I have mentioned many times in the past that there are a couple of things that my dog Nadi, really dislikes. For the most part she is a very easy-going dog that simply enjoys doing almost anything. The level of excitement that she routinely goes through for something so standard as simply going on a "lazy walk" around the block a few times or accompanying me to the gym... well that joy never stops making me smile because I wish I could be that excited about doing things that are just everyday experiences. However, there are a couple of things that are necessary in her life that she is the opposite of excited about and the number one thing that brings her fear and dread is going to the doggy haircut salon.
Here she is right after we got home from the salon but it is the journey to the salon that is the most interesting. Dogs are a lot smarter than we give them credit for and the walk to the dog salon, which is only about 300 meters from my condo, is a route that we normally do not take for walks because there isn't much grass and the roads are busier than the usual paths that we take on our walks. Nadi definitely knows what a walk down this street means and she starts to lag behind and look at me like "Noooooo!" She doesn't tug at the leash or try to get away but it is kind of cute that she is very aware of what walking down this road means. It must be very disappointing to her because walks are one of her favorite things and to have the joy that she normally experiences during walks turn into terror must be a tough thing for her.
They have been her groomers for years now and I know that they treat her nice and they know her. Nadi is a very agreeable dog and is nice to almost anyone that she knows so they say that she is one of their favorite dogs to give haircuts to because she is so calm and compliant. They do say that she freaks out when it comes time to cut her nails but I think that almost all dogs are like that. When I return to pick her up she freaks out with happiness jumping up on me and when I pick her up she goes nuts with joy that I have returned to rescue her. I don't think she realizes what this place is or why it is necessary, but I do think she is clever enough to know that I ALWAYS come back and afterwards she always gets treated to an extra-special day of treats and attention.
but first, she is normally very exhausted from the 1.5 hours that she has to be washed, prodded, shaved, and clipped so a well-deserved nap is normally the first order of business.
Nadi is about 10 inches tall and weighs 6.2 kg (like how i mixed up the measurements to confuse everyone at the same time?) I am 6 feet tall and 93kg, yet half of the sofa is dedicated to her and she will whine on the floor if my legs are blocking "her" part of the sofa. I always relent and let her have it despite the fact that there are 3 other really comfy dog beds throughout my apartment.
After a nap which normally contains her barking at things that she is dreaming about, we will go and showcase her new look to the neighborhood. I am an interesting character here because not everyone knows me and even fewer people know my name, but EVERYONE knows who I am because I am the rather large person that is always walking around with his fluffy little dog friend. I will admit that this has been a great advantage when it comes to striking up conversation with strangers. People will be like "I think I know you from somewhere" and it always boils down to me being the guy who is constantly walking his dog. I do not mind that people recognize me from this at all.
On our longer-than-average walk we stopped at a place called *Gordon's Pizza" that is run by a guy from NYC who does a reasonable job at replicating a New York slice. They are totally cool with Nadi coming in there but I always sit outside because even though they would probably be ok with us sitting inside I don't like to take advantage of businesses' generosity. Nadi always gets lots of pats and attempted cuddles from the staff when we are there and we have a special table that we sit at outside.
It is at this point that I put her through a little bit of "doggy torture" that often results in some incredible pictures.
Nadi is very patient after more than 10 years of having a caretaker that seriously looks after her (me) and she will always just remain on that chair until I tell her to do otherwise. I talk about how I could leave the establishment and walk down the street and if I told her "stay" she would remain in that chair even after I return. I am sure this patience would expire at some point but one day while I was here we did an experiment: I told her to stay and then walked down the street to the minimart to pick up some groceries and while I was gone one of the staff was instructed to pick her up and pet her, then put her back on the ground. After the staff member put her back on the ground Nadi immediately jumped back up and returned to her assigned "stay" area. I was so proud of her when I heard this information.
I do not give Nadi a lot of human food because we need to keep her weight down around 6kg and she is also allergic to a ton of things and I don't know what all of them are. I did give her a few scraps of the crust and she is just ecstatic to receive this. Then we proceeded to walk to another place where I got an Oreo coffee drink but didn't have a chance to take a photo because some stranger was talking my head off the entire time I was there. His nationality will remain a secret unless someone asks.
By the time we got home we had walked a total of 4km together, which isn't much for me but might be a new record for the dog. That is a long ways to go when your legs are only 6 inches long. She gulped down a ton of water, got yet another treat, and then headed straight to the sofa and fell asleep within 2 minutes. I really admire a dog's ability to do this because as is normal for me, I seriously struggled to obtain slumber at that same time.
If you have any cute pictures of your dog or dogs, I as always, would like to see them