Smash-faced Dogs, Appeal of

At long, long last, after two days of refusing to help, Blogger has decided to allow me to post photos. Egad. You don't want to know how many times I've tried to make this modest post. Yikes, it's ridiculous. It would have been a nice break from blogging if I hadn't been totally Type A about it the whole time, trying, trying, trying...A pox upon Blogger.

A large part of the appeal of smash-faced dogs is that they look so much like people. I've watched strangers greet and play with Chet Baker, and I'm absolutely sure that they treat him differently than they would, say, a whippet or an Irish wolfhound. I think you could get away with treating all dogs the same, but these googly-eyed Bostons elicit much more affection from most people than do other breeds of dog. They've been bred to look like human babies, let's face it. It works for me. As far as having more kids, I'm done with a bullet. Phoebe and Liam are all we ever wanted, and they are the living end. Enter Chet Baker.

The really neat part of it is that they fall right into the role, and love being adored. Chet Baker loves to make us laugh, and he likes playing the fool. Here is Baker, en babushka. When he wears a head scarf, he sings Tin Pan Alley songs and tries to bum cigarettes and change from the kids. It's essential to get that bottom lip rolled out for maximum effect. I can get them laughing so hard they can't breathe when we do this.

Overcome with happiness after a good round of Gremlin's Gold, Baker lets it all hang out, laughing a Boston guffaw.

Here, he 's doing something we call catpawing. We hide a toy where he can almost reach it, and watch him try to work it out with his paws. Is it any wonder one of his nicknames is ToddlerDog?
He does take after his father.