Stories about Dawson

I've been meaning to blog more about our quirky dog Dawson. Sure, sure, we have plenty of cute pictures of our labs, but we don't write much about their personalities. Generally speaking, Mattie (our black lab) is the calm, smart, thoughtful dog. Dawson is our goofy, headstrong, loveable, pup. He actually reminds me of the chocolate lab we had briefly when I was a kid- Gus. What I remember most about Gus (I was only 4 or 5 years old when we had him) was that he would run right into me without slowing down if he was focused on sometime beyond where I was standing. It seems that this trait is found in many chocolates because Dawson does the same thing, plowing into me (never Brian) on a weekly basis. He always feels badly and whines when scolded, so you can't stay mad at him for very long.

Despite his sometimes silly personality, Dawson can be a very "proper" dog. While laying down, he always crosses his front paws. There was only one other lab that I knew who did this- my Uncle John's dog Rosie. I always think of my uncle and his dog when I see Dawson like this.

One way that Dawson has Mattie beat is in patience. Mattie will probably never master the art of balancing a dog bone on her nose (perhaps because I'm more afraid of losing a finger than anything), but Dawson will do anything to please. He also doesn't have the Yeah-right-You-want-me-to-balance-that-bone-on-my-nose-Not-going-to-happen attitude that Mattie does. He's so good at balancing treats on his nose that Brian is trying to take this trick to another level and get Dawson to balance a beer bottle on his head (which is surprisingly flat). As you can see, the dog is skeptical. This might be one trick that is a lost cause...

If nothing else, Dawson brings unending entertainment and happiness to our house. We (Brian) doesn't think that he'll amount to much as a bird dog, but I think we need to appreciate dogs (just like people) for the gifts they do have- even if those gifts are of the goofy variety.