#hound — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #hound, aggregated by home.social.
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The early morning is still dark when my hound and I arrive at the dog park. Almost immediately, there is a flash of white, and suddenly chaos ensues.
A cat is trapped inside the smaller of the two fenced-in areas. Even though a chain-link fence separates the two, both animals instantly go into a frenzy. My hound begins howling, while the terrified cat races back and forth, careening into the fence as it desperately searches for a way out.
I try to help it escape, all to the loud dismay of my hound, but the cat is too frightened to understand what I am doing. After crashing into the fence several times, it finally collapses low into the grass and simply lies there. I keep my distance, unsure whether it may be injured or sick.
Eventually, I leave the gates open and manage to pull my thoroughly over-hyped hunter away from the scene, fighting against everything years of breeding and evolution have taught her to do.
It takes most of the morning at home—and then a return trip to the now-empty dog park, where she follows one scent trail after another—before she finally begins to calm down.
Needless to say, it was not the most ideal way to start my day.
I, too, needed some time before I could let the chaos of the morning fade away.
And perhaps that was the first lesson.
There are some things that are better left alone.
That sounds simple enough, but I am not especially good at it. Neither, apparently, is my hound.
Once she caught the scent, something ancient took over. The world became very small. There was no longer a dog park, no morning, no leash, no person calling her name. There was only the cat.
I wonder how often I live that way.
Something catches my attention—a problem, a slight, a fear, an argument, a worry, some unfinished thing—and suddenly the whole world narrows around it. I circle it. I howl at it. I follow its scent long after the thing itself has disappeared.
There are habits in us that are older than our intentions.
The hound was not making a philosophical decision to terrorize a cat. She was doing what generations of hounds had prepared her to do. Her body knew before her mind could know.
Human beings are not so different.
We carry instincts of our own: to defend ourselves, to retaliate, to prove ourselves right, to pursue what frightens us, to hold tightly to what we think belongs to us. Sometimes we call these things personality. Sometimes, principle. Sometimes even righteousness.
But occasionally, they are simply old instincts running loose.
The spiritual life may involve learning that not everything within us deserves obedience.
Paul wrote about taking thoughts captive. Jesus spoke repeatedly of watching, waking, remaining alert. Perhaps part of discipleship is noticing the moment when something inside us begins to run.
There is a hound within me, too.
There are things I chase simply because they moved.
There are arguments that do not need another reply. There are offenses that do not need another inspection. There are anxieties whose scent I follow until I have wandered miles from peace.
Sometimes, faithfulness means pursuit.
Sometimes, faithfulness means calling the hound home.
But there was another creature in the story.
The cat.
The more frightened it became, the harder it tried to escape. And the harder it tried to escape, the more violently it crashed into the fence.
There was probably an opening somewhere. I had opened gates. I was trying to make a way.
But fear could not see the opening.
Fear only saw the threat.
So the cat ran harder.
I know something about that, too.
There are moments when I become frightened enough that I begin throwing myself against whatever boundary happens to be nearest. I want out of the discomfort immediately. I want the problem solved now. I want certainty restored.
And sometimes, in trying so desperately to escape, I hurt myself against the very thing I am trying to get through.
The Psalmist says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
We often print those words on peaceful photographs of mountains and lakes.
But perhaps they belong just as much at a chain-link fence.
Be still.
Not because there is no danger.
Not because everything is fine.
But because panic is not always capable of recognizing an opening.
There are times when running is necessary.
And there are times when running harder only drives us deeper into the fence.
Eventually, the cat did something remarkable.
It stopped.
It lowered itself into the grass and became almost completely still.
At first, I thought it might be injured. Perhaps it was.
But there was also something strangely wise about that surrender. When every frantic attempt had failed, the animal finally quit fighting the entire world.
Sometimes, this is where grace begins.
Not when we finally overpower the situation.
But when we stop exhausting ourselves against it.
“Come to me,” Jesus says, “all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens.”
Not: figure everything out.
Not: run faster.
Not: break the fence.
Come.
Rest.
There is perhaps a third lesson as well, and it concerns my own place in the drama.
I could not make either animal understand what I was trying to do.
The cat could not understand that I was trying to help it.
The hound could not understand why I was preventing her from doing the one thing that seemed most important in the universe.
From their perspectives, I was probably interfering with both of them.
Yet I could see something, neither could you see.
I could see the whole enclosure.
I could see the gates.
I could see the fence.
I could see the danger.
I could see the way out.
That thought has stayed with me.
Perhaps there are moments when God seems strangely obstructive because God sees the whole enclosure.
We pull toward something, and the leash tightens.
We run toward an opening and somehow find ourselves redirected.
We pray for one thing and receive another.
From inside our frightened or excited little worlds, divine restraint can feel like abandonment or interference.
But perhaps the One holding us back can see something we cannot.
