The Canine Con Call

I was running late for a conference call with my favorite canine. I had learned that not every dog is comfortable with FaceTime or video calls, but this particular one made eye contact, picked up visual cues and reacted to sounds of interest from the other side of a smartphone. Leia is a shiny black dachshund-chihuahua mix, and at less than 10 lbs, she carries a lot of weight whether present physically or virtually.  She was our house guest for the month of December, while our son was away traveling. True to her name (she is named after Princess Leia from Star Wars), she acted every bit a princess during her whole stay with us. And now an important part of calls to our son include a meaningful conversation with Her Highness! 

Leia responding to a Wolf call

A typical call with Leia starts with saying her name in a tone she recognizes and saying her special words like "Dawai" (medicine in Hindi). Yes, "dawai" is her favorite word due to her interest in the tasty pill-pockets which she considers like dog treats. That catches her attention, and she looks at the phone screen for more. Next she responds to different dog sounds, so one needs to be well versed in "dogese", which after Hindi, is her language of love. Conversation starts with a small bark, then a purr - yes, Leia has a little bit of cat in her, I think. Then sometimes is followed by a whine. More barking at different pitches and frequencies. Slowly the pitch changes and turns to a howl. The howl is her way of concluding the conversation.

I have heard dogs who aren’t natural like Leia, can be trained in the Art of Conference Calls. But so far I have been utterly unsuccessful with our Shepherd-hound dog Smokey, who is otherwise a very smart dog. He hates looking into a Smartphone - whether it is when we take pictures or we are trying to show him images or videos of loved ones. He immediately looks away from the phone. If we persist, it drives him away. He really truly does not like these devices! I know there are some dogs who are curious about phones for some time, though may lose interest shortly. I learned that curious dogs can be kept engaged by making interesting dog sounds from the other side. More than visual cues, most dogs will respond to audio cues. Smokey dear has no curiosity when it comes to phones, he only knows how to look adorably conscious in the presence of the gadget. Dogs who are comfortable watching TV are also more likely to respond to video calls. Our Smokey will not watch TV either, so there! I have tried every trick in the book to teach him, to no avail.

In recent years I realized that every dog has a very nuanced and unique personality. Earlier I used to bundle all dogs in one category - that of loyal and loving pets who eat, sleep, bark, walk and do their business. I have evolved in my understanding of dogs and their personalities since becoming a dog owner myself and getting to know and observing our dog’s dozens of playmates. I learned that each dog has unique traits and even idiosyncrasies! And our dog’s idiosyncrasy is being camera-shy. After spending multiple years trying to teach him to blink, which I believe he has learned and all others in my family disagree,  my motivation to train him in this other useful art is so the two dogs can carry on a conversation across the two coasts.

I sometimes wonder whether my motivation may actually be another deterrent in his learning, as during her last visit, the 10 lb dog had established a position of power over the docile 85 lb one, who had relented with an attitude of “Athithi Devo Bhava” (essentially, treat guests with reverence). I wonder if he associates the smartphone with the pesky little one with an attitude, whatever little hope I have to be able to train him will be lost. I am an optimist. And just like...ehem...I taught him to blink, with some treats and a language of love, I may be able to train him in the art of the conference call.