Why We Love Dogs So Much?

我们为何这么热爱动物？因为，每逢你凝望着它们，它们的眼睛是如此清澈，是如此纯洁，眼里没有别的——唯有你。它们遵循于自然法则，安分守理。相反 ，人类却无法规矩绳墨，甚至为了自身利益而知法犯法。
Why do we love animals so much? When you looking at their eyes, you got nothing but you. Their eyes are clear enough to show the whole reflections of yourself–so pure and innocent. They live in obedience to mother nature. They keep following nature’s rule while the man is likely to break it, even break their own law to seek for self-interests.

动物，大自然的产物，始终活在当下，陪伴着我们玩耍、饮食、休憩。当它们岁月沧桑，长眠于逝，随着自然，融入其中，却成为了另一种形态的艺术——历史文化。
Animals, nature’s creation, don’t give up as they still have something to give, to play, to eat, to sleep, to accompany with us. When they pass away, they’d go with nature, to become part of it, to be another form of arts–HISTORY & CULTURE.

狗狗，因其忠诚而声名远扬。他们永不会背叛你，总是真心诚意地爱着你。无论你是何种人士，不论你是穷困潦倒，还是其貌不扬，亦或愚不可及，它们总会在你一旁默默地陪伴着，给予着不同方式的爱。
Regarding dogs, it has already got a reputation for their loyalty. They never stab you in the back, always love you with all their hearts. No matter what kind of person you are, no matter you are down and out, no matter you are unattractive, or no matter you are mentally challenged, they still be with you to offer your companionships and their way of love.

生于4月30日，我家小狗天生是位探路者，总爱翻箱倒柜，到处寻宝。对于周围陌生环境，他的好奇心早已克服了恐惧。出生后的2个月，我从房东那领养走了他。我用旧衣物为他做了小床，并用破旧的背包链，为他做了背带和狗链，方便日后散步时使用。他总能知道我们下班回家的准确时间，甚至我比平常早回去，他也能提前10分钟感知到。有时，我会蹑手蹑脚地去开门，却无法骗到他，伴随着小声呜咽，尾巴猛烈地摇摆，他早已在门口恭候着。
My puppy was born on April 30, who are programmed to be a pathfinder. He loved exploring every corner around him. His curiosity overcame the fear of unknown surroundings. Two months later, I adopted him from our landlady. I made a bed for him by using the old cloth. And I made a harness for him to go for a walk when the time’s right as well. He always knew that the exact time we come home, he even knows that I will be home in ten-minute earlier than usual. The crazy thing that I even tiptoe over to the apartment, he just knows it, whimpering a little and waiting behind the door with his tail wagging fiercely.

定点就餐时，倘若饥饿找寻到了他，起初会到处跟着我，然后趁我刚巧靠近狗盆时，他便停下来，看看空空的食盆，再扭头看看我。倘若心情愉快，他会伸出前爪碰碰我的脚，响亮地犬吠一声，邀请我和他一起玩。品行端正的狗狗能给你的生活质量加分不少，我们的小家伙循规蹈矩，遵从于我们的家规。凭借恰当的训练，以及超强的耐心，通过我们的指令，他已经学会了坐下、躺下、别动、离开、勿嗅、睡觉、吃或不吃、玩或不玩、放开或去拿。
If the hunger finds him at the fixed time, the pup will follow me everywhere, then he’d stop at his empty bowl and look at me. If the joy triggers his brain, along with a cheerful bark, he’d like to touch my feet with his forepaws to invite me to play with him. A well-behaved dog will make your life quality even better. My pup follows our family rules and gets along with them pretty well. Through positive training and great patience, he has learned sit, lie down, stay, eat or don’t eat, stay away, no sniffing, when to play or no playing, when to let it go or go fetch, and go to bed as we give the orders.

为此，我撰写了这篇文章，期望各位喜爱动物的童鞋们，能对狗狗们有更多的了解。欢迎与我互动，在底下留言，将你们的故事或想法一起与大家分享下吧。
I write this article to let you, the animal lovers, know your dogs better. Feel free to leave comments and share your stories or thoughts with us below.

