A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of.
— Ogden Nash – A Dog’s Best Friend Is His Illiteracy
Cami, the fuzzy white dog is notable not only for her blue eyes, but also for her prodigious "woo." Unlike our other dogs, Cami is able to sort of pucker up her face and make a resounding "woo woo" sound, when she’s got something to say.
However, Cami only woos when she is suitably motivated. As a basically willful animal, she doesn’t woo on command or even reliably. No one particular thing can incite a woo. She has figured out that I think it’s really cute though.
For a while, Cami would woo when she needed to go out. That woo was a useful woo. Since she has a small bladder, knowing when it’s "outing time" can be key. During the course of the day, Cami also tends to woo around 3 pm. This woo may mean a) she’s got to go out b) she doesn’t really *need* to go out, but she *wants* to run around and stomp the other dogs c) she’s bored and basically feels like being a nuisance.
Even though it’s probably a futile exercise, I continue to try and figure out when Cami’s vocalizations are meaningful. After all, it’s really handy to have a dog tell you when she needs to go out. So I carefully look for signs that the woo might be different in some way. (Maybe this time the woo really means something!)
For example, 15 minutes ago Cami wooed. We went outside, stood in the rain, and stared at each other. Cami did nothing except sniff and stare. Clearly, I am going to have to accept the fact that sometimes woos have no meaning. They’re just cute 😉