Yes, reactive dogs do rely on us to advocate for them. Your dog is very lucky you do that.

But I have also learned interesting things with my past fearful dogs. Shadow was always fearful around other dogs. But she responded differently off leash. And she reacted more fearfully around male dogs than female dogs.

As long as I didn’t assume I knew everything about her, I always learned something. Just like I do now with Honey.

Sorry to hear you were so sick. But glad to know your dog family made things just a little easier on you. They sound just amazing.

I don’t believe Honey would be so understanding.

“Whenever we deal with sentient beings it’s important to stay humble; we might consider ourselves intelligent but we certainly don’t have the right to say we know what an animal is thinking all the time.”

Well put.

And glad to hear that Laika surprises you. When we have reactive dogs, we constantly brace ourselves. But it makes it hard for us to see our dogs’ progress. And to notice that they will react differently to different dogs.

But, with all my previous and other current dogs, I can rely on them, just like you do with Honey!

Yes, I remember your review. And I really did love the book. I couldn’t put it down.

I thought Nick Jans was amazing for his even-handed telling of a story that could have been really nasty in someone else’s hands.

OMD! Yes! What’s wrong with people?

When I read that part of Romeo where someone brought their little child who had a tantrum while the wolf was nearby, my heart was in my throat. And I couldn’t understand what people were thinking.

BTW, it was your assurances on The Poodle and Dog Blog that A Wolf Called Romeo wasn’t sappy that made me want to read it. I had been avoiding it up to then. So thank you.