My Dog is Weird

I watch Barking Mad, It's Me or the Dog, and Dog Whisperer; so I've seen a whole host of bad behaviors or bad habits dogs can get.

Cash doesn't do anything really "wrong" or "bad"- he just has behaviors that are strange, habits that are different, and is a little goofy. He fits right it at our house.

He's a pound puppy (literally born there - his mother was in distress and the shelter refused to let her die). He's mostly Border Collie and some Sheltie, with we think something else, but don't know what. We love him!

Most of the things that are "weird" that he does are related to eating. I've just come to accept that these actions are part of what makes my soft & fuzzy dog so dang wonderful.


Here's the lowdown on the dog:

He won't eat if we are not home. The only thing he will eat is a treat from his Kong. His water & bowl can be full, but he won't touch it unless his people are around.

He STRONGLY prefers to eat when we are all at home. On days when The Dude doesn't come home at night, he waits until all the REST of us are home to eat. If TallBoy stays out with friends, Cash waits until he is home to have dinner.

He won't eat at his bowl and is very nervous about eating when anyone is in the kitchen. If someone is in the kitchen, he has to be told (repeatedly) "go eat! It's ok. Go eat!" He'll sneak over to his bowl, grab a bite of food, and hustle into the dining room to crunch it up. Often, he drops the food in his mouth onto the floor and then eats it (but won't eat in the kitchen unless he is really hungry). He'll do this until he's all done eating.

He won't eat anything out of our hands, except treats- and even those he's a little nervous about. He would be MUCH happier if I dropped his treats for him to grab rather than making him get it from me.

After he's done eating, he wants his bowl to be full. He's not hungry, but it makes him upset if his bowl is empty. He whines and does this weird "circling" behavior in and out of the kitchen until we realize we need to put food in his bowl.

He LOVES bread. LOVES, LOVES, LOVES bread. He likes starches of any kind, but he'll take bread over bacon any day.

He likes *bubbles*. I'll wash dishes and my hands will be soapy, and he will come in to lick off the bubbles. Loves bubbles. The kids love to play with him when it is warm with bubble soap- keeps the dog busy for HOURS chasing bubbles. (And eating them)

Other stuff, not related to eating-

He checks everyone's bed before they GO to bed. He makes sure "there are no bad guys" (this is what I tell SweetPea) and that everyone is safe.

Once everyone is in bed, he does a round in the house to make sure we are all ok. Then he comes to bed to sleep.

When he wants to go outside, if we are not paying attention, he comes up to us and pokes us with his nose. We call it "beaking". As we are on the way to the door, he continues to "beak" us in the back of the leg until he is outside.

He barks when we laugh a lot. Then he gets excited and wants to play. Lots of fun.

He hates the car. Gets carsick. The vet, which is 10-15 miles away, is about his limit without severe stomach upset.

He's a good dog. He knows most of his manners. The ones he does not know, I have not taught him yet. He learns quickly and wants to please us. But he sure does know how to get our attention to let us know what he wants.

We love our dog... even if he is weird.