Tuesday, March 5, 2013

You smell what I mean?

As I've often told you, loyal readers, I'm an expert on all kinds of topics. I want to share with you something I know about dogs. Actually, I don't know it so much as presume it. I guess you could say it's a theory I've developed about dogs. Let's call it my Theory of Shaggy Dog Eyesight.

Our goldendoodle, Cooper (a.k.a. Cooper the Super Pooper when I want to make little kids laugh, or I'm cleaning up the yard), has thick, shaggy fur. Not quite sheepdog shaggy, but close. When it gets long, it hangs in front of his eyes. We've all seen dogs like this, right? Do you ever wonder why it doesn't bother the dog, causing him to scratch incessantly at his forehead in an effort to remove the offending facial fur? I kind of wondered that...


What fur? Hey, someone across town is cooking bacon!

Then I got thinking. Dogs rely more on their sense of smell, or so we're told by "real" dog experts. It's their primary sense, with eyesight coming in second at best--maybe a close third after hearing.

Does it bother you to wear scented lipgloss? Of course not. But think about it--you smear it on right below your nose. This kind of thing would probably drive Cooper nuts.* Since we rely on sight as our primary sense, we are bugged by something hanging in front of our eyes, but an ever-present scent right by our noses is not a problem. Cooper's out-of-control eyebrows are like a heavy dose of wintergreen Chapstick in front of his second-favorite sense organ.

...and I'm not sure why this is important enough to write about on my blog. It's just something I was thinking about.


* Actually, Cooper doesn't need to be driven nuts. I think he's already there. That's part of what makes him such a fun pet!

4 comments:

  1. This reminds me of my second favorite line from Ghostbusters: "Shhh... Do you smell something?" The first, of course, being, "If someone asks you if you are a god, YOU SAY YES!" Not sure if that is important enough to write in the comments, but there you go.

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  2. Those are both good ones, Jill.

    I also like "Old Testament, real wrath of God type stuff: Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky, rivers and seas boiling, 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes, the dead rising from the grave, human sacrifice, DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER, MASS HYSTERIA!"

    Bill Murray got most of the funny lines in those movies.

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    Replies
    1. A friend of mine caddied for bill Murray, who apparently can be just as funny in real life.
      According to him (bill), "Best golf movie ever? Caddyshack. Worst golf movie ever? Caddyshack 2."

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  3. I think as long as dogs can see under the hair tehy don't mind.
    You knw, to locate feet, so they can find the next leg tehy want to hump.

    Or is that just the dogs I know? (It was terrible when I cooked in a steakhouse. Instant puppy lust.)

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