Doggone Etiquette —

Be Thankful

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:           

This can be a tough holiday for you dogs! You may have to travel to your family’s friends or relatives, or you may stay home — with all those friends and relatives, or all alone. You might share in a turkey feast — or you might not. But the tough part is the fact that it is called Thanksgiving Day, and people are meant to show how thankful they are for all the good things in their lives, or even in the whole world. For dogs, that’s a “no can do.” If something nice happens to you, you show your appreciation on the spot! A wagging tail, a playful bounce, or a friendly nuzzle says “thanks” and that’s it. Come to think of it, any of those polite expressions of canine etiquette might be good for a second piece of turkey or a bit of sweet potato. Worth a try!

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:            

This is a busy holiday for many of us, with the arrival of family and friends and the general commotion of planning and preparing food, the house, and so forth. There should also be time to reflect on all those things for which we can be thankful. You may be grateful for the fact that it’s a workday and you’ll celebrate it as a holiday when the job is done. No matter how involved you are in this festive day, home or away, don’t forget your dog.                    

There are many things about Rufus for which you can be thankful and, while you’re at it, you can sum up the things he might be grateful for if only he knew how to remember them! I came across some ‘advice to a new house servant’ in an 1800’s etiquette book. A different world perhaps (with house servants!), but look how closely this point of view applies to our dogs: “This station of life comprises comforts, privileges and pleasures which are to be found in few other stations in which you might enter.” Isn’t that a good description of that dog curled up next to you? You bet! It goes on to say, “Fulfill your duties with honesty, integrity and respect” — just what we expect of our chow-hound.                

We can stretch our thanks for the status of all dogs even further this year, to Beijing where at long last dogs are allowed to be kept as pets. Just outside the city there is a 29-acre pet park with an agility course, swimming pools, kennels and a restaurant for the dogs and their owners. A proposal to ban the eating of dogs has been submitted to the government and now has a good chance of success. No doubt lots of dogs there are expressing their thanks with tail wags and good behavior.  

There’s another bit of news regarding the good work of dogs that should have our attention and our thanks. Plans are underway to honor the 11 sledge dogs that were owned by Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott in their race to the South Pole in 1911. The dogs will be individually recognized and honored next year in the centennial celebration of that famous event. 

So it’s not only our very own current Rufus to be thankful for on this special day. We can include the dogs that came before him and made their mark on our lives. You might also include a big thank you to those service dogs that so many people are grateful for every single day.

Until next time – BE GOOD!

- Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years, during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog Fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me!, which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award in 2008.