Country Dog, City Dawg

You can take the dog out of the country, but can’t take the dog out of the city.. wait, hm. I forget how that goes.

Anyway, I was born in the city, raised in the country, and now currently back and forth between the two. So I know what it’s like on both sides of the fence. They both have their ups and downs, and are both great in their own ways. Being the small dogs that we are, living in the city really isn’t all that bad. But for a bigger dog, I can see how that could be restrictive.

But hey, that doesn’t mean you have to get less exercise! It just means you have to plan for it a little differently. Some people say that us small dogs don’t need as much exercise as a big dog. That may be true in general, but we often have more energy to burn – which pretty much means just as much exercise.

If I had to choose a place to live, I would have to choose the country. Fresh air, peace & quiet, and plenty of critters to chase without having to worry about busy roads and such. What’s great is that whenever I want to go outside, I just have to go up to the door and give a little tap. Then Mum opens the door and I go out for however long I want. I just knock (scratch) to come back inside. And there isn’t even a fence! I just know my territory. Actually, funny story – when I was a puppy, Dad would walk me around the unmarked boundary lines of our property and pee along the way so I would know where it was. He thought it was smart. I just thought he was weird.

At my country home in Quebec, we don’t even have to drive anywhere to get to some nice hiking paths through the woods. Plus, there’s a lake right there in case I want to do some boating (with a life jacket of course! – got some heat for that on Facebook today). So here’s a picture of me and my brother Oakley on a boat.

What I love about being there is I can just laze about in the yard, soak up some sun and keep an eye out for any squirrels or other creatures. I’ve never even got lost there. Well actually one time everyone thought I was lost, but I really wasn’t. Of course, it was Dad who was in charge of watching me that day while Mum went out for a while. When Mum got home she saw Dad outside looking for me, looking very worried. He said they had been looking for me for almost two hours. They continued the search all around the area for another half hour or so before they realized that I had somehow gotten in the extra bedroom and closed the door behind me. I just thought it was funny so I didn’t bark or make any noise. They didn’t find that situation very funny at the time though..

Here’s a picture of Dad showing me a little birdie.

But there are certain dangers to living in the country, as well. For one thing, I have to watch out for bigger predators. I may be a tough guy, but even I’ll admit that I probably couldn’t take on a wolf or bear (which are both in my area). There was one time when a big black bear came to snoop through our garbage out front. I saw him through the window. I think that’s probably the maddest I’ve ever been. I looked like a lion the way my hair was standing up. To make matters worse, Laffie (my Mum’s family dog), escaped through the back sliding door and took off after the bear! My Dad and my Mum’s Dad had to go running after her. Luckily, everyone returned in one piece.

This is what we saw from our window!

But if I ever met a bear, I would know exactly what to do. Dad taught me my trick, “bang!” for a reason. I would just do that and play dead until it went away. Pretty smart, huh! I bet you wish you taught your dog that now.

When I moved to my condo in the city, I didn’t quite grasp the concept of ‘neighbors’ at first. I was on edge all the time, and considered everyone in my building an intruder. I gradually got used to that, and am now relaxed there. I like going to the park and chasing squirrels. City squirrels are the best because they are fat and slow. I was literally an inch away from snagging one the other time.

Here’s me taking a nice bike ride.

The other thing that is great about the city is all the chicks. I’ve never seen so many dogs before, let alone all these sexy dachshund ladies. That’s why I refer to myself as a ‘dawg’ when I’m in the city. And I get tons of comments on my sense of fashion and my chiseled, muscular body that you can only really get from living in the country (or working out a heck of a lot).

Being in the city usually means I get to go on a lot of car rides. Here’s a picture of me waiting for Mum to get back from the store.

Plus, there are Petsmarts in the city! I love Petsmart, and really any store that sells squeaky toys. It’s always a big event to go squeaky shopping.

But in the city I usually have to stay on a leash, which sucks. I am good at heeling though and can walk down the sidewalk without one, but Mum always insists I wear one anyway (with Dad I don’t always, but we don’t tell Mum that). That’s the bad part about the city. There are cars everywhere, and thus – danger, especially with all those tempting squirrels darting back and forth. Then there are the sly street cats. I had never met a cat before I came to the city, and still the only ones I’ve seen are hoodlums and street-goers. So you might say things between us are still pretty tense.

I also don’t understand why Mum carries around those lavender-scented bags to pick my poop up with – and only when we’re in the city. She doesn’t do that in the country. I’m starting to think she might have some weird obsession. I’ll try and bring up the subject with her sometime.

Anyway, they are plenty more pros and cons to both places than what I’ve outlined here. So tell me, where do you live? And what do you like/dislike about where you live?

Keep dawgin‘,

~ Crusoe