Do you know the difference between being “naked” and being “nekkid”? My mother informed me is the intent of whatever you’re doing, and if you’re doing something you shouldn’t be, you’re “nekkid.”
This is when Smidge enters the chat.
Every now and then my boyfriend will shed my Chihuahua of her upstanding dog clothes – her collar – just because. I then proceed to describe my dog as “naked” or “nakers” or “nakey” repeatedly until I put her collar back on.
But this last time the collar came off, I decided she deserved to the freedom of her nakedness a little bit longer.
I’ve kept the collar off for a few days. She still wears one in the yard, just in case, but she is also micro-chipped and, should she allow anyone to catch her, could be scanned if she got lost. A big nightmare for me – either her or my cat, Cairo, getting lost. Luckily they are both chipped and I have a little more peace of mind.
But if doggo is wearing their collar for an extended period of time, they can get some wear to their neck fur, and some dogs, especially Chihuahuas or snub-nosed dogs, can have breathing issues wearing a collar. Greyhounds actually wear special collars because of the shape of their necks. And you have to be careful putting a collared dog in a kennel, as they can get stuff and hurt themselves. So while I am pro-collar, I also know it’s not best to leave them on all the dang time.
So I let Smidge get naked and stay naked for a little bit. As added bonuses, nothing stops my hand from the tip of her head to the base of her tail while I’m petting her, and her neck rolls look different, like I’m see the same beautiful landscape from a different window.
But Smidge is a little bit of a troublemaker, which means occasionally during this harmonious and enlightening naked time, she is nekkid. Nekkid and chasing the cat. Nekkid and guarding a random box. Nekkid and getting snarly. Nekkid and cursing the neighbor dog as it goes on his nightly walk past our house. She is not nekkid and afraid, she’s practically nekkid and dangerous.
Eventually her collar will go back on and she’ll be back to causing her regularly scheduled chaos.
But for now, she’s a little nekkid.
