What do you love about your dog?

What do you love about your dog? This is one of the questions I ask students during the first class when they are introducing themselves. The responses I get always make me smile.

There's been so much drama and anger floating around lately that I want to remember why we are all here in the first place. We love our dogs. What does your dog do that makes you say "Man, I love this dog."?

Savvy...his craziness

Whim...her split personality of lazy, calm, pouty dog and wild, crazy, fun dog

Jagger...everything! He's a really good boy

Loki...that she's the old Queen Dog

Zette...her silliness

Roust...his extreme dorkiness

Ziggy...his extreme corginess

He's so honest and loving.

He is also a silly goofball!

His personality. At any given time he's funny, goofy, sweet, happy, loving or serious. And that he's always up for an adventure of any kind.

Cara is just her sweetness, she is honestly the sweetest dog I have ever met. She's a very 'kind' dog if that makes sense.

Upendi Sue, definitely her sassiness. She does things her way and it's hilarious to watch.

Mina, her intense desire to please and her willingness to dive into any situation.

This seems to be pretty standard with dogs but I love that Gwen just...loves me. She is always happy to see me. I can be gone 5 minutes and she acts like I've been gone forever. As someone who feels that I don't have many people who I can count on or that love me, this helps me immensely. Her unconditional love just amazes me every day. I love her and she loves me.

When she perks her ears up, too. She's so adorable when she does that.

Zuma - I love the connection between us. She knows what I'm thinking, I know what she's thinking, nothing but the truth.

Zinga - Her enthusiasm. She loves to do EVERYTHING with as much gusto as she can summon. She is by far the most fun dog I've ever worked with. However, on the flip side of that, she's still 100% ready for a nap or a cuddle at any time.

I love Luna because she's incredibly smart and cunning/crafty although that can be frustrating at times :rofl1:. She also has two personalities: the sweet/affectionate, loving dog and the devil dog when she gets into her playing slash biting mode, she's still a puppy so working on that. She's also adorable and cute as a button, oh and she can be a little clown at times, the amounts of times that dog makes me laugh are too many.

Cinnamon, was such a special dog, I loved her from the first moment I saw her. She filled my life with light for the 12 years she was with me. Not just mine but my whole family's, she even made my father into a pet lover, someone who said that he never, never wanted a dog to begin with. She was smart, fiercely loyal, protective of us, a little ball of energy, affectionate and always happy and eager to please. She was my best friend and my comfort dog I love how she always knew when I was upset and always tried to make me feel better with a little kiss or a cuddle and even a wag of her tail. There's still a hole in my heart where she used to be.

Journey: EVERYTHING! Seriously love this puppy. But most of all I love how overjoyed and happy she is, and the cute drunk/can't walk in a straight line wiggle that goes with it. And how she just wants to be involved in everything I'm doing and watches me, and how eventhough she likes everyone, she makes it obvious that I'm her favourite.

Dance: her happiness. She's just so genuinely happy and just lives to play and have a good time. Also, her woo is the cutest thing ever. I love all the stories she tells us.

Keira: her kindness. She just looks so soulful and kind, and the way she places her head in your lap and looks up is so gentle and sweet. I also love that I can trust her to not react to anything when I take her places. She's very easy that way.

Ripley: his playfulness. Life's just a big game to him, and while he may be a bit of a bull in a china shop as a result sometimes due to his size + his desire to have fun, he doesn't mean to be. He just likes to have a good time and doesn't realize that sometimes he's just too big for space he's trying to play in. I also love how hard he tries. He's such a sweet, sucky boy and tries hard to never displease anybody.

Ace- His sillyness, he can make me laugh no matter what mood i'm in and he's just the happiest guy i've ever met and never meets a stranger! He will do anything I ask of him and he is happiest when we are side by side doing something fun!

Dutchess- Her love for us, she was so abused it took forever and I have never met a dog that just loves so deep. You can see it in the way she looks at us and clings to everyone in the family.

Roxy- Her gentleness, she is so huge but has this gentleness. She seems to understand different situations when she really needs to just be a gentle girl.

Gunner- His loyalty, he is the most people loving guy ever! He will try to do anything that we ask and he loves to snuggle so close <3

Sierra- I love her craziness lol! She is spunky and nutty! And I think her brain resets daily, and everyday she does the same crazy things that make us laugh our butts off!

Kiley- I love her sweetness and her love to work with us. She loves to please and is so willing to make everyone happy! She loves her daddy like crazy and pouts everytime he leaves She is so sweet, she just cuddles up and wants nothing more than for you to just pet and love on her.

Courtney- I love her attitude, she thinks she is on top of the world, she is obsessed with me and she could pretty much care less about everyone else and I actually like that about her. She will attempt anything i ask her to do and is my velcro girl <3

Mia- everything. She's such a goofball with crazy ideas all the time. She's hilarious and a brat. She's my snuggle bug (when she wants to be). My crazy ball fiend all the time. Master manipulator and a doggy genius. Also pretty ADD most the time. She's so much fun. She's truly my best friend and the greatest dog I've ever owned. The two of us just 'get' each other so well.

Summer I love for her heart of gold. She's the most unabashedly loving little dog in the world. Summer just IS love. Everyone is her best friend and she is SO GOOD. I also love how happy she is all the time. Going somewhere? Omg so happy and excited! Someone talking to her? Omg happy and wiggly dog! She's always smiling. I also like that she's just a touch weird and OCD. She's a nutball sometimes.

I love that Gyp has been a grumpy old man since he was 2 years old. I also love that he has always been my determined "protector" and would never let anything happen to me if he could stop it.

I love that Sadie is so sensitive- and will immediately come help me out if I'm upset. I also love that she thinks she is the most gorgeous dog on the planet (which I think she's pretty close) and she makes sure everyone else knows too.

