[nagdu] Chris: Reserved dog

[Tracy Carcione]

This is for Chris, and anyone else who might be interested. I'm not asking
for advice; I'm just saying how it is.
My Ben is a very reserved dog.  I think of it as one of his shepherd, or
cat, traits.  He will give someone the big hello for maybe a minute, then
he's over you and not interested.  In the morning, he will dance around a 
bit and rub up against me, and he wags his tail when I throw him a little
party when we reach the bus terminal after work, but otherwise he doesn't
show much emotion.  Quite often, I give him a pat and he just stands
there.  If he's lying down, he stays in stuffed animal mode and doesn't
twitch a muscle.
Sometimes he lies upside down and snorts, and I come over and give him a
belly rub.
I pat him, anyway, but I also respect his space and don't make a pest of
myself.
I've had him for 6 years now, and, in the last couple years, he's started
coming into whatever room I'm in and hanging with me a while.  He doesn't
usually come up to me when he comes in; he goes quietly to his corner and
lies down, and I give him a little pat.  This is very affectionate
behavior for my Ben.
When I first got him, I thought he hated me, but over time I realized it's
just his way, and I've come to enjoy his calm, quiet presence.  I think he
was a Zen monk or something in another life.
I also think he's a dog who doesn't give his heart lightly, and that the
big separations required of guide dog puppies were hard on him.  First his
family left him, then his trainer, and then this new person came into his
life--me.  I don't know if dogs think like this, but maybe he thought I
was just another temporary master, so why get too excited about me.

So some dogs are just reserved by nature.  He has moments when he wants to
play or be petted, but otherwise he'd rather sleep or do his own thing. 
He's not like other dogs I've known, but we love each other and are happy
together.
Tracy