few quick turns and a hike up the staircase cut into the steep hillside, Indy and I found ourselves with a birds-eye view of the river. Water that usually runs clear and blue on a sunny day was today slugging through the channel like a melted chocolate milkshake due to the rounds of flash flooding Austin can't seem to get enough of these days (Indy thought it looked delicious).

When we'd had enough of the view, we turned around and drove down south to the Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail. We walked a 4-mile loop while alternately checking out parts of the trail that had washed out, and chasing swans. Every now and then, we pit-stopped at these ingenious doggy water fountains that are posted throughout the path.

Austin is an incredibly dog-friendly town, if you couldn't guess it already. Walk Your Dog Austin maintains a comprehensive list of dog services, including patio bars and restaurants where your dog can join you. With events like the Doggy Du-Dash (where you can run a race with your hound) and the Pittie Pride Parade happening all the time, Austinites are consistently trying to incorporate their animal company into their daily lives both in and outside of the home.

What is your favorite way to spend the day with your hound?

xo!