Character 14 of 22

Pepper

Pepper clocks another dog before anyone else on the walk has a hope of seeing one: three streets over, half-hidden by a hedge, doesn't matter. Whether that's excitement or vigilance depends entirely on which dog it turns out to be.

Pepper sees other dogs long before you do, and her reaction tells you which kind it is going to be before you have worked out where she is looking. Owners learn to read her ears rather than the street.

She is at her best on long open stretches, where there is something to see at a distance. In a small enclosed park she has nothing to do with the talent.