训练关 | Training Part:
第一天，刚踏入新家，小家伙便留下了第一个记号——尿在了地垫上。于是乎，我顺水推舟 ，除去尿味后，用过期的报纸包裹整块地垫，放置于角落处，开始了上厕训练。我跳过了笼子训练，因为他从小就在房东家的院子里野惯了。
The little fellow left his first mark by peeing on the mat as he entered our home. So I went along with it, starting the potty training right off the bat by putting the mat in the corner and wrapped with the outdated newspapers as I removed the sense of his urine. I skipped the crate training since he got used to being wild outside at landlady’s yard.

对于这一阶段的训练，我用一片片的小鸡肉丝作为奖励机制。每次他在指定地点排尿，亦或方便都会立刻给予奖励。幸运的是，这只2个月大的幼犬学习能力很快，差不多两天已知晓哪里是他如厕的VIP间了。
I used positive reinforcement for his potty training. I rewarded him a small slice of chicken meat every time he peed or defecated on the designed spot. This two-month-old puppy was a fast learner. It took him two days to figure out where his VIP restroom was.

换牙期 | Teething:
在该年龄段的幼犬，因换牙导致牙齿很不舒服，忍不住到处咬，更不用说，他的主人了。现阶段的他还未明白什么是人？想当然觉得人是他的玩伴，是他的兄弟姐妹。为纠正随便咬的习惯，每次他咬手或家具用品等，便引导他去咬他自己喜爱的玩具。每当他玩得忘乎所以，咬我手时，我便大叫一声“不可以”，然后立刻离开，并停止与它玩耍。经过几天的重复性训练后，他逐渐将人类的兴趣转移到了啃咬骨头和空塑料瓶上。
At this very young age, he’s teething that end up biting everything, let alone human beings. In his little developing head, he still considered human as the playmate like another puppy sibling. To correct this, I offered him the right play toy instead when he tries to bite me or furniture. If he bit my hand, I’d cry out loud with a NO, then stopped playing with him and walked away immediately. Having been stepped up to the plate for days, he finally took his interests off people and went for his beloved bones and empty water bottle.

分离焦虑症 | Separation Anxiety:
众所周知，刚离开母亲怀抱的幼犬，第一晚会呜咽，犬吠个不停。好在，我是看着他出生长大的，为此他早已认为我也是他的母亲。新家的那晚出奇平静，安逸地睡在我床边。然而，分离对他来说却是极为痛苦，几分钟不见我，就疯狂地四处寻觅。因此，我关上门假装短暂离开，待他安静下来后，进屋爱抚他。随后，逐渐加长离开的时间，周而复始不断地练习。最终，他意识到不管主人离开多久，还是会回到他的身边。
We all know that puppies will cry on the first night as they leave from their mother. As my puppy was born, I was there with his mother. So, he thought I’m his mother as well. He acted really calm and slept near my bed peacefully. However, he couldn’t stand a moment of departure. The minute I’ve gone, he’ll start searching for me madly. To solve this problem, I closed the door behind him on a short time to pretend that I’m leaving. And reopened it as he stopped whimpering to caress him till he feels calm. Then left again for a longer period of time. Having been repeated it for a while, he eventually knew that the master would always come back to him whenever how long it was.

肢体语言 | Body Language:
I 微笑|SMILE

如果你仔细端详你家狗狗，你会发现他们的确会笑。心情愉快之时，他们往往嘴巴张开，吐露舌头，脸颊上的肌肉松弛，露出一排牙齿，耳朵则自然下垂，全身心的放松，直勾勾的望着你，连眼睛偶尔都微微泛着光芒。
If you watch your dogs closely, they really do smile. They will normally open their mouth, showing their teeth and tongues with their ears cast down naturally. And the muscles on their cheeks are in a relax mode. Even the eyes are shining as they looking at you directly.

