#aengus mcdangus

[dovesndecay]

[img: three photos with slight motion blur of a medium white and orange dog carrying two toys in his mouth. His ears are flat, giving him a worried expression. I promise, he just really had to go out and I kept taking pictures./end]

He didn't want to put Boo down in order to pick up Duckie. Aengus "Two Toys Mouth" McDangus.

[spacelazarwolf]

I'm sorry you keep having to deal with idiots; Aengus McDangus would absolutely guard your inbox if he could

your dog looks kind of like wishbone!!

[dovesndecay]

that duckie became his favorite thing so fast

[dovesndecay]

throw the duckie mother

[dovesndecay]

I thought it was just anxiety because we had watched a gunshot-heavy film last night, but Aengus has been non-stop pacing since last night, and has basically refused to lay down all day except for a couple hours of sleep he caught with me this morning.

He seems to not be able to take even light pressure to his rump without yelping and looking at me like I tried to murder him with my bare hands, and I am trying not to borrow trouble but also. That's my Boy and I am Concern.

[dovesndecay]

Even while the sky is falling, all I have to do is throw his baby (an old Hedwig stuffie) across the room and he's ecstatic.

[dovesndecay]

The indignity of Aengo's first jammies. He's so fucking cute I'm gonna die.

(the cone was causing Problems™️, so this will help his poor itchy skin to heal without him gnawing at it.)

[dovesndecay]

As you said you're open to questions, and I've never seen a "needs space" leash before - is there like, an accepted universal response/behaviour around a dog with such a thing? Like, I know not to bother service dogs, and to respect a therapy dog needing personal space after they're done providing therapy, that sort of thing, and in like, a big park I'd just keep going on my path/sitting where I am/whatevs and trust them and their human to handle the situation as they see fit, because there is the space for them to do so, but what if, say, one is coming towards me on the sidewalk, and thus the space is limited? Should I still continue as normal, or try to provide more space on purpose, maybe by walking closer to the side the dog isn't so their human can be a barrier?

I love my boy, so I'm going to intersperse some of my favorite pictures of him throughout this.

The day he came home vs a year later.

So, Aengus is fear reactive and incredibly anxious around people and animals he doesn't know -- sort of an automatic "I think these people are a danger to me and my human" thought process that means he does great big boofs, and sometimes will lunge at anyone who gets too close.

He was, unfortunately, already traumatized by the time he came to me -- he'd been anemic, stung by wasps, his poor little paws were rubbed raw from walking on hot concrete, and he was terrified of people.

"Too close," for him, generally means within 10 feet, for people he doesn't know well.

I can usually keep him focused on our walks or a specific task ("sit" and "wait" are both ones he's gotten pretty good at) when just passing by people, provided that they ignore us (unless they also have a dog, and then it's, "okay, time to detour to get home faster and without an interaction").

In an ideal world, I would have the money to get him the behavioral training I know he needs, and the supervised socialization time with other dogs I wish he had. I want it for him so much, but... yeah. I lack the money for someone who knows what they're doing, and I'm too disabled to try and DIY it on a consistent enough basis to be beneficial to him. So we muddle through as best we can.

He's my baby, and I love him so so much

When I take him out, the ideal behavior from people in the distance who see the "Needs Space" tag on his leash is that they will simply ignore us. Feel free to privately coo over how adorable he is, and even a friendly wave is fine from a distance. I love seeing people see him and have the "!!!!! I saw a dog!!!!" moment. It makes me very happy!!!

But, in the situation of crossing paths, yes, making it so that the owner is between you and the dog is the best choice. Personally, as the person responsible for my dog, I will usually do that immediately when I see someone coming our direction, and keep the leash tight and him close to me for both their safety and his. But sometimes folks will just see DOG and their self-preservation instinct shuts down with a quickness.

I can't tell you the number of times I've had children old enough to have been taught better just run up to us, completely unbothered by the fact that he is trying to protect me with his big ol' boofs of "get the fuck away" because Oh Cute Dog Trumps Animal Safety. I have to be like, "He's not friendly, sorry sorry sorry" and cut short our morning walks a million times. Which isn't fair to either of us.

he loves rough-housing so much and he makes the best honking sounds

The handful of times I've taken him to one of the local walking paths, I have him sit on the side of the trail, holding him tight in a sit+wait, and having him wait until the other person has passed us. Sometimes, he's very good and not at all interested in the other person. Sometimes, it's more of a fight to keep him distracted.

So, I guess my overall advice is:

"Be aware of the potentially dangerous animal in your immediate vicinity, maintain reasonable and available distance, and take your cues from the owner. Prioritize your own safety, and that of the animal."

Something I wish more people used to inform their behavior around strange dogs -- but admittedly, my dog in particular, is that if someone (or more likely, in my neighborhood, their unleashed and uncontrolled dog 😡) just runs up on Aengus, and he freaks out and bites them, he's the one that dies.

I ask him, "Where's your baby?" and he brings me his lamb-chop. (This toy has since disintegrated, and I haven't been able to replace it, unfortunately.)

So thank you so, so much for asking about this.

Don't get me wrong -- I don't want people to be afraid of my dog; he's a big ol doofus that trips over his own very long legs and sleeps with stuffies.

He learned how to throw his toys at me, and now he refuses to hand them to me when we play fetch -- he just lobs them at me from his mouth. He pounces on his toys like an arctic fox jumps into snow, and sometimes he sleeps like an AT-AT.

See?

But every dog has the capacity to be dangerous, and I wish people would spend more time asking these questions so I can give them the answers that keep them and reactive dogs safe.

[dovesndecay]

I did not realize that the blue dog stuffy I put on the wishlist was going to be so smol, but watching him carry it around is so fucking cute I can't function

[dovesndecay]

they have no concept of how often they save my brain from eating itself

[dovesndecay]

Every day i roll over and he's there

[dovesndecay]

evidence that 1) my cat loves my dog more than me, and 2) my dog loves cats more than anything.

[dovesndecay]

Some kind soul sent Aengus one of the stuffed toys off the household wishlist, and he is having the TIME OF HIS LIFE chewing on it.

[img: a series of photos of a white and orange mixed breed dog sniffing and chewing on a blue and yellow crinkle stuffed duckie. /end]

[dovesndecay]

the boy The Boy THE BOY

[dovesndecay]

I throw his baby 6 feet away, he gets to bring it back to me, and he's the happiest dog there ever was.

[dovesndecay]

@renthony 's weighted blanket fell off the back of the couch and he curled right up under it. I guess I'm gonna have to finally get one 🥺