Shivering Timbers and Tender Tootsies

Basenjis are dramatic. There is just no question about that. They are divas, especially when they need something or want your attention NOW.

Denny has two techniques that are exquisite, and that, alas, get me every time.

The first is when he wants to be cuddled. Seriously cuddled. As in wrapped in a blanket and cuddled. He sits there and starts shivering. It's not cold in the room, there's no draft, no open window. He just shivers. His whole little body convulses lightly, and then he looks up at me with the EYES. You know those eyes. Yes, THOSE eyes. The ones that turn level-headed dog-owner into gushy, slobbering, baby-talking mama.

What do you do when your dog shivers and looks at you pathetically? Wrap him up in the nearest blanket and snuggle him close in your arms until he stops shivering and falls asleep, lightly snoring.

Yeah. Sucker, thy name is Cait.

The second trick isn't so much a trick as him being melodramatic. Yes, we're in Boston, and it's cold outside, and there's snow on the ground, or salt. I do my best to keep him off all of it, and I always take him back in when he lets me know his paws start to hurt. It's just the way he does it that's over-the-top. The boy picks up the offending paw, twirls it around a few times and lets out a cry that spikes estrogen-driven maternal instincts for several city blocks.

Okay! I get it, you need to go in. And yes, I will pick you up and carry you back as far as need be to stave your tender tootsies. I do try to tell him that all of this could have been avoided if he would just give it up and wear booties, but noooooooo. He won't do it.

I did find something called Musher's Secret that seems to help a LOT with the salt problem. Still, it's kind of humiliating. I'm the one supposed to be walking the dog, and instead, I'm the beast of burden...with the wee beastie in my arms.

Yet, for all of this, I wouldn't trade my self-absorbed, diva-esque, tender-tootsied dog for all the world. Oops, gotta go. Someone needs a belly rub!