Dogs of Antigua
I've made some observations in my time here about the dogs of Antigua, and I thought you might enjoy hearing them. First of all, the streets here are full of stray dogs, and you occasionally see people's pets in the street as well. So all of my observations are based on the dogs of the street. I have decided there are 5 categories of dogs here in Antigua: 1) skinny brown dogs 2) skinny black dogs 3) skinny black-and-brown dogs 4) fat dogs 5)house dogs.
All of the dogs in group1 and 2 seem to be related to the dogs of the same group, as they all look pretty much identical. The dogs of group 3, I assume, are the offspring of the cross-breading between groups 1 and 2 -- hence the mixed coat color. And group 4 I don't have much explanation for. But there is a huge weimaraner-ish dog that I walk past on my way to the internet café, and he takes up the whole sidewalk. Group 5 is composed mostly of the personal pets that I occasionally see, like the two miniature French poodles in my house, or the rottweiler that I've seen a couple times walking it's owner down the street. They don't really fit into any of the other catagories.
One other observation that I've made is that the mangy mutts that you pass on the street (groups 1 through 4 above) seem to be much more mellow and easy going than the house pets that you encounter. They don't bark at people, they don't bite, nothing. Of course, that might be a learned behavior after generations of being abused by pedestrians when they get out of line. I don't know. But the most high-strung dogs seem to be those that spend most of their time indoors. If you walk past a house with one of these dogs at the wrong time, or in the wrong manner, you are likely to get barked at with a ferocious bark that would scare the poop out of your average school girl. Especially if it comes from the large german-shepherd-looking dog who likes to stick his face out the window and show off his teeth.
Anyway, those are my observations about dogs in Antigua. Hope you enjoyed them.
Oh, and one final observation - most of the dogs here understand more Spanish than I.
All of the dogs in group1 and 2 seem to be related to the dogs of the same group, as they all look pretty much identical. The dogs of group 3, I assume, are the offspring of the cross-breading between groups 1 and 2 -- hence the mixed coat color. And group 4 I don't have much explanation for. But there is a huge weimaraner-ish dog that I walk past on my way to the internet café, and he takes up the whole sidewalk. Group 5 is composed mostly of the personal pets that I occasionally see, like the two miniature French poodles in my house, or the rottweiler that I've seen a couple times walking it's owner down the street. They don't really fit into any of the other catagories.
One other observation that I've made is that the mangy mutts that you pass on the street (groups 1 through 4 above) seem to be much more mellow and easy going than the house pets that you encounter. They don't bark at people, they don't bite, nothing. Of course, that might be a learned behavior after generations of being abused by pedestrians when they get out of line. I don't know. But the most high-strung dogs seem to be those that spend most of their time indoors. If you walk past a house with one of these dogs at the wrong time, or in the wrong manner, you are likely to get barked at with a ferocious bark that would scare the poop out of your average school girl. Especially if it comes from the large german-shepherd-looking dog who likes to stick his face out the window and show off his teeth.
Anyway, those are my observations about dogs in Antigua. Hope you enjoyed them.
Oh, and one final observation - most of the dogs here understand more Spanish than I.
posted by kentbrantly at 3:06 PM
2 Comments:
Interesting insight though I'm guessing the last two classes are only found in places like Antigua and Guate. I know what you mean about the dogs; it's also a humbling experience when the four year old you live with understands what the adults are saying better than you do.
Have a blessed week!
Thank you for the laugh.
Love you!
Carole
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