I say, "Sit”, You bark, “No”
I say, ”Stop,” and you just go go go
Ohhh, oh no
I say, "Lie down," and you jump around
Around around
Sometimes I wish I owned a basset hound

Suffice it to say that my terrier, DJ, is a conscientious objector, disobedient in dog parlance. Our world is like Opposite Day round the clock where up is down, sit is stand  and stay is go.

But I’m ok with that.

Seriously.

Obedience has never been my thing. Not in school, not at home and admittedly, not with dogs.

And I don’t care. Not one bit…Okay, I lied, maybe one bit but not more.

Truth is, a dog doesn’t need to be obedient to be good. A dog is not a slave, or a yes-man or a brown-noser…(Upon reflection I retract that last one). A dog is your best friend, a creature with his own set of quirks and quarks. Yes indeed, that’s what makes the human-dog bond so interesting, endlessly fascinating and above all, enduring. Think about it; man and dog have been doing this dance for like 20,000 years. We just get each other.

Don’t get me wrong, you still gotta train your carnivorous beast not to destroy everything in sight like my freckle-faced little cousin Ira, who once chewed up a set of winter tires.

I simply want my dog to be good around me - good, not great and fun for heaven’s sake, (like last week when DJ tinkled yellow on the leg of my annoying neighbor, Benjy the podiatrist). 

It’s really not that hard to achieve this mutual ‘understanding’ between you and your dog: Try some quick slapdash basic training, feed good chow (raw of course) and most important, live “The Hang" -  long walks,  bring him along on errands and if you’re lucky like I am, take the pooch to work.

Understand that a dog is arguably the most intuitive creature on earth. He’ll figure you out, instinctively, learn the lay of the land and shadow you for life.

A shadow that glows, a shadow that radiates warmth and happiness.

So if DJ wants to stand when I say, "Sit," stop when I say, "Go," who cares? 

Not me.