Abbey and I have been buddies since March, 2013. I was sitting in a Starbucks one day thinking I needed a dog. Looking back, I was so ill-prepared, but I persevered, managing to keep us both alive and relatively sane for the past 4 years. I love my dog. She’s the best. But if I had to be completely honest, her level of obedience is about 75% at best. This secretly makes me proud.

A mind of her own

I’ll admit, I’m a stubborn son of a gun, questioning everyone and everything, if it suits me. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that my dog behaves the same way. When we’re in the house, she’s pretty good about following directions. But if I’m away, she’ll get into food that’s within her reach, or she’ll sit on the couch. I’ve straight up come home and she’ll be on the floor. However, I’ll touch the couch and it feels warm (not too slick there, Abbey). Or, if we’re outside and she’s off the leash, she will not listen to me, unless I’ve called her a dozen times and I sound angry. In these moments, I’ll grumble, muttering to myself that my dog is an a**, but I’ll have a slight smile of pride on my face. This might sound crazy, but I couldn’t deal with a dog who has 100% allegiance to my command. Heck, I don’t even obey myself 100% of the time.  Blind obedience means you aren’t thinking for yourself, so when she deviates from desired behavior, I’d like to think it’s because she’s doing her own thing. Part of me can never be too mad about that, lol.

As that crazy mutt is approaching 6 this year, I’m so thankful for her and all of the fun/zany adventures that we’ve encountered. It’s funny, she’s not a big barker, but when I saw her at the shelter 4 years ago, she made sure to get my attention, and I’m so glad she did. 🙂