The Prince of Pout

When I got Bast, I honestly expected him to be like any other dog, but maybe just more high strung. I had read before that having a wolfdog can be a very different experience from a normal dog, but I learned over the past few months that it's one thing to read, "These animals are weird," and another issue entirely to experience the weirdness in person.

To be fair, Bast is remarkably chill for his kind. He is, a bit atypically, a fantastic housewoof and does very well indoors. Although he has a lot of total energy, he's a crepuscular little critter and prefers to do his frantic zooming at dawn and dusk. The afternoons are most definitely for naps, and if these naps are disturbed, I can expect an all-out fit. Trying to rouse Bast to go run errands in the afternoon is like trying to wrangle a cranky toddler - he'll refuse to get up from his nap, have to be physically manhandled into his harness, and then be dragged down to the car with his legs locked stiff, his ears plastered to the back of his head, and his eyes narrowed down to venomous orange slits while he glares at me for this upset in his day.

I don't mess with naptime unless I absolutely must. It's not worth the fight and the subsequent sulk, and nobody puts the pout on like Bast. For example, here was an afternoon outing where I took Bast out to run errands. To try to make it up to him, I stopped by McDonald's and got him a kiddie cone. Unfortunately, although he kept trying to nose into the front seat to get his rightful dues, I wouldn't let him eat in the car because he makes an almighty goddamn mess.

He turned his back to me and sat like that for the rest of the ride home, only forgiving me when he finally got his ice cream cone.

Another time, he needed a bath because was stinking up the place after rolling in something - I forget now what it was exactly, but his favorite perfumes are fox turds, dead carcasses, and pond scum, so it was likely one of those three. He glared pure hate the entire bath:

So you see, Bast is more than capable of expressing complex emotions such as lingering resentment; he is a being that practically oozes sulking and moodiness.