Lily
Lily, my 5 year old Golden Retriever, is one o
f the sweetest dogs you will ever meet. Though one of the most timid, she still loves her daily belly rubs and hours of non stop petting. Her, “scared of her own shadow” attitude makes her stray away from most other dogs, on her first encounter anyways, even Cosette a Miniature Poodle who occasionally spends nights at our house. Once she does feel comfortable she is the life of the party, pawing for attention and running to fetch anything that moves. She might be a sweet girl at heart but she does have her moments of mischief.
Like most dogs I’ve owned Lily has the run of the house, sitting, playing and sleeping where ever she wants. Her usual places to spend the night are on my bed, at the foot or right next to me, on her bed located at the foot of my bed or laying on the floor with her head underneath my bed. 4 times out of 5 she sleeps with her head under my bed for some reason I will never know. It is not uncommon for me to wake up only to accidentally step on her when climbing out of bed. I don’t know why she does it maybe because it is cooler or she likes the complete darkness but my personal theory is that she just needs her beauty rest.
When Lily doesn’t get her beauty rest it is not uncommon for her to pull a typical Golden Retriever move. These include but are not limited to, peeing, pooping, chewing and stealing everything from food to underwear. Now before you get the wrong impression about my little angle, these events only happen once in a blue moon, well maybe a little more often then that but still. When she does misbehave it is often a good indicator that something is wrong with her. If she poops on the carpet (even 10 cleanings and a $1000 later) we take it as a sign that she is sick or has eaten something bad. Though it isn’t the most favorable sign that something is wrong it is still a sign.
Now-a-days most dog trainers would agree that you must never reprimand a dog unless you catch them in the act. With Lily though you can punish her until you
openly forgive her. When she does something bad you can tell even if you don’t know what she did. When I come home and don’t get my usual greeting from her I know something is wrong. I usually have to run around the house and hunt her down because she will do all she can to avoid me. She will walk around with her nose at the ground and her knees so bent that she is half the height that she usually is. After dragging her into the room with the mess I have to hold her so she won’t run away and shortly follow with a swift “BAD!” and then let her go. After some time passes she will wonder by and I will give her a big kiss and all is forgotten.
Though an occasional misbehavior I still love her just the same, I mean just look at the face!
