How your pets greet you
BY NICK BARNETTHave a look at this clip (if you can) - it shows a US soldier greeted at home by a pair of excited beagles. It's safe for work - though you might want to turn the volume down a heck of a lot. It sounds a bit like a fox hunt.
Being greeted by your pets is the best, isn't it?
When I'm riding the bus home, I think about how the dogs will greet me, and it makes me smile. (Buses are full of people smiling in a quiet pet reverie, I reckon.)
Once I'm through the front door, Phoebe will run at me and leap, and sometimes I'll catch her and get a faceful of licks as a reward. After a couple more leaps she'll bow her head and roll over for a tickle, stretch out and open her mouth wide while panting like a marathoner.
Connor will be jumping too, but not to be caught - rather, to get hold of a forbidden shirt button or jacket hem. He bounces and circles but quickly he's distracted by Phoebe's submissiveness and starts harassing her. That's when I can break away to drop my bag and get changed.
It's the same drill in the mornings, when our pets rediscover us as though we were treasures long thought lost.
For you dog-whisperer followers, I should say that my partner and I make a point of greeting each other first, and try not to be hijacked by the dogs. It's all about who's the pack leader, and if your dog is your priority when you arrive home, then he or she is going to feel like the leader - so the theorists say.
Theorists also say that it might seem great when your dog's all excited and baying and leaping, but actually it can be stressful for them. It's hard, though, not to get caught up in their initial joy, and feed into it, like the people do in that clip with the beagles.
Should I get on to the Licking Issue? It's a biggie. Lots of people, including dog owners, find the idea of being licked by a dog to be revolting and unhealthy. Especially a lick on the face or mouth - considering where that tongue may lately have been.
My household is divided. My partner won't be licked on the face, has trained the dogs not to do it, so it doesn't happen. Me, I've kind of made a peace with it. Dogs lick, that's what they do. Connor loves to lick my face, but seems to have understood there are limits, and generally goes for my ear, and then only briefly. What do you think? Does a lick on the face repel you, or are you relaxed about it?
Our cat Merrick has a greeting pattern too. He places himself in whatever would be my path to the kitchen, waits for eye contact, and when he gets it he's all "Mmmm mm? Mmmm mm?" This translates to "hello-give-me-food". An actual meow from Merrick is pretty rare, and usually signals more than the usual hunger.
Once, we went on holiday and left Merrick for more than a week with twice-daily visits from a petsitter. When we got back home, Merrick crouched on the upstairs deck, giving us croaky meows of such heart-penetrating pathos and hurt that we resolved never to leave him alone for so long again.
In a way, the more overwhelmed your pet seems to be when greeting you, the more it pings your heart with sadness that you even went away.
But usually our pets don't lay guilt on us. The dogs often wail and bark when we go out somewhere, leaving them locked in their safe area. But when we return, there's not a hint of resentment or reproof from them - it's just full-on, heartfelt joy.
As for Merrick, it's the usual "Mmmm mm?"
How do your pets greet you? Do they work themselves into a conniption of excitement? Do they guilt-trip you if you've been away?
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Pictures: Reuters
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Ohh so cute - I couldn't listen to the sound being at work but having 2 beagles myself I can imagine the noise!
We do the ignore the dogs while we get inside and greet each other thing as well, but even still they seem to both launch at us with so much enthusiasm when its finally their turn to get a "hello".
As for licking - I HATE it. Our older dog doesn't lick, but likes to sniff real close without actually touching. Our puppy on the otherhand is most definitely a licker, hopefully he will grow out of it!
My hubby and I arrive home together. One dog will run downstairs and wait for us to open the door then run around us - sniffing us to ensure we havn't been cheating on her with other dogs during the day (I assume). We then walk up the stairs where the other dog races to greet us on the top step and licks our hands. Then the two dogs roll around playing together for a few minutes. It's the same routine every day!
As for licking, I don't mind it though I try to keep them to just licking the tip of my nose! I have to fight for kisses out of one of them! The rabbit is also a tip of nose licker and I love it.
If we go away I leave the animals with my in-laws. They get fed their own roast meals with gravy and spuds, and then go for lots of walks - so I actually have to drag them home kicking and screaming each time.
My cat greets me with heart-felt miaows every evening when I get home, and often won't touch his freshly-dished-out food until I've picked him up and given him a good cuddle. Then I generally have to lurk about in the kitchen until he's finished eating because otherwise he abandons his food to hang out with me. (Which is fine, except I can hear his little tummy rumbling - he's far more dependent on cuddles and company than he is on food.)
I always looks forward to seeing the little chap in the evening! He's nice.
Rambo usually just puts himself at the top of the stairs, or in the kitchen, either way he's between me and the fridge, he'll give me a coule of chirpy trills, not unlike Merrick's 'Mmmmm mm?', and follows that up with one of his intent jedi-mind-trick stares that clearly says 'put food in me' while he sits back and lets the 'spokescat' do all the nagging.
Sanchez is the 'spokescat', he is noisy in the extreme. He'll usually greet me with yowly miaows of 'where have you been all day?! I brought in four birds but I'm hungry, feed me, feed rambo, do it NOOOWWWW!!!'. He will then proceed to follow me up the stairs, around the house, and to the kitchen-gettting underfoot as much as possible, miaowing all the way.
My wee sweety Butterz usually takes a few minutes to appear when I get home, which I imagine is because she is taking her time choosing a nice curly bug filled leaf to present to me with much yeowling and ceremony. When I have given her sufficient praise for her choice she stretches up my leg until I have to pick her up for fear of losing my knee caps and then tries to lick me all over my face - Which those of you who have been licked by a cat will know is pretty unpleasant. I have tried to stop this habit since she was a kitten but I guess it's just part of her loving personality. (and because I feed her real meat and not that slush that comes in cans, her breath isn't that bad)
@Loz, 'Spokescat' -I love that expression!
We too have one very vocal cat (no miaows, but more like chirps!) and one who will occasionally squeak but no real voice. They come to the door, wind themselves about your legs, roll around on the floor and generally expect 100% attention for at least 5 minutes, then dinner! Super cute and always bringing a smile to our faces :)
At our old place (a walk up) the cat would sit on the steps at teh top of the driveway every afternnon waiting for us - even in the rain! He still sits at teh top of the diveways, however it's under the eves at our current house so he at least stays dry.
My 2 cats are so different from each other. Both the same age and same litter. One will wait by the door and give you a face full of cat behind while Junior will rather loudly miaow at you and follow you everywhere until A) you have fed him or B) picked him up and cuddled him for a breif moment. Some days Junior will be lying on the back of the sofa waiting for you and as soon as the car pulls up he will jump out of the window and race to greet you. Thats the cute days. Love it when he does that :)
My cat waits until he hears the bang of the mail box (me checking the mail) and then runs down the path to greet me at the gate. He then escorts me all the way back to the house, chirping all the way to check that I am still behind him (bit like a submarine bouncing sonar waves!). It really makes my day seeing him racing down to greet me - especially when I've had a hard day.
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A little precision please, Paul
Holly my lovely little cat is usually in the back garden waiting for me to return home. And then it's the usual running around my legs for a petting/food and generally trying to trip me up. Once I'm home, theres no such thing as a cat door or any door for that matter that she will use, I'm her slave thats there to do her bidding. But I wouldn't have it any other way.