The Sound of Music

The noises the dogs make are always so intriguing. The sounds depend a lot of what they are doing at the time. Right now I'm listening to Raimi whine his love song to Leeloo who is whining her walk song to me. She hasn't been for a walk in several days because the thought of all the neighbourhood dogs setting upon her bottom whilst we enjoy a leisurely stroll terrifies me. The boys haven't been for a walk because I'm afraid the absence of the brains right now might result in them disappearing into the woods to look for Leeloo.

The dog noises are often amusing, occasionally annoying and always informative. Leeloo makes these little grunting pig noises when she is comfortable and settled in for a good sleep. Usually the noise immediately proceeds me putting a blanket over her. It makes me smile everytime because the contented, satisfied dog tickles my heartstrings. Her other noises include the walk whine, growling out the window at the neighbourhood kids and sneezing happily when I wrestle with her. She rarely barks except during play when she is frustrated or annoyed at something.

Archer is also a happy grunter but his is more a moan of contentment. He also has a pretty varied repertoire of various whines that indicate many states of being. The happy whine of excitement when we are going for a walk. The desperate sitting-outside-the-back-door whine listening to me prepare their food. The drive-faster-mommy-so-we-can-get-to-the-dog-park-sooner whine which often gets a 'Shut UP!' from me. The I-can't-live-without-Leeloo whine with which we are now all too familiar. The first-thing-in-the-morning whine to get me up so he can get fed(that's my least favorite and often results in LIE DOWN until 8am). Archer doesn't bark much so he's pretty much a one trick pony with the whining.

Raimi is not really a noisy dog at all. He is whining now because of Leeloo but under normal circumstances he is a relatively quiet dog. He doesn't whine, rarely barks unless there is cause(or he thinks there is) and his most often used vocal communication is a shallow grunt of happiness when I am giving him some love. He is a loud sleeper though with the light snoring and heavy breathing so sometimes I have to poke him to get him to move his head and stop the noise.

I speak often to the dogs as though they were people and respond to their vocalizations with questions, comments, complaints and concerns. I usually get some sort of a response and we can carry on a conversation for a few minutes. I know I'm not the only person who does this so don't look at me like that.