15/04/2025
And I think this deserves another read..written by Sue Granados about Blanco..Blanco... The Dog, the Legend
Little known fact... 30% of piebald dogs, such as dalmatians, are deaf. About half of them are completely deaf. It's the same gene that's tied to their spots, that's why they are born like that. It is suggested that you always let them know when you are leaving them alone.
The only sound Blanco can hear is my sneeze. I had to investigate and tried hearing tests for dogs on YouTube. He flunked. But sneezes have such a variety of vibration that it isn't uncommon for a deaf doggy to hear. And more interesting is that sneezes for dogs are a call for attention or help.
Blanco's new favourite thing is being dried with a towel. He love love loves it! He turns himself inside out. He feels the 💕. A result of this is that he now gives kisses. Such a lover boy.
Blanco talks. He sounds like a cat but when he's excited he meows. It's his happy sound.
Blanco loves taking me for walks. One in the morning and one in the evening... we walk to the top of the hill where the Villa del Mar is. He likes to p**p there or at the old gas station if he can't make it.
New thing... He barks to warn the rottweiler and two dobermans that he is there AND a force to be reckoned with. But if they are actually there by the gate, he hides behind me.
Other new thing... He looks like a bull. He's getting really strong from walking and doing so many stairs. Someone suggested he would be good in a big pot of pozole! He has huge muscular shoulders.
Blanco's freeloader friends still come to visit at meal time. They are happy to get fed and he thinks there's a chance he can sneak in another meal. There's only a few dogs that he doesn't like. One took after Lobo and Blanco turned into a vicious guard dog and took after it. Since then him and Lobo are buddies. Lobo doesn't chew on him much anymore and he comes with us sometimes on the walks.
The fisherman love Blanco as do all the neighbors except Crazy Brains that lives above. They remark how healthy and happy he looks and his fur so shiny. I give him a teaspoon of olive oil on his breakfast hoping it will help with the shedding. It doesn't, but he certainly is a handsome lad as well as a hairy one. Most of them knew him before and say he won the lottery when Donna and Tim took him in.
Blanco sleeps from 11pm - 7:30am, Coincidentally the same as me ;) He's so good in the morning. He waits till I get up and gives me five minutes. It's like he has a watch. Then he's raring to go. I thought he slept a lot during the day but have noticed that he's often lying there with his eyes open, just hanging out with me. Sending me subliminal messages 'feed me, pet me, love me'.
Blanco doesn't have as much anxiety about the thunderstorms anymore. Probably cuz I don't. He really had panic attacks the first few but now he's just happy with a little extra petting. Then he forgets to be scared.
Blanco is very sensitive. It's so easy to hurt his feelings. If he doesn't want to go out for a p*e before bed if it's raining and I give him a little nudge, he acts like I'm beating him. Or if I give him heck for going in the garbage that people leave, he gets offended. Luckily he doesn't hold grudges. Except for his old owners. They must not have treated him very well. He prefers to go running into the house if they are around. He's probably scared he'll have to go live there again, poor guy. One day I let him out the door and immediately grabbed the water dish to fill up. When I went out with it a few minutes later one of the girls was outside and Blanco was nowhere in sight. She said she hadn't seen him. But he had obviously seen her and what he had done was run to the second floor balcony and was lying there, as far away as he could get from her. Bad vibes.
Now that Blanco is the Stairmaster, he goes to the top level without hesitation. On Friday Gloria was cleaning up there and he went up to one of the posts and p*ed on it! Marking his territory there too. Little bu**er.
Once Blanco decided he should/could get up on the couch. He actually managed it without any problem. He got evicted immediately and hadn't tried since. One stormy night he tried to climb into bed with me but wasn't successful. Can't blame the guy for trying!
Blanco is very smart. I show him the keys and he knows it's time to go outside. But if I put on my walking shoes, he knows he can't come. I go out most mornings so I give him a half a treat and tell him to look after the house. He's happy and goes to sleep till I come back.
When we are out people comment that he must hear me using another sense, because he's usually very obedient and stays by my side. He does gets hand signals but knows how to ignore me when he stubbornly wants to stay and eat grass or do a marathon sniff. But if I keep walking he can't stand the thought of being left behind, so quickly comes running.
The concept of play is a little foreign to Blanco. I bought him a ball thingy and tried to get him to engage. He thought I was going to hit him or something and got sad so I gave it to Gloria. But when he's particularly happy he likes to play with his chewy rawhide thing. And dance around with it. He has such a lovely spirit, it makes me sad that he spent years with it being stifled
Every day Blanco opens up a little more and shows me another aspect of his doggy personality.
I know the answer to 'who's a good boy?'
