The dogs are fine

Three dogs, three personalities. A very bored Mel with too many days off work and a camera phone for amusement. 

Golden Retriever in his natural habitat.

*I* was up at 5am. 6am was apparently still too early for Reed, whose main goal in the mornings is to wait until husband goes to work at 5am, and then creep onto his side of the bed and claim his pillow. On good days this is endearing. On bad days (such as being nine months pregnant with a UTI and WIDE awake at 5am for no discernable reason after a less then solid night's sleep) this picture gets comes with a caption of #whydogsgetkickedoutofspite

You are sucking the joy out of my life, one picture at a time.  

Some day I will be able to take a cute posed picture of Tess withOUT her looking stressed. As usual, Today is not that day. Tomorrow probably isn't that day. The day she had to pose next to the GIANT puppy stuffed animal that she wanted as a chew toy (but was not a chew toy) DEFINITELY was not that day.
The epitome of "obedience" according to the letter of the law (sit with implied stay) with ZERO joy.

Is this a female thing? Because I'm pretty sure my mare does this too. Does 2 "X" chromosomes come with 2 lists? The list of things that will be done exactly as asked with not an iota more effort then absolutely necessary, and the list of things that will be done at 120% capacity through mere suggestion of the task?

Is here ANYTHING else I could POSSIBLY be doing right now that would make you EVEN happier then simply just doing what I'm told? 

This concept is taken to the extreme in the female GSD. Harley as usual is trying too hard. See the slightly manic expression, the worried eyes that even though she has done exactly what she is asked that it is somehow not enough? She could be doing BETTER. She just KNOWS it. And now....combine that with a lack of impulse control, and what you have a dog for which there is no lists. Just a list of things she not actually capable of doing and so it's not fair to ask, and the list of EVERYTHING else in which she tries and guesses at SO HARD until her brains leak out of eyeballs with the effort and NO ONE IS HAPPY. Including the dog. *headdesk*. 

Three dogs, three personalities. A lot of dog poop to be cleaned out of the back yard and a LOT of dog hair to be vacuumed of the carpets. And yet.... a reason to get out of bed at a reasonable time in the mornings, a reason to get out of the house on daily walks, and a reason to stop rushing through the days and take a little time to sit on the floor and be silly. 

I may not self describe as a dog person, but that doesn't seem to matter much anymore.