[Dailydrool] Dog talk

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

The only time my hounds are extremely talkative is at dinnertime. For a long while, Holly was the only chatty one. As I made dinner for the crew, she would mumble, just in back of the gate to the kitchen, obviously complaining about how long it took me to get her food in the bowl. At one point, by ignoring her, I almost got her to stop. But my sister-in-law came to visit and laughed at her--she made me laugh too--and after that Holly seemed to think her noises were funny. She started up again and has never stopped. I can ignore her, yell at her, do whatever. She's still chatty.

Dexter never made a sound at dinnertime. He might play with a squeaky toy, to let me know how hungry he was, but no vocalizations. Until we got Horton, that is. Shortly after we added Horton to our pack, he started chatting me up as soon as started making dinner. Now I prepare meals to a hound duet.

When it's not feeding time, Dex will make noise when he needs to go out to do his business, but it's not very protracted. Horton only barks when he sees another canine on the street--a habit Holly got him into, since she gets positively operatic about another dog or human on HER street.

I must admit that I am often amused by basset noise, but I understand that my neighbors may not share my enthusiasm. So I try to keep it to a dull roar. No one has complained to me about the hounds, but I do want to be considerate. When Holly is in full howl, she is very noisy indeed!
 
Pam, food slave to the howling Dashing Bassets (except for Horton, who is too young to have a real howl yet)