Writing about your dog

I find sunshine inspiring for writing. Don’t you?

I have a few ideas for writing about your dog.

My BFF and writing partner, Shelley, is writing this week about where to find the inspiration to write.

In response, I would like to write about where to find inspiration to write about your dog. When you have a cute dog like me, you just have to look at me to feel inspired to want to treat me well, love me, play with me and say, “Isn’t she so cute?”

Shelley says that inspiration can come from books, music, the natural and manmade worlds, and human nature. It is a feeling of motivation mixed with passion to do the thing you love.

That’s nice and all, but to write about the natural world of the animal kingdom, particularly domestic dogs, start by looking at your beloved pet. How would you describe him or her, such as coat color, length of snout and shape of the ears?

To describe me, you could say I’m a sable-colored, miniature dachshund with the characteristic short legs, big bark, long fluffy, black-tipped ears that make me look extra girly, and long, elegant tail.

You could observe how we interact with other dogs, humans and cats.

This is what I do: I bark at all, I mean all, big dogs to put them in their place and let them know I am big, too, at my full 10 pounds of weight.

I try to snuggle up to and befriend cats, but most of them turn snooty and tell me, “I am not, absolutely not at all, interested in your silly friendship.” Well, well …

And I greet all humans I meet on walks, pulling my leash over to their feet and looking up at them to see if they are interested in giving me a big pet and hello. If I am hanging out at the coffee shop with Shelley, I wag my tail, stare at them and invite them with my body language to pet and love on me.

If I really like the person, I do a half roll to show my belly. I want belly rubs, because they let me know I am lovable, worthy of attention and very, extremely cute.

Here are some other ideas to write about your dog:

• Read dog training and behavior books to get inspiration on how to describe what we do.
• Listen to our different barks to try to understand how we are communicating.
• Tell the story of how we met, why you bought or wanted to rescue us, and how you’ve grown and changed being in a relationship with us, because relationships do change you.
• Describe what you love most about us and then tell us, too. We love to hear happy, loving voices and not the stern, you’re-a-bad-dog voice.
• Write about our favorite toy or object and see what emotions it evokes in you about us.
• Write about what you love most about us, and let us know that too.

In other words, look at us, really look at us and find that love you have to inspire you to begin writing, which in turn is more love folded back onto us.

Thank you for that, for your love.

A Dog in Transition

I am in transition between sleeping and being awake.

Dog-gone it, I am in transition.

I have been in transition, am in transition and will be in transition, probably for a really long time.

It’s not because I’m changing and growing slightly older, because everyone does that. (BTW, I’ll be six on Dec. 20, and could you please put that on your calendar).

I am in transition because as the cutest dachshund ever, I have an image to uphold.

What I’m saying is I’m trying really hard at being good.

I am moving from a place in my life of being kind of bad – when I chewed shoes, the legs of furniture and the corners of rug; when I barked at every little sound (it’s my job!); and when I ran under the bad to pout – to being for the most part good.

As a puppy, I chewed everything I could get my paws on, but now I chew my rawhides and chew toys. That change was easy, because it was a matter of growing up.

The other two changes actually require work, and – big sigh – I have to try.

My automatic and most natural response to loud noises and big dogs is to bark big and loud. But Shelley, my BFF, doesn’t want me to do that. So, should I consider the possibility of barking a tad less and a tad quieter?

Maybe. Or maybe not.

My other bad behavior is throwing a big pout whenever I don’t get my way. I scurry off to hide under the bed and slump onto my paws, bemoaning the fact that I am not getting the attention, treats or playtime that I want.

I pout at least once a day. This behavior I probably will not work on changing, because I have to pout. If
I don’t feel sorry for myself, I would have to accept not being the center of everyone’s attention span. And that’s where I belong.

See, don’t you get it? Transitions are in the middle spot between things. I am between things and in the middle. I guess that means I can keep on being a little bad, always in transition.

Note: This is an old post from 2012 that I’m recycling because my co-writer and BFF is talking about transitions. I updated my age in it, because I now am almost six, or really five years, nine months.

Doggie Blogger can’t think

I am feeling a little frustrated about not having anything to write about right now.

I am feeling a little Blank right now for writing ideas. I am just a dog after all. So, here’s a cute photo of me and a link to my BFF Shelley’s blog about avoiding writing and what to do about it.

Avoiding new writing projects