CONFESSIONS OF A HIGH MAINTENANCE CHICK- “Dogs Will Be Dogs”
Do you know the definition of embarrassment? I will define it for you as I experienced it this weekend. But first, let me set the stage. Labrador Retrievers are one of America’s most popular and beloved breeds and featured as ‘spokes-pups’ in ads for Cottonelle and K9 Advantix. It’s fun to take your pup out in public, especially when people say your ‘baby’ resembles a dog on TV. But recently, ‘labs’ have received a bad rap… specifically YELLOW labs. Since the theatrical release of “Marley and Me”, all I hear when I take my 2 yr old yellow lab, Sundance, out is… “Look, it’s a Marley-dog”. At first, I thought it was pretty funny since my son, ‘Sun’, is the antithesis of the title character Marley. He’s happy, fun loving and generally well behaved. But this last weekend, oh, did he ever pull a ‘Marley-move’.
One of my dearest friends is pursuing her dream of starting her own company combining two things she loves: the environment and animals. In developing this company, Sundance was a benefactor, or test pup, by testing and tasting many yummy homemade organic treats. I won’t lie, I took a taste too… they taste great.
This Saturday, during her grand opening event, Sundance was offered a treat… he refused.
Thought to self: “Ok, maybe he didn’t see it.”
So it was offered again.
Thought to self: “OK, he DID see it this time… what was he thinking???”
So I took the treat, put it in his mouth and he SPIT IT OUT.
I whisper to Sundance: “Pal, everyone is watching, you’ve had this before, you eat dirt for goodness sake, now eat this yummy treat.”
No Bueno. My friend was so understanding by saying “oh, he must be nervous”. Isn’t she just a sweetheart?! Why did she have to be so nice about it? My guilt forced me to reach past the 6oz and buy the 1lb bag of treats; of which he gobbled up the moment we got home.
Dogs. They do the darndest things.
that is soo funny maybe he had stage fright. I loved the movie Marley and me and feel that it got a bad rap because of the sad ending, I mean thats only the last 15 minutes while the rest of the movie is good
also i love animals being a petsitter
Bless his heart!!! He must not like audiences!
LISA
Lol! I love dogs, they have so much personality!
Guess he could take “smart” lessons from Sallie!!! He was bound to have been distracted by something…Quote from my FB…All my Grands are SMART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BTW…He’s not just smart…he’s GORGEOUS!!!
A “child” of yours…Afraid? Of an audience? I don’t believe you!
I’m sure Sundance was too busy enjoying the sights and sounds of a just-for-him retailer. We all get distracted in our favorite store!
Great story! He accomplished his mission… more treats for home! The best thing about Marley and Me was that they stuck with their dog thru it all instead of giving up and dumping him at a shelter. It was a beautiful story of commitment and what it takes to own a lab. http://www.labradorrescue.net
Don’t feel bad, the exact same thing happened to us with our Golden Retriever, Axel Rose! Our vet’s office opened a doggie bakery and they made a big deal of offering Axel some freshly baked peanut butter cookies! He flat out refused them. Did the same thing as yours – spit it out numerous times. We were so embarrassed that we could have just crawled back to the car!