Does this dog look crazy or what?

I’m starting to think that my purpose in life is to entertain Sammy. He certainly thinks so! When we get up in the morning, he immediately grabs whatever toy is laying close by and rushes up to me with it, sometimes throwing it at me while he wags his tail and looks expectant (or crazy – see photo). He follows me around the house just in case I suddenly do something fun. When I sit down to put my shoes on he and Molly go crazy. Molly just rushes up and bowls me over while I’m sitting on the stairs lacing my shoes. Sammy runs around throwing his toy or mock-killing it.

I’ve been taking the dogs out in the garden with me while I work and letting them roam free in the big garden complex. Sammy tried to escape a few times but he has settled down now and behaves pretty well. I’ve had to shoo him and Molly out of the beds a few times, and the other day Sammy snuck into the big veggie bed and stole a huge chunk of petrified cow poo compost. Good news is that kept him entertained with vigorous chewing for about an hour, while Molly looked on mournfully. Needless to say, kisses were out that day! Yesterday, after some random stick chewing and tug-of-war with Molly, he suddenly became crazed and ran around the garden like a maniac. Luckily I’ve trained him to stay out of the beds (mostly) so no damage was done.

A couple of times a day I take them out into the backyard for a vigorous came of fetch. Sammy may or may not play along, and Molly could usually not be bothered. She gets excited for a few minutes but quickly settles down to chew on a stick. They’ve been finding all sorts of interesting things to chew on since our roof has been under construction because our builders will throw things off the roof and clean up at the end of the day. I’m sure Sammy has had his fill of foam insulation.

I don’t really mind being a dog wrangler because I also get to be a dog cuddler. Molly will cuddle anywhere, anytime, probably because she’s knows what it’s like to be in dog prison (the shelter). Sammy takes a little more convincing. I’ll call him over to me and he walks over with his head hanging down like I’m going to beat him. I’ll never understand this since he’s been pampered by us since he was 3-1/2 months old. Sometimes he voluntarily comes over and put his paw up on my lap and lets me pick him up for a good cuddle. He just doesn’t like admitting he has a soft, gooey center!

The other funny thing that happened recently is that I found Sammy’s old leg bone Kong toy (the new one is pictured above) sitting on the other side of our road, across from our driveway. This thing has been MIA for months, and suddenly one day there it is, sitting there like he dropped it the day before. Too weird! It’s now a garden toy…