June 8th 2005 5:25 am
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If I had to list any faults for Lilah, it would be her somewhat overenthusiastic greeting of any new friends. The great thing about Lilah is that she is incredibly responsive to any commands, and that includes "down." With her size and weight, a jumpy greeting could easily knock down a small child or unsteady adult. However, in situations where she was so happy to see a new friend, it only takes one or two suggestions to settle down and Lilah will then calm a bit (although her tail still rotates a million miles an hour).

We asked some friends to visit with their two big dogs (a white shepard and a foxhound mix) to see how Lilah would do with additional dogs. As suspected, she managed quite well, playing with everyone and romping around the yard. It was interesting to watch the dynamics as the new pack postured and positioned for dominance. I always enjoy watching the social politics of these encounters, and learn quite a bit about each dog as they weave through their dance. It was during this play time that Lilah cut loose with that famous hound bark-howl! If you have not had the chance to experience the sound that Foxhounds (and Beagles and Bassets) can generate, then my friend you are missing out on one of nature's most interesting sounds.

The play and romping was going great guns, and got so frenetic that Lilah was forced to introduce the additional element of sound as her full body wiggles and tongue flopping could not fully express her excitement. Once the baying started, each of the dogs in the yard decided to add their own voices. This cacophonous symphony then extended beyond my yard and out into the neighborhood, with Lilah in lead! We finally had to tone everyone down when Bear, my small Shelty/Ausse mix added his voice (a high reedy tenor, with piercing overtones). Once we convinced Lilah and Bear to terminate their song, a slowly spreading wave of silence blanketed the neighborhood.