人类世界里的笑有很多种含义，有时我们还会装出来。而微笑对于狗狗来说，却非常的单纯，仅仅流露出他们的喜悦之情。是的，微笑=快乐。
Not like a human has different meanings for smiling. Sometimes, we even fake it. However, as for dogs, it pretty simple for them. Smiling = Happiness.

II 玩耍|PLAY
嬉闹是狗狗的天性，当他想和你互动的时候，他会以一个非常明显的姿势作为邀请函，我们将这一动作称之为玩前鞠躬。即：低头，前爪跪地，后爪直立，屁股撅起，尾巴随着四肢和臀部左右摇摆。这便是前戏的开始，一旦准备投入其中，那么所有的咆哮、吼叫、跑串、扑倒、小咬都将是玩耍和游戏的一部分。因为我是边玩边拍的，所以拍摄效果一般，主要为了让各位观察他的动作加深了解。
When puppy likes to play, he will present you the play-bow as an invitation. Take a butt-in-the-air with a front-end-down position where the pup’s forelegs dance back and forth to invite play. When you engage in playing with him, he’s telling you that any growls, snarls, running, wrestling, and biting that comes after are meant as fun and games. It’s pretty hard to take a good photo shooting while I’m playing with him. So the pics above just for reference that let you guys know better about this play position.

三种游戏是我家狗狗的最爱，譬如：拔河，双方各持玩具的一端，往后拉扯。另外一个游戏则是抛出与拾回，我投球而出，他便迅速追逐玩具并将其含回。第三个游戏是拖地战，他热衷于追逐拖把并进行拉扯。
For games, there’s are three types of games I’m playing with him. Tug-O-War, for instance, he bites the end of the toy and pulls backward while I grab another end of the toy and pull at the opposite direction. Another game he enjoys is Throw & Fetch. I toss out the ball while he runs at it to bring the toy back to me. The other one is Mop-O-War, which’s he chases around the mop to get the chance of biting and pulling.

III 领地意识|DOMINANCE
幼年时期，狗狗会慢慢具有领地意识。那时，他会挑战你的地位，比如骑上你的一条大腿，每次走路走在你前面，或者对靠近家的陌生人犬吠。小狗刚来新家，让其与你共枕可不是个好主意，因为这样会让他久而久之感觉自己是你的老大，以至于吼叫以示对你命令的抗议。如果你对这一现象不搭理，那么将会形成攻击性。
During puppyhood, he will develop a sense of territory. At that moment, he tries to mount on your leg, runs a few steps ahead from you, or barks at strangers whom near your home. Sleeping in the bed with you as a starter is a bad idea, which turns out that he’s more likely to consider himself as your boss, challenging you with growls when he doesn’t like your commands. If you care less about this phenomenon, it may result in aggression.

狗和狼一样，属于群居性动物。所以要像头狼那样，步态自信，抬头挺胸，眼往前方看，让你家狗狗知道谁才是老大，谁是这儿的地盘。同时，训练是不可避免的，基于你的需求让狗狗与你互动。例如：“坐下”这一命令。只有他听从你的指令后，方可给予赞赏。另外，必须我们就餐完后，才能轮到狗狗吃饭。也请别自己走到狗狗跟前，而让他主动与我们亲近，再好好爱抚他。
Dogs like wolfs, they live in a pack. You have to show your dog who is the boss around here, who owns the territory. You gotta walk like a leader with chin-up, eyes front. To be confidence. And training is inevitable by creating interactions based on your request. Take SIT! He should get nothing unless he earns it via responding in a positive way to your command. Only do we feed the dog after we’ve finished meals. Don’t go toward your dog and pat him. You could only show caress when your dog approaches you.

若，你家小狗挑战你的权威，或者做错了事。请不要惩罚他，语气严厉加以呵斥。还不听的，让其坐墙角闭门思过。特别调皮，脾气很倔的，就学学头狼戳下它的脚或屁股，在大声追逐他，直至逼到角落。只有他显露了服从的姿势后——即低下头，耳朵和尾巴下垂，眼睛看着别处，不敢看你，这时才能离开。
If your puppy challenges you or does something wrong. Do not punish him, scold him angrily instead. Some might won’t listen, just send them a time-out. For playful and stubborn one, you could act like a wolf king to poke his leg or but, then chase him down to the corner with a loud cry. Don’t leave until he submits — lower his head, ears and tail go down, and no eye contact.

