Oh Bam Bam! I'm sorry for your loss, mapman. Your story gives me hope that little Steve might retain his audio interest into adulthood.
Canine Listeners?
Does anybody have a pup who actively listens to their system?
Years ago we had two labs. They were my listening buddies in the sense that when I sat down for music time, they curled up on the couch and provided lovely furry company.
Last week we brought home a 7.5 week-old lab puppy. The very first night at home, I sat him down on the couch and put on some jazz at medium volume, maybe 70-75 dB. He perked up immediately and sat in my lap in the sweet spot. Baby pups seem to have an attention span of about two minutes, but the little guy sat in rapt attention for almost half an hour! He wasn't asleep, wasn't going crazy. Calmly listening! He was surfing that fine line between curiosity and fear, and my lap made a safe place from which to do it. A trumpet in the left channel would captivate him, then he'd dart his head to a drumkit on the other side of the soundstage: "Hello hi-hat!"
It was as if I could watch his tiny-baby neurons firing away. "Dad, why the hell is a saxophone in the room?" Then, "DAD, WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS A SAXOPHONE?"
I keep waiting for him to get a bit jaded by it all and lose that sense of wonder. But for three more nights in a row now, he's remained transfixed by the sound floating out of the speakers.
What are your dogs like at music time?
Years ago we had two labs. They were my listening buddies in the sense that when I sat down for music time, they curled up on the couch and provided lovely furry company.
Last week we brought home a 7.5 week-old lab puppy. The very first night at home, I sat him down on the couch and put on some jazz at medium volume, maybe 70-75 dB. He perked up immediately and sat in my lap in the sweet spot. Baby pups seem to have an attention span of about two minutes, but the little guy sat in rapt attention for almost half an hour! He wasn't asleep, wasn't going crazy. Calmly listening! He was surfing that fine line between curiosity and fear, and my lap made a safe place from which to do it. A trumpet in the left channel would captivate him, then he'd dart his head to a drumkit on the other side of the soundstage: "Hello hi-hat!"
It was as if I could watch his tiny-baby neurons firing away. "Dad, why the hell is a saxophone in the room?" Then, "DAD, WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL IS A SAXOPHONE?"
I keep waiting for him to get a bit jaded by it all and lose that sense of wonder. But for three more nights in a row now, he's remained transfixed by the sound floating out of the speakers.
What are your dogs like at music time?