Scotties are tough little dogs. Fighters to the end.

Bonnie tests every limit. Unless there’s food forthcoming. In which case, she sets aside her principles in favor of a Greeny, or one of those tasteless crunchy things dogs inexplicably love. Otherwise, she will wait until she thinks you might be getting mad before she does as you ask.

Gibbs acts exactly the same way. It must be DNA.

Let’s say (purely hypothetically) we have told them to go outside. Bishop will hesitate at the top of the stairs because he is a bit scared of stairs. He has trouble controlling his trajectory and needs a few moments to reconnoiter the lay of the land.

Bonnie and now Gibbs, go slowly down the stairs. Get to the bottom landing. Stop. Look back up at us: “Do you really expect dogs, like us to simply do your bidding? What if we don’t want to go out? Huh?”

Garry puts a warning note in his voice. “Bonnie,” he says, with as much Alpha authority as he can muster. “OUT!”

She moves to the doggy door. Puts a paw on it so the flap is partly open. Looks back up at Garry.

“Bonnie, I told you to go out.” (Repeat two to three times.) After which, with utmost reluctance, she exits through the flap and into the yard.

Gibbs does the same thing, but being a longer dog, he snakes his way out the door even slower. In summer, this will guarantee a constant fresh supply of mosquitoes.

Scotties rebel against authority. It’s their way. You have to like a dog that will go head-to-head with you about every little thing, else a Scottish Terrier is not your kind of dog. All terriers are like this to some extent, but for sheer tough-mindedness, Scotties are at the head of the class.

If you are interested in learning more about the Scottish (and Irish) Terrier, you might find this link to Scottish and Irish Terriers by William Haynes a fun read. These great little dogs have remained much the same through the years. Bonnie is typical of old-fashioned Scotties, while Gibbs is designed along modern lines. Yet, looking at them, you could never mistake them for different breeds. Their personalities — despite almost opposite life experiences — are very similar.

Our dogs make us laugh. Everyday, no matter how miserable or frustrated we get with life problems, they bring us joy.

People keep asking us why we got another dog. Don’t we want our “freedom?”

Freedom from dogs is more like loneliness.

What, exactly, would we do with that “freedom”? We don’t travel more than we must.  Given the nightmare of airports, if we can’t get there by car, we aren’t going. Even very long drives are not much fun these days. The roads are falling apart, as are the bridges. Everywhere on the east coast, traffic is nightmarish. The interstate highway system was built during the Eisenhower era. Each year, the roads need more repair and updating … while less and less money is allocated for the purpose. Trains are worse.

Unless the transporter gets real, I doubt we’re going far from home. Hanging at home with our dogs seems a much better choice.

Categories: #Photography, Daily Prompt, dogs, Humor, Scottish Terrier, Terriers

Tags: Daily Post, dogs, DPchallenge, humor, Scottish Terrier, terriers