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By Root 721 0

all the sounds he makes, and all the sounds he notices. Even the way the dog moves, an action so familiar as to make him recognizable at a distance, is transformed on closer examination: what gait does he use? A medium-sized dog may stride forward in the classic walk, the rear foot on one side of the body slowly chasing the front foot to the ground, the diagonal paws moving almost in sync. Hurrying a little, he trots, the diagonal legs now in tandem, occasionally finding himself with only one paw of four fully on the ground. Between the trot and the walk is the gait of the short-legged: typical of the bulldog, front-heavy with a wide stance, his rear end rolling as he walks. Leggy dogs do better at the gallop, the run of greyhounds, wherein the two rear feet precede the two front to the ground, the dog's body alternating between outstretched, and airborne and spring-loaded. In the gallop that fifth toelike digit partway up the front leg of most dogs—the dew claw—is used for stability and leverage; at a gallop's end you might find the usually clean dew claw with a dollop of mud under it. Toy-sized dogs half-bound, bringing their two hind legs forward at once but uncoupling their front footfalls. Other dogs pace, their left legs moving forward and falling at once, followed quickly by the right. Mesmerize yourself trying to keep track of the complexity of your dog's gait.

SPY ON HIM

To understand what your dog's day at home without you might be like, by all means videotape it. One of the distinct pleasures I got with Pumpernickel was seeing her act without me. Despite hours of videorecording, I rarely turned my camera on to her. It was only when she didn't expect me—when a friend had taken her out, and I arrived unannounced—that I got to see her carry on without me.

It was spectacular to see. You can re-create this kind of spectacle by setting up a videotape at your home when you leave for the day. I recommend this "eavesdropping" not because it reliably reveals spectacles—it does not—but because it allows you to see your dog's life without you there. You will more fully understand what his day might be like by watching a snippet of the day pass later, minute by minute.

What I saw in my eavesdropping was Pump's independence, freed not just from the need to check back with me, but from the kind of scrutiny to which I subjected all her behavior. She existed capably without me, for the hours that I milled about in the bookstore, had an extra-long run, went elsewhere for dinner followed by elsewhere still for drinks. This was at once reassuring and fully humbling. I am glad that she managed the day on her own, yet I am sometimes mystified that I ever left her alone at all.

Most dogs are simply alone all day with little to do, expected to wait it out until we return, and then act just as we want them to. And we are surprised and horrified when they actually do something in our absence! That dogs endure this (and much worse misinterpretation and neglect) is almost part of their constitution. We can, and do, get away with it. But dogs are individuals. It is for this reason that they require—and deserve—more attention to their umwelt, to their experience, to their point of view.

DON'T BATHE YOUR DOG EVERY DAY

Let them smell like a dog as long as you can stand it. Some dogs will even develop painful skin sores from regular bathing. And no dog wants to smell like a bathtub that has had a dog in it.

READ THE DOG'S TELLS

Like novice poker players, dogs reveal what could be called their "tells"—their intent, their "hand"—with every move, if you simply look. The configuration of the face, head, body, and tail are all meaningful. And there is more to it than whether the tail is wagging or the dog is barking: dogs can say more than one thing at a time. A barking dog whose tail fans the sky is not "about to attack" but is instead more curious, alert, uncertain—and interested. A furiously wagging low tail undermines the aggressiveness of a familiar dog snarling as he guards a ball.

Given the salience of