Attack Of The Orange Monsters
Dear Dog Lady,
I packed up my dog Muffin, a wheaten terrier, and we drove to New York to visit my sister and see “The Gates” in Central Park. I thought it would be a great outing for all of us. Imagine my surprise when Muffin and my sister’s dog, Lulu, went nuts when we entered the park and started walking by all the saffron portals. Our dogs barked, strained at the leashes, and lunged at other dogs. It was crazy. We eventually left the Park and got away from “The Gates” because we couldn’t handle our dogs. What do you think stirred up Muffin and Lulu? Could they be orange-phobic?
Lee, Newburyport, MA
Lee, orange you glad you asked? Dog Lady actually has an answer: Flapping. Your dogs were freaked by the flapping sound of the “The Gates” and by the shadows cast by the waving cloth panels. Surely, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, the madly inventive husband-wife team that created “The Gates,” didn’t figure the canine reaction into their Central Park masterpiece. According to New York magazine, Manhattan’s mutt brigade has been going crazy while out parading near the installation. There have been reports of aggressive, fearful animals. Muffin and Lulu are not alone.
Dogs do not see in Technicolor. “The Gates” bright hue probably does not bother them, but the size and sound of the installation causes distress. Stanley Coren, author of “How Dogs Thinks,” decodes the canine reaction to “The Gates” for New York magazine: “To dogs, the color is not much different from the color of grass – both are brownish yellow. But when “The Gates” move, it could be perceived as a threat. As far as they can tell, there is a really big thing with long arms that may be groping for them.”
Dogs react to protect themselves – and you, their loved ones – from really big things they don’t understand. Lulu and Muffin were anxiously attempting to guard against incursions by the Orange Monsters. So much for doggy art appreciation, which must include a pee mark for “it’s mine!”
Posted by Dog Lady at March 31, 2005 05:14 PM
