Squatter's Rights

A Boxer friend with a tentative left rear hike.

Reacher's a squatter. Meaning that's the way he prefers to pee. Until recently that's been the only way he urinates.

According to veterinarians, adult male dogs who would rather squat rather than lift a leg is fairly common. The experts say hiking the back leg is a learned behavior and may just be a better way for the male dog to mark his territory. It also allows him to spray higher and thus appear bigger to those four-legged passersby who may take a sniff.

But back to Reacher. A couple of  months ago, out of the blue, he paused at a tree trunk and took a hike! It was only a leg lift. No spray. Frankly, he seemed confused by the whole thing.

Since then he occasionally lifts a leg. Or at least tries to. Sometimes he ends up slightly off balance. Other times there's a small hop, skip and a jump involved in an attempt to steady his tripod stance. Whether or not there's any output is another question. 

Occasionally though, everything goes smoothly. Pause, lift a leg, pee and resume walking.

Maybe Reacher will get the hang of it eventually. To paraphrase an old adage, "peeing practice makes perfect."