Muffy the Mom Trainer

So here is part 2 of today's puppy-related posts. Pupposts I call them. Ha! I crack me up.

Anyway, for those of you who have not heard me prattle on and on about my family's dog, Muffy, I am going to begin a series of stories about her. I have a million of 'em, but here is one of my (and Michael's) favorites.

First of all, Muffy is a malti-poo. Check out the link for a picture of the breed. Basically it is a cross between a maltese and a toy poodle. Muffy is little (10 lbs soaking wet), girly, and as a puppy was about as cute as any animal can be. Between her utter cuteness and the fact that she was often home alone with my sister, who was seven years old at the time, Muffy didn't get trained much...or, um, at all really. In fact, she is extremely smart so she has done a bang-up job of training us. One example of her people-training prowess is illustrated in the following story.

Last Christmas, Muffy received three different kinds of treats from Santa Paws (Santa Paws is, of course, the doggie Santa). When she wants a treat, she will go stare longingly at the pantry until she has been ignored for too long, at which point she will go find you and bark at you. Anyway, one day after Christmas, she indicated to my mom that she wanted a treat. My mom gave her one, but Muffy did not run over to her usual treat-eating spot (the braided area rug). Instead, she stood there looking at my mom, with the treat hanging out of her mouth uneaten, wagging her tail uncertainly. So, my mom opened the pantry again. Muffy immediately dropped the first treat and got all excited. This time, my mom gave her a different kind of treat and Muffy trotted off to eat it on the braided rug. So, the next time Muffy wanted a treat, my mom put a few of each kind in a little tin. She then held it down so that Muffy could pick which kind she wanted. See? A perfectly trained mom!

The really funny part of this is that Muffy would not always choose the same kind of treat (although she did have a favorite) and, moreover, she would only choose one treat each time rather than trying to eat all of them when she had the chance. She is nothing if not polite, huh? :)

Anyway, stay tuned for more Muffy stories in the future!