Sunday, April 01, 2007

The Three Ears of Pappy

One of the challenges of a dog with a face as furry as Pappy's is reading his mood and next move. Though the eyes may be the windows to the soul, that only works if you can actually see them-- which, in his case, you can't.

After living with him for a while, I've found that the best indicators of Pappy's intentions are his ears. You'd think that floppy ears wouldn't communicate much, but in his case they say plenty. When he is on high alert, the entire shape of his head changes as his ears go erect-- this is my cue to adjust my grip on the leash and get ready for his next move. At medium alert, his ears are just a little cocked and he's anticipating something. In Happy Pappy mode (which is also Sad Pappy mode) he's just so excited (or miserable) that his ears are totally flat against his head. The illustration below is intended as your guide to his thoughts in photos-- nine out of ten times he is at medium alert because he's bored with posing.

The Three Ears of Pappy

4 comments:

Nugget said...

I think Ozzy's ears do the same thing. That Pappy sure is handsome!

Nat said...

And Ozzy is awfully handsome too. Just how big is he? He looks kind of gargantuan.

Grouchy Karen said...

Aw. This entry just lit up my day. (But Marvin's "Ain't Nothing But The Real Thing" that just came up on iTunes might have helped). :)

Nat said...

Momo,
Yeah, music just totally messes with your head. But Pappy is the real thing.