- Cooper can’t allow a fly to survive in this house. He takes his “hunter” role very seriously and won’t relax until he’s caught the fly.
- Emmett loves to sleep on the armchair… but not if the leather is exposed. He stands in front of the chair, head on the seat of the chair, and waits until I put a blanket down for him.
- And Lucas? He prefers to sleep in the smallest bed or space available to him. If the dog beds are all empty, if no one is on the couch, he’ll still choose my mom’s tiny dog’s bed!
These are just a few of their many, many quirks! I love all the little things like this that make them… them!
Tell me: What are some of your dog’s quirks?
K.
LOL! I just wrote my dogs fly catching antics too! I also have one that must try out every dog bed or blanket or other material pile no matter how big or SMALL! I have fostered as well and each every one has their unique quirt making them so special!
Maggie
So, so funny – and what a coincidence! It is amazing how individual their personalities are.
Omi S. and Bender Oak
LOL, my dog Bender does the same thing with flies or bugs that get in the house! Unfortunately, he’s not as small as Cooper, and sometimes he brings the blinds down, lol!
Bender’s biggest quirk is that he collects stuff, and then either brings it to us, or brings us to his collection. We went through a whole six month period where he would gather my scrapbooking papers out of my cabinet or out of the waste bin and store them under the bed. We called it “Ben’s important papers”. He’ll also collect my fiancee’s work socks and guard them when storms come!
Maggie
That is HILARIOUS!! Thank you for sharing. I love the “Ben’s important papers” image. So perfect!! And funny!
Belinda Roberson
LOL!! I thought my dog is the only one who does this “Fly-Catching” tactics! Dogs are just so lovable especially whenever they do crazy things that make us laugh.
Maggie
YES! The entertainment value is huge!!!
molly
I had a rescue parsons jack russell, very protective of me, and if I groomed any other dog, if I accidentally caught a knot, and there was a tiny yelp, she would attack them.
I would groom, with one arm ready to shield the dog. Molly had made herself my 2IC, I had no say. No one was able to challenge, or criticise me. She was SO tough, tho she gave herself permission to argue, to be selectively deaf, if she felt I had made a crucial mistake in judgement, (ie didn’t agree with her). BUT ONLY FOR MY OWN GOOD!
She attacked poor Harriet, who was having a lovely walk, got an insect in the ear, that bit her. She threw herself on the ground, screaming, I was frozen in shock, and then Molly attacks her! So before I could help Harriet, I had to convince Molly I would handle the problem… She went blind, a year before she died, and tho I still had 4 other dogs, when she died, the house seemed empty.
Maggie
I’m so sorry for your loss. The grooming thing is a tricky issue, isn’t it? They take it so personally! The only time that Emmett ever tries to… ahem… hump Lucas is when I give Lucas a bath and brush him out. Afterwards, Emmett has this laser-like focus to pummel him. So odd. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Leslie
Emmett is so lovely. What a face.
Bella is Quirks Unlimited. She’s terrified of flies so is wondering if Cooper’s available for hire?
Maggie
HAHA!!! Cooper says YES! He would LOVE to come hunt Bella’s flies for her!
Jen
Cady often gets a pork chomp (thanks, Ann!) in the morning. Although she devours all other treats, she will excitedly take the pork chomp, play with it a little, and then not eat it. She will carry it around with her all day–she even looks for it when she returns from going outside–but not eat it. Then, after she has had her dinner, she will gobble it all up!
Maggie
Honestly, this is one of my favorite quirks ever. I love that Cady does that. It would never, ever work in our house. But it makes her so uniquely her!
Dog Tracking
He seems like quite the avid hunter…
Maggie
He sure thinks he is! 🙂 Don’t tell him that catching a fly doesn’t actually qualify as “hunting!”
Kristine
Too cute. 🙂 Shiva also does not like to lay on the couch or chair unless there is a blanket. She will stand with her head resting on the couch staring at me and won’t move until I put something down for her to lay on. Oh how we indulge our dogs, eh?
Love the photo of Cooper!
Maggie
Sometimes I feel like Emmett and Shiva could be related!!
Pamela
Love reading about your family’s quirks. It’s those silly things that make each dog unique.
Honey is very hesitant to commit with her back feet. She’ll put her front paws on a surface and stretttttttch like crazy to keep her back paws from it. It’s been a big challenge trying to get her to sit in her bicycle cart. She either jumps right through or puts her head in while her back paws remain outside.
Our trainer says he’s never seen another dog do this. 🙂
Maggie
Aww! That’s such a funny quirk, but it sounds like she’s been growing in confidence quite a lot. I wonder if this quirk will remain after all your agility training?
KellyK
Reba apparently feels the need to beat her dog bed into submission before she can go to sleep. She chews on it, jumps on it, shakes it, and usually ends up with it bunched up in some weird position that doesn’t look comfortable at all. The worst part is hearing this scuffle and having to check periodically that she’s only beating up her bed, and that she and Diamond haven’t decided it’s a good time for a wrestling match.
Both dogs are adept at stealing your spot on the couch the minute you get up. They do it to both of us on occasion, but Matt’s spot is apparently prime puppy real estate. It’s rarely vacant more than a minute before a dog snags it.
Diamond has an elaborate sniffing and circling ritual that must occur before she poops. She’ll sniff around a bit looking for the perfect spot, walk back and forth, then start going in a circle. She frequently squats *while* she’s still spinning, just to make the clean-up that much more interesting. She also particularly favors hillsides.
Maggie
That is hilarious, Kelly! Thanks for sharing their quirks!!
sharon
My Weims have quite a few quirks. My Male Mercury loves to sleep in the RV hoping that is will be going somewhere. My female Venus just got a new collar from Cloescollars.com with a lot of bling on it and when I put it on her she struts around like she’s showing it off. She loves all the attention she receives when she’s wearing her new collar.
Maggie
Ha! Those are great, Sharon! Thanks for sharing. I love Mercury sleeping in the RV – what an optimist!
Erica
Haha! So sweet! My Carmela isn´t satisfied just sleeping on the soft couch. A soft blanket on top of the soft couch? Nope, not enough either. A super soft pillow on top of the soft blanket on top of the soft couch? Now we´re getting somewhere. I swear, she´s like the Princess and the Pea!
Maggie
That’s so sweet, Erica! (By the way, I got a big compliment on the logo yesterday at BlogPaws! I said I couldn’t take ANY of the credit! 🙂 )
Flea
OMG – my Aussie mixes won’t let a fly be. Fortunately, we have chickens in the backyard, so there are always one or two flies in the house to keep my Babies busy. 🙂
kali
I do not had any quirks but Aswell do! Aswell do liked to stealed She or He’s unnerwears and run away!
Aswell do sayed I do be lying and I do so had quirks but I do not.
Anthea
My bullmastiff Keira is really hyperactive except if you scratch this one tuft of fur on her chest where her fur changes direction and then she freezes. She’ll sit still for as long as you scratch her, even if it’s for an hour. My housemate’s dog Odie barks at people who come to our door but I can always tell when it’s my housemate coming home because he has a different bark. It’s his “happy” bark instead of his “guard” bark.