Treat 'em like dogs

  As you may know, I'm a dog guy. I grew up with a dog and so have my kids. As far as I'm concerned, my dogs  are a very important part of my family and help make our house, a home. However, I make sure they know their place in my pack, they are treated like dogs and are expected to act like dogs. They are not allowed on the furniture, they only eat from their bowls and they ride in the back of the truck. I expect them to watch over the property and my stuff, by barking when strangers, dogs, raccoons, possums, cats or any other unwanted beastie gets to close to the fence. As a benefit, I receive absolute unconditional love from my dogs. Nothing matters, not the time of day, the weather, or my attitude, my dogs love me unconditionally. In fact, they don't even mind if I sit down and enjoy a beer after we've gone for a walk around the block in the evening.
  It's also because of this unconditional love, I believe, people take advantage of their dogs. Dogs really aren't meant to wear clothes or costumes and I see people dressing up their poor dogs all the time. Dogs will do anything to make you happy and because your dog loves you so much, they will let you dress them and suffer humiliation for you. Dogs aren't people, don't dress them. Don't humiliate your dog stud, it just makes you look like a tool.
  I'd also like to revisit for a moment what we talked about in regards to driving with your dog in the car. Get the damn dog off your lap, I think it's pretty ridiculous to see a woman driving with a dog in her lap and now I'm seeing guys do it. The dog needs to be in the back, either the back seat or the back of the truck, not hanging half their body out of the drivers window. You've seen the picture of Honey in the bed of the red truck, she's secured in with a chain, so she can move from side to side, but will not be able to go over the side. Or put them in the back seat with the window down enough for them to put their nose in the wind, this seems to be a necessity for a dog.

   Another thing I've noticed about dogs, is, they like routine. It's one of the things that seems comforting to dogs. So get into a routine with your dog, it's the least you can do since they love you so much. I also believe that dogs and kids need a lot of the same things. They both need to go for walks with you, they both need to get dirty sometimes, they both need to be able to run as fast as they can for no apparent reason and they both need to spend time with you.
  So go on tough guy, give your heart to a furry angel, you won't be sorry. As long as you don't expect them to be any more than a dog. You'll be surprised at the love and companionship you'll receive, as long as you remember to treat 'em like dogs.