What I Say When Asked Which Dog is Worse from @TheFurMom

"Three Black Dogs"

The strangest question I receive, a lot, is “which dog is worse?” when people learn that we have three dogs. Not “which do you love most?” or “which is the best behaved?” But that’s okay, I’m happy to tell people which of our dogs is worse, because it’s yet another opportunity for me to yammer on about our dogs.

Of course, being a blogger and a very talkative woman, I don’t have a simple answer for you. Silly of you to think so; I’ll wait while you settle down for a read.

Still waiting.

Okay, good.

We have three dogs; Rodrigo, Sydney and Blue. Rodrigo and Sydney are littermates and polar opposites in many ways. Blue rounds out our house of black and white Cattle Dog mixes with a Tasmanian devilish personality that keeps us laughing. It’s not enough to ask “which dog is worse?” You have to be a little more specific, because like each of the dogs has captured my heart in many ways, each one also has the ability to make me groan and sigh.

Here are the things that each of our dogs do that drive me batty at times, but, oddly, have the ability to make me laugh too.

Rodrigo – Cattle Dog / Border Collie Mix, Male, 2.5 years old, 70 pounds

·      Rodrigo loves strangers, people and dogs a like. He also prefers to be walked off leash. Getting him to understand that he can’t run up to greet strangers whenever he sees fit has been a constant struggle, but he’s starting to get it. So when his excitement at seeing a new face (or tail) prevents him from staying with us on a walk, it drives me nuts. But he’s so happy that I can’t stay mad.

Sydney – Cattle Dog / Labrador Mix, Female, 2.5 years old, 70 pounds

·       Sydney loves food, but more than food she loves to smell pretty.  Her definition of pretty doesn’t match our definition of pretty.  Sydney can find the most disgusting things to roll in and in the past month, she received an off scheduled bath after her dance with dog vomit, a dead seal, a dead bird, a dead cat, and many dead mice.  But she’s so happy that I can’t stay mad.

Blue - Cattle Dog / Border Collie Mix, Male, 8 months old, 45 pounds

·      Blue is a jumper. We’re still working on his jumping. When he was 15 pounds, we would just pick him up (I know, bad dog training!) and now that he’s getting bigger, longer (more reach) and the Pacific Northwest Weather is becoming colder – I cringe whenever he jumps, because soon there will be muddy paw prints all over me. We try everything to get him to keep his paws on the floor and he is understanding, but when he’s over excited – forget about it. But he’s so  happy to see us that I can’t stay mad.

All dog owners have stories of the annoying things our dogs do, but what’s funny is that a true dog lover shares those stories with a huge smile on their face (sort of like the one I’m wearing now).  Our dogs don’t mean to be annoying; they want nothing more than to make us happy, so when they do the things that drive me nuts, I don’t yell, I don’t hit, I don’t shame – I give them a big hug and tons of love for returning to the walk, walking away from the dead seal, and putting their paws back on the floor.

About the Author…
Kimberly Gauthier is @TheFurMom to three Cattledog Mix rescues and two very tolerant cats and writes Keep the Tail Wagging from her rural oasis in Marysville, WA that she shares with her very own Captain America. On Kimberly’s blog, she shares tips on dog training, dog behavior, dog health, dog nutrition, dog safety, and new pet products.