New things are new, when you’re not use to them.  I never owned a dog before. So, when my family got one, I wasn’t sure how to react or how to behave.  I’m a cat person.  We’ve had cats before, and it is simple. Cats do what they want, but when they come to you for affection, you react and you pet their head or stroke their back. Or you simply let the cat rub against your leg and you don’t have to do anything.

But a dog is a dog.  Different, and yet similar. For example, when Ginger, our cute new female mini-schnauzer, came to me with a toy in her mouth, she’d roll over.  My sister told me that that is the sign that Ginger wants her belly to be rubbed.

And yea that seems fine and normal and stuff, but like most females she’s got nipples;  but, unlike a human, a dog seems to have more than two nipples, about eight or something. So, I’m not really just rubbing her belly; the eight-some nipples are spaced out and seem to cover the “belly” area. Basically, I’d be rubbing the puppy’s nipples… and that seems kinda wrong to me.  No?

Now I’ve never had a male dog before, and all the male dogs that I’ve met I’ve never thought to rub their belly either.  I’ve heard stories about male dog’s penis coming out (red rocket?). I’ve never studied dog anatomy, so I’m not exactly sure how abouts a dog’s penis works. I mean if it’s an “‘innie” and only comes out when aroused or that time of day type thing. Still, I’d hate to think while rubbing a male dogs tummy, his penis comes out to say hello to me. That’s just weird. And awkward… very awkward.

So instead of rubbing the lower “belly” area of Ginger, I keep my hand above it and aim between her front limbs, the area where on a human there would be nipples. Or I pet her head or sides, any place that’s not the nipples.

I’m probably being paranoid, because humans and dogs are different. So, it’s okay. I mean I can leave my puppy in a cage [crate] during the daytime, whereas, its deemed inappropriate to leave a baby in the crib during the daytime. Or more obvious, is that I can use a cage on a dog, but oh no, can’t put a human baby in a cage. A crib is a type of caging, but its not the same ‘cage’ as used on a dog or animal in general. (Technically, the difference is the the whole open top thing of a crib vs an enclosed crate/cage).