Banchi's Post

It seems like high time that Banchi has a post written all about him. In honor of the fact that he didn't actually die from the horribly inconvenient intestinal disturbances he experienced last week. Banchi is a nearly 9 year old Queensland Heeler/Boxer mix. In fact, his birthday is the same day as mine, coming up very soon. We adopted him from the Humane Society in 1999 when he was 6 months old. The early part of our relationship was filled with things dogs love--trips to the beach, backpacking, snowshoeing. Then of course, we had Maya and Banchi's life started to look a little different. He became, er, well, more inconvenient than we had ever noticed before we had a baby.
Don't get us wrong, Banchi is very bright and fun. He is a great dog. But having a smart dog is more challenging than having a dumb dog because if mishandled, smart dogs can get, well, neurotic. If I were to list all of Banchi's neurotic traits, he would sound like a basket case. It includes things like "won't cross red painted line on the floor in Petsmart". Along with being smart, Banchi is highly sensitive. He notices your feelings most acutely, and he gets nervous if you have any big feelings. So nervous, in fact, that he will put his nails out while he walks and slip and slide all over the wood floors. Especially if they are shiny.
When we go backpacking, of course, there are no shiny floors. No, but sometimes there is a dead animal or a pile of really smelly crap. And he always finds those and rolls in them. That is one of the reasons that he is never allowed in our tent. I know, we are too uptight to have such a hairy dog. When I was a kid I remember having our dog in our tent with us. There is really, truly, no way we would ever want a dog in our tent now. We barely let the kids in the tent unless they have had a scrub down first. I am the first to admit this is a particular uptightness in the Sposito family. Really, I know it is over the top. I guess we figure that if a dog is going to grow all that hair, it is for a reason, like so they can keep themselves warm outside at night, even at high elevation.
When we go hiking, Banchi has to carry his own food. He is also an Eco-Dog, in that on the way out, he also carries the garbage, and sometimes the rocks that Jonah invariably insists on bringing home. This seems only fair since his food, by that point, is all gone. He actually likes carrying something. It makes him feel useful. Something a smart dog really needs to feel.
Another one of Banchi's fun qualities is that he howls on command. If he is relaxed, he howls a deep, gentle, warbling howl. It is amazing and a great party trick. If Maya plays her violin he also howls, much to her frustration, and inexplicably, he always howls to Alison Krauss (or anyone, for that matter) singing "Down To The River To Pray". He also howls when we sing Happy Birthday to anyone. You know you are in our "Inner Circle" if you receive a birthday phone message from us that includes howling.
With our kids, Banchi has been a pretty good dog. He allows himself to be a bed for dolls, he doesn't mind too much if we cover his feet with aluminum foil, put strange hats on him, make him play dress up or tie his legs together (temporarily). He also forgives us when we drop his treats into bags or boxes that are exactly the size of his head. Have you ever seen a dog trying to get a treat but instead they get a box stuck on their head and run into walls and things? He also permits Jonah to tie him up with leashes, and doesn't complain even if Jonah forgets about him and leaves him there. With other kids, Banchi is not so patient. In fact it is one of my biggest worries. He doesn't like kids he doesn't know leaning on him or hugging him. Apparently Heelers are aloof and don't like to be handled much. I would love so much to have the kind of dog that can walk by a playground and actually enjoys kids running up to pet and play. But that is not the kind of dog we have.
I have been reading The Dog Whisperer books and it is becoming very clear that any issues with a dog are most definitely tied to the owners not being "calm assertive" leaders and also by not walking the dog for long enough. Cesar says that if you are not going to walk your dog a *minimum* of an hour a day, you should not have a dog. So, out of curiosity, how many of you with children, actually walk your dog an hour a day? I would love to know this statistic.
Many people think it is crazy to have a dog in the city. There are a mind boggling number of dogs here. Dogs of every size and shape. I have to say that they seem like a pretty healthy, balanced group of dogs. City dogs *have* to be walked multiple times a day. Dogs that sit in tiny back yards in the suburbs don't necessarily get enough exercise and they definitely don't meet their need for daily "migrating". So while we have questioned the wisdom of dragging Banchi along with us on this journey, I actually think he is happier here. He is in closer contact with his pack, he gets walked more frequently and for longer distances. He is also forced to get over his issues, like walking on subway grates and manhole covers, leash aggression, fear of elevators and general over-stimulation from noises and people. For the record, maybe he is smarter than us on the issue of subway grates. If you don't believe me, read this article on the subject. I am happy to report that he can ride elevators now without plastering himself against the floor. He also will walk over grates and MH covers as long as there is no subway currently underneath one. OK, I have to drag him a little, but if I mention a treat he gets just distracted enough that I can pull it off.
Central Park is officially off-leash from 9PM until 9AM. That means that Banchi could run free with the multitude of dogs there every evening and morning if he wants. We haven't quite let him do that yet. Mostly because "with unknown dogs, particularly males, the (heeler) can be aggressive and fearless". This quote is from Wikipedia on heelers. Banchi used to play frequently at off leash dog runs, but since our move he is not exactly acting like a nice playmate. I am assuming that we can work through this and he will become more settled and sweet. Hopefully he is not just turning into a cankerous old dog. So for the meantime, we are happy to have our dog, and he seems mostly happy with NYC. And doesn't he look great in pink?