dog dna

The dog that shares (runs?) our lives is a Puli--a breed of Hungarian sheep dog. The national dog of Hungary, I've been told. (We had a Puli earlier {and didn't learn our lesson!} and I was walking him in New Haven when an old Hungarian man saw him and burst into tears....)

Puli's first came to Hungary with Atilla and decided they liked it better there than on the steppes of Mongolia.

Anyway, DNA runs deep in Puli's and they are genetically incapable of letting anyone leave the house without throwing a fuss. Bela's job, after all, in the keep the herd together and not let sheep wander away. It's a real pain: he throws his 50 pound body at you to try to keep you indoors....

When our children were small and we had Finney (who's real name was Templamkirte Palak Suba--bred in Hungary by a Jesuit priest..."Templamkirte" means 'church yard') he'd herd Josh and Mimi when we were in Wooster Park, circling and circling and keeping them inside the circle.

When our granddaughters are here, Bela is always laying in front of or across the nearest door. When they start running (we have back stairs as well as front stairs--a house built to make children run) Bela freaks out and either positions himself in front of the front door or porch door.

When you gather your things or put on a coat, he starts barking and dancing between you and the front door. Very annoying.

But today Bern was making a grocery list and asked me if I needed anything--no purse or coat in sight--and he started barking that way.

"Why is he barking?" I asked rhetorically.

"He knows I'm making a shopping list," Bern said calmly, 'and will be going soon.'

She gives him more credit than I do. But who knows how deep the herding DNA runs.