I love that Fiona is so happy with everything and everyone. She always has a smile on her face, and she is a constant beam of light that lifts up everyone around her.

I love that Riot is so complicated. She is the smartest, most cunning, most striking dog I have ever met.

I love that Wesley is so clueless and adorably naive. He is happy, sweet, loving and so goofy- who wouldn't love that?

Pentti - His ability to just READ people. When I'm down, he's down. When I'm ready to go, so is he. He just lives to make people happy, it seems. He's going to make a great therapy dog <3

Bubbles - Her weirdness LOL. She's just SO CUTE and always does the weirdest things. I can't even explain it haha. For being such a sweet girl, she can cop an attitude with the best of them, too! And like Pen, she's a wonderful cuddle buddy.

Kimma - Her psychotic behavior. She keeps me laughing day in and day out. For some reason, she and I just have this connection that I can't explain. She's the first to follow me around, and always needs to know what I'm doing. Of course, she is generally the first to drive me crazy, but it comes with the territory I guess. I also love how she's always up for an adventure and loves "working" with me. (Well, more like how she loves working for food that I just happen to have )

Cali: She's pretty much up for anything, whether is laying around watching movies or running around in snow up to her ears. She's a total goof and craves attention and kisses. Although her outgoing attitude can sometimes be embarrassing in public (ie: please please please come let me give you kisses, person I don't know!), everyone usually adores her especially the staff over at the food store we go to. She is the epitome of big dog in a small package, she has no sweet clue that she's five pounds.. whether she is teasing my uncle's 75lb Giant Schnauzer or telling off the cats. I sometimes wake up to find her curled under my blankets or on my head as well. She's pretty smart when I take the time to work with her on new tricks, and I think she's going to do awesome in flyball.

Moses: I think he's your typical 'old guy'. He's content to laze around all day and sleep, but he loves coming on hikes with us in the summer and happily runs down the trail, constantly checking back on us. He's been in my life since kindergarten and I still remember the day we got him. I picked him over his completely buff coloured sister and apparently wanted to name him "Jesus" but my dad made me settle on "Moses" or "Mo" for short. His hearing isn't the best anymore, and being raised with three/five year olds doesn't help develop good table manners.. but begging aside, he's adorable and Cali loves him as much as we do. He considers himself the protector of the household and has a barking problem.. always has. He gets along just fine when women come to the house, but he takes a long time to warm up to men for some reason; although, he loves my dad and my grandmother's longtime boyfriend. He's definitely her big brother and she's so lucky that he tolerates her antics.

Pip - He's just the easiest dog. He doesn't care for most things, but he will put up with just about everything. Incredibly sweet, solid, steady boy. No surprises.

Maisy - She is the sweetest girl and the hardest, most enthusiastic worker with the most heart... once she knows what you want, she will do it forever.

Squash - Oh, Squash. He's just so **** happy and funny ALL THE TIME. Even when he's working or being cuddly or serious, he's being sort of ridiculous about it. Somehow, we are able to get in each other's heads and he's a good partner... I'm enjoying doing different activities with him a lot.

Gosh, just... almost everything. I randomly smile at him ALL the time.

Mainly, his love for me, and how much he LOVES to learn. And he's just so bombproof. I know I can do or try almost anything with him, and he's going to love it, or at least try it!

His complete and utter enthusiasm for everything he does. Want to go outside? YES, BEST PLACE EVER. Want to play ball? I CAN HARDLY CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT. Want to cuddle? He can't get into your lap fast enough.

His devotion to me. He is by no means, an easy dog. He has so many issues, but he would do absolutely anything he could for me. Our bond, I guess. I know he loves me more than anything else in the world, more than himself, more than his safety, more than any food or toy or reward.

He's hilarious. I've never met a dog that was so funny before, and I've known lots of funny dogs. He's funnier than the pit bulls I know. He TRIES to make people laugh. And succeeds.

His intelligence. He is undoubtedly one of the smartest dogs I've worked with, very possibly the smartest. A lot of times it's hard for people to see, because of his anxiety, aggression, OCD issues...but it's mind blowing. It's not just that he's incredibly trainable, and incredibly good at problem solving and figuring things out...his comprehension of human communication is mind blowing. I never trained him to move over, to go lie down, to come when he's called, get off furniture, he just knew. Knew how to ride in the car, quietly in the passenger seat. Knew how to fetch. Knew not only his name, but mine as well, in a matter of days.

How affectionate he is. He's super-cuddly, and I adore that.

Kaylee.... everything! I love how she never quits, I love how she turns into a frothing maniac when she hears the lure coursing machines, I love how she settles down and just chills in the house. I literally love everything about this dog.

Jayne.... I love how nothing scares him. Nothing shakes his confidence. I wouldn't say he's a bombproof dog (he has some anger management issues) but I never have to worry about accidentally frightening him or catching him off=guard.)

Talla.... I love how cuddly she is. She's the perfect size to just curl up with on the sofa and watch a movie. She also gets along with every dog she meets. Also, she makes hilarious noises.

Revy.... I love how goofy she is. She's got a great little personality - life is a 24/7 party for Revy, even when she's very ill and looks like skeletor. (Blood draw? Wheee awesome! B12 injections? Haha YES, FUN!) She's great with all people, and is great with other dogs - even rude ones.

Kastle - I love his aloofness with others, his intensity, and his loyalty

Limit - I love how he can always make me smile/laugh and he tries super duper hard at everything

Eden - I love that I can trust her almost anywhere, that she is so sweet and kind

I love pretty much everything about Chase. His sweetness, his happiness to be alive, how he greets me so happily when I come home or he comes in from the backyard and I especially love how he crawls into my lap and lays against me with his head under my chin. He's just the sweetest dog I've ever had the experience of knowing.