The dog’s gaze of blame…

I swear he’s not my accessory…BUT…

We all know that dogs can’t speak, at least not using their vocal cords to create words understandable by humans.
But please, look at the picture of my Boston Terrier & constant companion, Ellert. His whole posture and gaze tell me, very loud and clear, that he hates me a little right there and then. The reason? Boots and coat! It’s bad enough that I occasionally force him to wear the sweater when it’s too cold and wet. But the boots…that’s the ultimate humiliation, it seems.

Nasty northern weather

We live in the centre of Stockholm. And in Stockholm, they use pebbles and salt on the roads and pavements, which is a nightmare for tiny paws. Sooooo, how do I explain that to my little Ellert, one could ask oneself? It’s not like he’s going to understand what I mean. Salt makes the snow melt into slush. The slush seeps between the toes freezes, and causes leg cramps. The salt also dries out the paws, creates infections, and so on… It’s nasty!

Funny walking

In a moment of what I thought was a genius idea, I took him out without the coat and boots in the blizzard. And indeed, the walk ended merely one yard from the door without him even doing his business. We returned, and I quickly dressed him in his coat and boots to venture out again to see if my little four-legged darling realized the difference it made. He sighed and took a few steps, lifting his front legs most hilariously (Ok, I admit it, I was laughing so hard I thought I was going to pop a vein somewhere), but I honestly thought he would get used to it once he’d taken a few steps as he wore similar boots last year. Alas, that was not the case.

Grumpy dog

Every few steps, he’d stop and look at me with those big brown, slightly squinty eyes and a hortative snort urging me to take him home again. The blizzard stopped. But my darling boy was dead set on returning home again and simply wouldn’t budge (that’s when I took this picture) until I told him we were going back home, and my body was turned towards the right direction. Then he snorted again before he started his funny trotting all the 90, give or take, yards back home. My grumpy little man did his business just outside the door as if to say, ” See? We don’t need to take walks in this god-forsaken weather for me to do my business!”

Fluffy blankets & hidden treats

The first thing he did when we got back after I had peeled off all the stuff I had forced him to wear was to solemnly get back to his bed after circumstantially making it comfy with his favourite fluffy blanket, never to look up again until it was time for food.
I can’t blame him. I’m not much for the cold and snow either. But I want him to get a healthy, daily dose of exercise and mental stimulation. But apparently, that’s not an option on days like these…I just have to use his favourite treat, hide it somewhere, make him find it, and hope it will suffice during the worst wintry days.

A Siberian Husky, he is not…