IV 做梦|DREAMING
没错，狗狗的确会做梦。那天，我家小狗刚打好狂犬疫苗，夜幕降临，他蜷缩着全身放松，突然爆发出惨烈的急叫，仿佛有人在追杀他般，夹紧尾巴四处逃窜，藏匿到沙发底下。打开灯，挪开沙发，发现他颤颤巍巍，又拉尿，又便便。而那晚便是他有史以来最惊心动魄的噩梦了。
Dogs, they do dream. My pup had the worst nightmare ever at night after he got rabies vaccine from the vet. At first, he was asleep in peace. Then out of nowhere, he burst out a violent scream as if someone tried to kill him. He got up and run like a hell. Then quickly hide under the sofa. When I turned on the light, I found out he was too scared to pee and poop involuntarily.

不过绝大部分的梦还是美好的，梦境中我猜尽是他喜爱的食物。因为，我不止一次见他吞咽着自己的口水，有时候还会伸出舌头，舔着空气。过一会，伸伸懒腰，侧向一边继续睡。
Apart from that horrible dream, most of the dreams are his favorite food, I guess. Because, I always see him swallowing his own saliva, sometimes he even flicks out his tongue to touch the air. A moment later, he stretches four legs out and sleeps on the other side.

要是你家狗狗也经历着噩梦，甚至伴随尖叫或呜咽，那时，就让他去，并播放轻音乐安抚他。请不要叫醒他，或者碰他。不然，你会有被严重咬伤的风险。
Anyway, if your dog had a bad dream that may result in crying or whimpering. Do not wake up your dog or touch him. You will get seriously bitten from that. Just let it go and play some easy listening to calm your dog’s nerve.

期望我的这边软文有助于提升你们对狗狗行为的熟知。或许有机会，我再写一篇关于如何恰当地牵狗狗散步，因为我经常看到，狗主人们带着狗狗漫步在街上，而狗狗却急匆匆地走在前面，牵引着主人。这是错误的，狗狗在前方，很容易让他产生对主人的保护欲，最终不知不觉形成攻击行为。
Well, I hope my article helps you learn better about the dog’s behavior. Some other time, I may write another article on how to roam with your dog together properly. I’ve seen lots of people go for a walk with their dogs leading the way, which’s wrong that may end up in the protective mode to fight for you and aggression may be formed before you know it.

我以为，应当与狗狗建立起互相尊重、彼此信任，营造身心愉悦、一片安详的环境，给予狗狗满满的幸福感，而他也会无时不刻地守护你、爱着你。
We people should build a solid relationship with our dogs by showing our respects and trusts with each other. We ought to create a joyful and peaceful home for dogs, I think. To offer a sweetness around the dog, and that moment, he shall be there as a guardian angel, loving you with all his heart.

PS: 以上摄影均使用手机和相机，未作任何修图；绘画，采用圆珠笔、铅笔、CG完成画作。尤其末尾最后一幅叼着玫瑰的作品，则是在情人节前夕画好的，在特殊的那天送给了Olesya，一位莫斯科姑娘，期望她未来继续做自己喜欢的，并乐此不彼。
All the photos above are shot by my smartphone and camera without any retouches. Regarding the drawings are painted by ballpoint, pencil, and CG. Especially the one I’ve sketched at the end of the article, which’s a rose in the pup’s mouth. That artwork was a gift for Olesya, a Russian girl on Valentine’s day, wishing her to do what she loves and go for it in the future.

绘画/拍摄/撰写/编译：BubbleSwan
Artworks/ Photograph/ Writings/ Translations by BubbleSwan

Click here to read more: Why We Love Dogs So Much?