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The Canine in Conversation
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apparently a photograph of President George W. Bush petting one dog while another urinates on his leg
figure 1  

 

piss on one's leg. To mark as if marking territory like a dominant dog, to treat as property, to treat as subservient or as an animal. The reference to the behavior of dogs marking their territories is unmistakable.

While it is not a common occurrence for a dog to urine mark a human, it does happen. Dogs “mark” places or objects with urine. Marking serves as a way to claim territory, advertise mating availability, and to support the social order. They communicate age, gender, and status within their packs via the pheromones in urine. Both male and female animals can engage in marking behavior. Establishing and protecting the territory is a dog's top priority. Rather than fight it out with all other dogs, it leaves scent-laden urine that communicates the resident's willingness to protect this space if necessary. Myrna Milani of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine notes: “... some pets will mark any new objects added to their territories, thereby claiming them...more confident animals may pee on the tires of the visitor's vehicle, whereas those who feel more vulnerable may pee on the visitor's belongings, or even the visitor himself.”reference 1

 

 

1. Milani, Myrna. 2008. Canine Territorial Marking II. mmilani.com. Accessed Mar 25 2008 from http:// www.mmilani.com/ canine- territorial- marking2.html.
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a photograph of Judge Judy Sheindlin spacer
figure 2

“Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining.” Don't act as if I am stupid.

This is actually the title of one of Judge Judy Sheindlin's books.

 
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About the illustrations: Figure 1 shows President George W. Bush out with his dogs. Digitally collaged by the author.

Figure 2 is one of Judge Judy Sheindlin's coy looks. This image is excerpted from a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work depicted. I believe that the use of scaled-down, low-resolution images of book covers to provide critical commentary on the book in question or of the cover itself qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law. Any other uses of this image may be copyright infringement.

see also: fire hydrant; sometimes you're the dog, sometimes you're the hydrant Last updated: March 27, 2008
by Alec MacLeod 2001-2008 Dogmatic Technologies Oakland Creative Commons unless otherwise expressly stated, all original material of whatever nature created by Alec MacLeod and included in The Canine in Conversation and any related pages, is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Please read the Terms of Use Agreement by Alec MacLeod Dogmatic Technologies