It was Father’s Day a year ago when I was rescued from a tough situation and came to live with the Colandos. It was the best day of my life, I thought. But things just got better and better. I’ve listed ten strategies that helped to make it so.
Strategy 1: Hip-hop naps in the family room while your owners watch TV, then scamper down the hall to hop into their bed while they’re readying for bed. A much better mattress than the foam deluxe of a retail dog bed.
Strategy 2: If one encounters a bigger dog that barks while on a neighborhood walk, tuck in behind your owner and turn your back on him. Out of sight = out of mind.
Strategy 3: Refuse to poop in others’ front yards while a walk – and don’t lift a leg to water a tree – when you have your own lawn. Privacy matters. It’s nobody’s business where you do your business.
Strategy 4: Refuse your kibble & bits dog food – and don’t relent – until your owners augment the kibble with tasty-tasting canned food or the occasional butcher shop bone. 
Strategy 5: Befriend the mailman and pool guy because they will bring treats. The lawn crew not so much. Besides their machinery is noisy.
Strategy 6: Bark your head off when your owners return home. Lick their faces, too. It’s prime treat time because they feel guilty for leaving you.
Strategy 7: Allow children and adults to pet you during an outing. They’ve never seen a dog as handsome as you and they say so. Lap it up.
Strategy 8. Use the ‘beg’ posture to alert your owners to your morning and evening mealtimes as well as asking for a portion of their between-meal snacks.
Strategy 9: Always acknowledge/thank your owner when you’ve been fed.
Strategy 10: Give each owner a turn to play fetch or tug-of-war with the toys they give you.
It’s a dog’s life, they say. I’m gifted in the ways to beguile an owner… Follow me. I’m a cool dood.
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