The old prayer says,
Your will be done.
There are days when that prayer may simply mean:
God, if I am chasing something I should leave alone, pull me back.
If I am panicking against a fence, help me become still enough to see the gate.
And if I cannot understand what you are doing, help me trust that you see more of the field than I do.
By the time my hound and I returned to the dog park later that morning, the cat was gone.
Only the scent remained.
Naturally, the hound investigated every inch of it.
She ran from fence to fence, nose down, reconstructing the entire drama from invisible traces.
Eventually even those grew faint.
Her breathing slowed.
Her body loosened.
The morning became a morning again.
Perhaps that is grace too.
The thing that once filled the entire world eventually becomes only a scent in the grass.
The crisis passes.
The fear fades.
The instinct quiets.
What seemed moments earlier to demand every ounce of our attention becomes simply one more thing that happened.
And somewhere between the hound and the cat I recognize myself.
Sometimes I am the pursuer.
Sometimes I am the pursued.
Sometimes I chase things better left alone.
Sometimes I run terrified into fences that cannot possibly become doors.
The difficult wisdom is learning which is which.
Perhaps this is why the spiritual life requires so much attention.
To know when to pursue.
To know when to stop.
To know when to run.
To know when to lie quietly in the grass.
To know when the leash pulling against us is not punishment but mercy.
And above all, to remember that somewhere beyond the frenzy there may already be an open gate we are simply too frightened—or too excited—to see.Prayer
God of the open gate,
#Anxiety #beStillAndKnow #cat #ChristianReflection #Discipleship #divineGuidance #dogPark #Fear #FindingPeace #Grace #hound #instinct #lessonsFromAnimals #LettingGo #Mercy #openGate #Prayer #spiritualLessons #SpiritualReflection #TrustInGod
When I chase what I should release, call me home.
When old instincts rise in me—fear, anger, pride, the need to be right—teach me that not every impulse deserves obedience.
When I am frightened and cannot see a way forward, keep me from throwing myself again and again against the same fence. Slow my breathing. Quiet my spirit. Help me become still enough to notice the opening I could not see before.
Give me wisdom to know when to pursue and when to stop, when to act and when to wait, when to hold on and when to let go.
And when your restraint feels like a leash pulling against everything I want, give me enough trust to believe that you may see more of the field than I do.
Make me gentle with frightened creatures, including the frightened places within myself.
Let the things that consume me today become, in time, only a fading scent in the grass.
And when chaos narrows my world, remind me that beyond the fence there is still a morning, still a horizon, still grace, and perhaps an open gate I have not yet learned to see.
Amen. -
#hound : a dog used for hunting
- French: chien de chasse
- German: der Hund
- Italian: mastino
- Portuguese: cão de caça
- Spanish: sabueso
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Try our new word guessing game @ https://24hippos.com
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Franklin Delano Roosedog has been my best friend, constant companion, and guardian. He was even Best Man at our wedding. Happy Fifteenth Birthday to him this summer! #dog #dogs #doglife #canine #canines #furbaby #furbabies #dogfamily #dogpack #dogpackfamily #pet #pets #family #familymember #bestfriend #bestman #memberofthewedding #hound #mixedhound #mutt #mutts #mixedbreed #mixedbreeds
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Frank and Cousin Razzy have always gotten along great, but during this week's Play Date, they actually snuggled up, toboggan style. #dog #dogs #doglover #doglovers #dogowner #dogowners #dogfamily #dogfamilies #canine #canines #furbaby #furbabies #snuggle #snuggling #snuggles #furry #teacupyorkie #yorkie #yorkies #mutt #mutts #hound #hound #mixedhound #mixedhounds #cutenessoverload #animalsbeingfriends
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HU/EN
HU
Ez egy ma tizenöt éves kép. Nagyszerű dolog ez az #Immich! Ezek az emlékek, amiket összeállít... Sok-sok képem van már fiatalkorom óta gyűjtve, mióta megkaptam az első digitális fényképezőgépemet. Szoktam is néha nézegetni. De, ennyire nem szoktam nosztalgikus élménybe kerülni tőle. De, mióta az Immich minden napra jelzi, hogy az a kép már hány éves... uhh... itt kezdem érezni igazán, hogy öregszem! A tegnapi kép már tizennyolc(!) éves volt! Már nagykorú!EN
This is a photo that turned fifteen years old today.
#Immich is such a great thing! The memories it brings together… I’ve been collecting lots and lots of photos since my youth, ever since I got my first digital camera. I do look through them from time to time. But they don’t usually make me feel this nostalgic.But ever since Immich started telling me every day how old a photo is… wow… this is where I really start to feel like I’m getting old! Yesterday’s photo was already eighteen(!) years old! It’s officially an adult!
