Dogs Have a Knack for Being Adorably Awful

I live with my two dogs, Grayson and Kaiah, so some of their behavior is not a shock to me. However, my mom recently came over and was waiting on the carpet cleaner until I got there. She was so shocked by some of their behavior, and it made me realize I deal with a lot more than I thought.

Shortly after she arrived, my mom called to ask me where the dogs' leashes were. I explained they were hanging in the coat closet because if they are left out, Grayson will chew through them. She was confused but said OK. I also was babysitting a dog named Raven, who is a lab mix, so there were three large dogs in my home for my mom to let out to walk. 

After she let the dogs out, she called back and told me they were all jumping up happy to see her (a behavior we are working on). Amid the commotion, my mom’s arm was scratched, and she also saw that Grayson had used the bathroom all over his bed.

My mom cleaned up the mess and took the bed cover to the laundry area, and when she returned there was a book on the floor. As she was telling me this, I was laughing because the only time books are on the floor is when Grayson is around. She picked the book up and sat down. Kaiah and Raven went over to her, but my mom kept hearing a noise. So she got up, went to look for Grayson and found him chewing on the shoe she just took off. Knowing my mom is very animated, I was laughing because I could picture her face.

At this point, I was still on my way home and my mom was telling me all of this when she abruptly stated in shock, “GET OFF OF THERE!” When I ask what happened, she told me Grayson was standing on the coffee table! Now, Grayson is a big dog, and what caused that behavior I don’t know, but of course I was laughing because of my mom’s reaction.

I finally made it home, the carpets were getting cleaned and the dogs were in the laundry area. My mom and I were having a nice conversation when she looked into the laundry area and said, “Now what is he doing?!” She came back in to tell me Grayson had his head down in the trash where I put the lint from the dryer, pulling out all of the lint. His face was covered, and there was lint all over the floor. I have to admit, I had to laugh at this point because I know he was trying to get some attention, and he got it! Lint all over his face, looking up at her with the expression of, “What? I just wanted to see what was in the bag.”

Please don’t think I let my dogs run crazy. They are just like kids – they see how far they can go before someone corrects them. I never really thought my life was so exhausting until my mom pointed it out. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Ready to bring home a lovable troublemaker of your own? Take a trip to a local rescue group:

• Dunedin Doggie Rescue 
• Suncoast Animal League, Palm Harbor
• Humane Society of Pinellas, Clearwater