Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Many Faces of Thor

A few nights ago, I was watching a rerun of Top Gear on BBC, in which the guys had to take dogs for rides in Mini Cooper sized cars. Of course, these were not terriers, they were a Wolfhound, a Great Dane and a St. Bernard. I loved the St. Bernard, because he behaved like Thor: Looking at the hatchback of the car as if to say, "You want me to sit Where?" with a similar reaction to the back seat. Ultimately the St. Bernard sat down in the front seat, leaving little room for the driver, and thoroughly enjoyed his ride, judging by the face stuffed into the camera and prodigious amounts of drool and slime in the car at the end. But what I found particularly funny was when one of the guys who was not driving the St. Bernard around said that the dog looked sad, to which the driver responded, "That's his regular face!" So, I thought we ought to see some of the many faces of Thor. Then, if you're ever called upon to determine if a Mastiff is happy or sad based upon facial expression, you'll know.

First up: Thor's "I'm waiting for a cookie!" face. Pretty happy, especially when he gets said cookie.

Next, Thor's "I'm snoozing beside my bowl, in hopes someone will give me some good food!" face. Hopeful, really.
Thor's "I wonder what's going on over there, and if it will involve food!" face. Curious, in other words. (Note the stacked 5 gallon buckets behind Thor. They hold his food dish at a proper level. No fancy dish stand for Thor. Mango's Momma is a class act with her fancy stand.)
The "I'm such a good boy. Will you feed me?" face. Pretty normal.
"I'm happy. My world is just as it should be." This is Thor's most common face.
Sorry, I can't show you a sad mastiff face after all! I guess Thor doesn't wear that face unless his people have all disappeared on him.

But, Thor suggests that the St. Bernard wasn't wearing a sad face. All dogs like car rides, after all.

Happy Thorsday, everyone!

20 comments:

Diane said...

Love these photos,my mother used to have St Bernards and they never really did have sad faces as far as I can remember.
Thor is just so lovable with the best expressions ever. Diane

SissySees said...

Very cute post. Glad the Knight was far enough across the office to only see photos and he missed the Saint part of the the post...

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

There's no way I could pick a favorite, he's adorable no matter what he does.

Big Dude said...

This guy sure has it made.

Dexter said...

Oh I have the same problem. Stupid humans always saying I look sad. As if! Mastiffs are quite expressive.

Sorry about that red neck foodable stand. But I bet the kibbles taste just as good.

Slobbers,
Mango

Ann Made Studio said...

Thor always seems happy :)

Anonymous said...

Once again I have a total crush on your long, leggy supermodel. I think mostly he looks philosophical.

Laura said...

I love Thor, I've been showing Midge what she's got to look forward to and she's already forgotten! :)

The Blonde Duck said...

Ha! Ben loves Top Gear!

violett said...

I'm fascinated by the many types of facial expressions at Thor. He's a great, handsome boy. An interesting topic. My two terriers also have a strong facial expressions. I have photographed it but as never before.

Who says that dogs always look the same, have no idea about dogs.
Violett

Lapdog Creations said...

Love it... I think Zeus shares many of those faces with Thor! :)

gemma said...

I love him and all his faces. What a good boy.

Sue said...

I love his satisfied with the world face. Now Morgan, on the other hand, can do a greta sad face and she's teaching Noah.

Fenris and Family said...

Sometimes Fenris looks really sad, Daddy will even ask him why he is so sad but it is just his "normal" flock guardian look.

Since he is a mix breed he does have a silly happy herding dog look too.

We liked all of Thor's looks.

Unknown said...

Hi Thor - I'm FINALLY catching up! And I so agree with you about us mastiffy doggies and our "sad faces" - people always tell Hsin-Yi that I'm depressed when actually, I'm just pretty chilled out and happy! But all my wrinkles and droopy jowls just make me look really serious and sad all the time! :-) Loved all the photos of your faces. And oh! I wish I had seen that episode of Top Gear! Sounds hilarious!

Slobbers,
Honey the Great Dane

pam said...

Most of Smudge's faces involve food too!

Deana Sidney said...

I saw that one too... well, those of us with giant dogs know that look well. I can't help it... I just love those looks. Thor is a supermodel indeed!

Pam said...

Sweet Thor - he looks handsome in each photo.

Kathy R said...

All Thor's faces are great! I don't think he looks sad in any of them. What a fun blog and fun life you have!

Damian said...

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