#dog #dogs #dogsofinstagram #dogstagram #instadog #doglife #doglover #doglovers #pet #pets #petsofinstagram #puppy #puppylove #beagle #beaglesofinstagram #hound #cutedog #adventuredog #outdoors #nature #naturelovers #muddy #messydog #explore #wander #earthpix #animal #animals #animalphotography #dogphotography #photo #photooftheday
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Decided to make this one a bit bigger than the standard ACEO card. To bid please visit my FA page: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/64606124/
Free Shipping is included. Can only ship within USA. Artwork is 4 inches x 5.4 inches, around the size of a Post Card on Bristol Paper. Colored with Copic / Prismamarkers and Colored Pencil.
Starting bid is $25. Autobuy is $50.00. Auction ends Saturday April 11th at 11 pm EASTERN.
#furry #anthro #fantasy #furryart #furries #anthropomorphic #kemono #wolf #were #werewolf #hellhound #fanart #hound #female -
#hound : a type of hunting dog
- French: chien de chasse
- German: der Hund
- Italian: mastino
- Portuguese: cão de caça
- Spanish: sabueso
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Try our new word guessing game @ https://24hippos.com
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Das Wichtigste des Tages hätte ich beinahe vergessen: Das Training heute früh mit Ylvi und Rumo. DS2 auf einer meiner "Hausstrecken". Das ist schon was Tolles. 😊 Danach hab ich den hübschen Kerl wieder nach Hause gebracht. Das war vermutlich das letzte DS2-Training der Saison. Den April nutzen wir zum Abtrainieren, kürzere Strecken, weniger Einheiten.
#Dogs #Hunde #Dogscooter #Kickbike #EuropeanSleddog #Zughundesport #Hound #Mushing #DS2
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We are live! We're recovering from yesterday's sick bug (Kiki and Jusparr are currently distracted binging Ben 10 👽). Today, we are raising money for a vet visit to get a painful skin tag removed from Flop's eye! Come keep us company while I tackle the Razer aux mod test rig and run our dailies in GW2, Heartopia, and 7DS. Let's get this hound feeling better! https://twitch.tv/sythsaz #multistreaming #dog #hound #alberta #canada #dailies #heartopia #gw2 #7dso #diy #tech
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Plot twist: The cleaning deadline is tomorrow at 5 PM! 🚨 Kiki is scrambling, and Sir Flop has resumed his tragic, sad-dog watch at the top of the stairs. https://sythsaz.dpdns.org/streaming/
#stream #dog #hound #rescue #home #love #gaming #electronic #repair #soldering #coding -
Headphones are broken, and Sir Flop is staring at his empty bowl. 🎧🐕 We’re fixing the tech and raising Flop’s food money for tomorrow!
Join the chaos: https://sythsaz.dpdns.org/streaming/
#Streaming #SirFlop #Twitch #YouTube #Facebook #Kick #Trovo #Rumble #NimoTV #Rescue #Hound #Dog #Vet #Food #Support
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Franklin, Vira, and Cousin Razzy. #dogs #doglover #dog #doglovers #dogphotographer #dogphotographers #canine #canines #pack #dogpack #dogfamily #pet #pets #furbaby #furbabies #threedognight #mutt #mutts #hound #hounds #mixedhound #shitzu #yorkie #teacupyorkie #family
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I'm now live playing #Heartopia and some #GuildWars2 later ! Check us out on #twitch , #youtube , #trovo , #kick , and #facebook ! https://sythsaz.dpdns.org/streaming/ #streaming #dog #hound #gaming
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I'm now live playing #GuildWars2 ! Check us out on #twitch , #youtube , #trovo , #kick , and #facebook ! https://sythsaz.dpdns.org/streaming/ #streaming #dog #hound #gaming #irl
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🌸Commission🌸
For Ghostayame @ FurAffinity ! Thank you~
#comms #commission #drawing #digital #art #illustration #urry #fursona #anthro #male #men #boy #oc #originalcharacter #hellhound #hell #dog #canine #wolf #icon #cellshading #csp #clipstudiopaint #hound
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Atze 😴 mit 4 von seinen 8 Zwergen 🐕❤️🐕🐕🐕🐕❤️🐕🐕🐕🐕
#dog #dogsofmastodon #Hunde #dogs #fedidogs #mastodog #fedidogs #fediverse #fedidog #pinscher #pinschermix #Sighthound #windhund #windhunde #greyhound #hound #greyhoundsofmastodon #adoptdontshop -
#hound : a type of hunting dog
- French: chien de chasse
- German: der Hund
- Italian: mastino
- Portuguese: cão de caça
- Spanish: sabueso
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Try our new word guessing game @ https://24hippos.com
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Sir scrunched lips waiting patiently for his walk Flop
#dog #hound #coonhound #outside #walk #dogsofmastodon -
Now then... You know you want this, don't you? You want this muzzle on your face, a sign telling everyone what you are. But you need not worry, for I will take very good care of you~
