Compare Aucklanders with Londoners and of course there are differences. I’ve jotted down the contrasts and so far and they run the gamut from friendliness to fashion, driving skills to coffee obsessions.
As far as walking a dog is concerned the differences start with the first outing of the day: instead of people calling out, “Good morning!”, as they march their dogs up and down the volcanic hills it’s, “G’day!” – this is the antipodes after all. Then there’s the unabashed eye contact (not something you’ll find on public transport in London), but it’s the laid-back Kiwi friendliness that marks the most striking difference and it’s interesting because it seems to have filtered down from the dog owners to the dogs themselves.
I’ve had a fellow dog walker cross a field to have their dog meet Teddy, and plenty of people have crossed a street to do the same. Let’s be clear, at first I thought it was because the owners wanted to pass the time of day – but actually they just want their dogs to have a bit of interaction.
At first this unnerved me because Teddy is not always at his most sociable when on a lead. He doesn’t love other dogs bearing down on him, even if they seem to be jolly enough at the time. But the dogs that we have met so far have been altogether different. Unlike their London counterparts, they don’t yearn and strain to meet another dog, but merely show a bit of interest, exchange sniffs and trot on. In other words, they actually seem to have manners.
I need to find out more about this. Are these dogs all so well-socialised, so well-trained that they know not to jump on another dog? The off-leash opportunities in Auckland are fairly tightly controlled, so are these dogs so polite because they are not in the habit of the kind of high-octane horse-play that sometimes goes awry? (I do keep getting asked, “Does your dog free-roam?”). Or is it simply because they are relaxed and convivial like their owners? I’m leaning towards the latter.
The first time an older man led his alert little cockerpoo up to Ted, I smiled but warned him Teddy might not be terribly friendly. He looked at me like I was a bit odd and said, “Well let’s just see how they go.” And of course they were both perfectly fine. The dog and the man strolled off easily, having taught us both a lesson in Kiwi savoir faire.
