Bonding rituals

Whenever I visit my sister's household, I make it a point to go outside to pee with the male dogs. They give me this "hey, that's cool" look and we go about swapping spots and marking trees. I always suggest that adopters go outside with their male dogs to show them where you want them to urinate. Communal urination is a great bonding activity as well as whatever purpose it serves for communication and marking territory.

One of the great milestones in a young male dog's life is learning to lift his leg to pee. Diesel has been peeing like a girl. He looks good doing so because he assumes that show boxer stance, with the rear legs slightly back and spread, leaning forward on the front legs and stretching out his body. The picture above doesn't quite capture the look, but should get the idea across and everyone knows that show dog stance. Diesel really has it. He's a great looking dog and I am continually impressed by how nice boxers are.

Diesel comes inside to a crate in my office at night. When I take him out in the morning, he always stops to pee before we get to the kennel and he won't budge until he's finished. This morning he stopped and assumed the stance as usual, all four legs on the ground, nicely posed. I looked at him, cocked up one of my legs, dog-style, and damn if he didn't so the same. I wish I had my camera with me at the time, it was definitely a Kodak moment.