She's One of Us!

Pinot is definitely one of us these days (apples don't fall far from their trees):

• She comes and sits at the sound of the ice maker (my guys love ice cubes).
• She sits and waits patiently for treats and food (notice the new photo under the blog title in the left margin at the top of this page. I just had to update the official photo, you know!).
• She loves being outdoors, sometimes just sitting and watching (the way Elsie does).
• She thoroughly enjoys snoozing in the sunshine.
• She loves to work (we're still just doing basic training for only about 5 minutes at a time).
• She loves to romp with the big dogs.
• She alerts immediately to any kind of bird sounds (even if they're on TV).

And....

She's a lap dog (go figure)!

Her favorite lap seems to be DH's, of course (you'll get no argument from me - hehe). But she's content with other laps, too.

Here she is on Thanksgiving:










































And yesterday morning with Don while he was trying to work from home (hehe):























And yesterday afternoon, sound asleep on DD's lap:









































Well, that is, until Mama Elsie decided she wanted Sarah's lap (notice Ridge far right on the couch - it's musical laps for dogs!):






















And she is, as are the rest, a snuggler:





















Some hunting-dog folks would tell us we're ruining the dogs -- softening them too much.

But I disagree.

I don't think dogs can ever be too people-oriented. The mutual affection between human and canine only strengthens the bond between master and working dog, and therefore strengthens their ability to work effectively together. Yes, Don is the task-master around here (firmer with the dogs than I -- he's the primary trainer), but he's also the primary snuggler.

And it shows. The dogs do what he asks them to do. And they vie for his lap. :o)

No, we're not softening our dogs in undesirable ways; we're socializing them. We're encouraging them to be even more people-friendly then their Lab genes alone would allow them to be.

And that, truth be told, makes them even more responsive in the field.

I'd say it's a win-win. :o)

Now we just need a bigger sofa (or more human laps!).

'Til next time,
Joan