they just love ...

I figure we have a lot to learn from dogs really. It seems they have a lot of things figured out if you ask me. Dogs seem to have this life thing figured out pretty well. They live totally un-self-consciously. They pass gas and they don't care. They don't care who sees them void. They could be the ugliest dog on the block but they don't know that and it doesn't keep them from prancing around like peacocks. They embrace who they are fully: skinny or overweight, white or black, pedigree or inbred, big dog or little dog. They are who they are and that's that. Kind of a refreshing thought isn't it?

They know what brings them joy and they just do it. "Oh look! A squirrel!" And off they go in blissful bounds. "Where's my toy? Where's my toy? Where's my toy?" They dart all around the house or yard until they find the one thing they most want at that moment. They play with abandon, unafraid of who's watching or how they look to someone passing by. They don't get bogged down by responsibility because they have none. And they can't say that they just don't have the time to do what they want, because they have nothing but time.

Some breeds (take mine for example) get joy from pleasing their masters. They obey because they know their master will be pleased with them and reward them, whether it's with a treat or just a loving rub on the belly.

They know what they like and what they don't like. Some love to swim, others won't go near the water. Some like chewy toys or ones that squeak and others just rip them to shreds. Some like the rope toys so they can play tug of war with their humans and others are more content playing alone. Some want to be cuddled and held and nuzzled, others don't. There are some that like to be scratched on the belly, some on the ears, some on the back, and still others just above their tail. Others are just happy to get any affection. There are no pretenses with dogs. There's no "Well maybe if I do this, I'll be more liked, more accepted by the others." There's no "keeping up with the Labradors" or "but the Great Dane down the street did it so I should too ... " It doesn't work that way. They are a species that is very accepting and all inclusive. There are no cliques in dog world. They make no judgments.

They do however have their way of "sniffing out" the bad seeds. By sniffing each others' "others" they can tell whether or not that particular dog is safe to hang out with. They trust their sense about such things. They sniff out if they can safely stick around or if they should retreat. (I can name a few times in my life when that particular ability would have been of great benefit to me!) But they can tell when they are in danger and they know to retreat or fight back.

Dogs are very forgiving. They don't hold grudges. They know that we as their humans make mistakes. But they just love us. They don't care that we don't always get it right; they just love. They love with their whole bodies. Wiggling, wily bodies!

Now, I realize that a lot of this is because they lack the capacity to make judgments or exercise free will really. But I still stand by what I said at the beginning. Yes. It seems to me that dogs have this life thing down pretty doggone well.