I went the first fifty-odd years of my life having very little to do with dogs. Never owned one, never had the time. When people asked if I liked dogs – a remarkably common question – I used to reply “I like other peoples’ dogs.” Didn’t have anything against dogs, don’t get me wrong, just didn’t want the commitment. Dogs are needy.
I got thrust into a situation where I was sharing a small RV with four large dogs in an environment where they could usually run around loose, which pretty much gave me an accelerated course in dog behavior. There are certain things about dogs in general that become perfectly obvious rather quickly under those circumstances. Things that otherwise apparently require expensive research grants to uncover.
For example:
A New Study Says Your Dog’s Secretly Kind of a Selfish Jerk
Well, duh.
Why do these researchers think they stay with us? Standing by in case we fall down a well? Hell, no. As my friend T used to say, “It’s because we have thumbs. And can openers.”
