Our other yellow lab is the sister of the aforementioned Millie. When we visited the breeder to take a look at her labs, Maddie was also jumping as high as she could on the inside of the box to get me to pick her up and take her home. We had no intention of getting two dogs. In fact we had breeders refuse to sell us two because they said it was too hard to raise two labs. You know what, in many ways they are right. Never the less, Maddie made her petition to get out of that breeders house very well and we went home with two beautiful yellow, champion labs.
If any dogs had a New York personality, it is Maddie. In many ways we should have breed her, or modeled her. She is one of the most beautiful labs you will ever see. Maddie had perfect skin, soft like velvet, a perfect face with beautiful eyes and her weight is perfect. But more than her physical appearance, Maddie has the personality of a star. She is aloof, snotty, expectant, and she even poops in private, choosing to find a bush or shrub to get behind so she cannot be seen.
When working or playing with Maddie, you can tell she is well ahead of you and at times is bored. She is very smart and much of the time unchallenged. When the other dogs are rabidly chasing balls or in the pool fetching dummies, Maddie is off sunning herself or doing something alone. She is just that way, a bit of a loner, but when shown some attention, she is your best friend.
In the pool, our other dogs will almost kill you, and each other to get to the retrieving dummy. Not Maddie, she swims at her own pace, taking her time, and then brings the dummy back to you very slowly. After she gets it to you, she may, or may not go back for another try. Depends on her mood. We equate Maddie to some super model of dogs, or a movie super star. Simply put, she will do it if she pleases.
Maddie is the only dog in the house that tries at times to sleep on pieces of furniture that are off limits. She seems to think that rules don’t apply to her and sometimes she gets away with it. Many times I come in to the kitchen for some water late at night and she is on our couch or other expensive pieces and I have to make her get down. None of our other guys try this, but Maddie feels it is her right, after all, we were on it, why not her?
Maddie is never the leader, it is not her nature, and she lets the action come to her. When in the car, she is usually in the back out of the way of the other beasts. In the house, she is last in most things and athletically, she is not even close to the other dogs, but where Maddie has them all is her beauty. She is one of the most gorgeous dogs you will ever see.
As Maddie's owner, I have but two problems with her; she does not come when called. This can be maddening when you really need her to come to you. In fact if she gets loose in the front yard, she takes off like she just broke out of prison, running like crazy and looking back over her shoulder to see if men with shot guns are coming. She will run as hard as she can and we have to hunt her done and then really bribe her to come home. Once again, like a super model that has broken away from her first contract, Maddie makes her best effort to see the world before being made to go home.
I remember one cold Texas morning, and I mean really cold, Maddie was out back and would not come in and would not come to me. I called, and called and called, and nothing, she just stood looking at me like I was crazy. I became incensed and began to chase her around the yard. Now one thing is for sure, you cannot catch Maddie, she is quick. Nonetheless, I tried. Robe flowing, white legs showing in the cold air, nothing I did even put me close to her.
After a bit of this, I lost it even more. Here I had a 600.00-dollar dog that would not come to me. I was nuts and began to take off my shoes and throw them at her at full force. I was yelling, cussing and generally making a big ass of myself to anyone that might be watching. This went on for several minutes before I woke up to the fact that I would never catch her, or was it that I had run out of shoes and my feet were cold and wet? Not sure but I remember thinking if I ever got hold of her, she better be ready. I never did! To this day, I have little power over Maddie, so I have to watch where she is and where we are taking her and make sure she is on leash and accounted for.
My next problem is that Maddie eats her own poop. Yes I know, I could have left that part out. We have never really figured our what drives this odd behavior. Is it hunger, boredom, don’t really know. And I don’t really care; I just know it is gross. Then Maddie wants to come up and kiss you as she has been taught to do by Julie. No thanks poop face, maybe some other time.
Lessons From Maddie
What can you learn from Maddie? Well, what I have learned is if you are pretty, you will most likely get what you want, when you want it and people love to touch you, ogle at you and pet your head. I have learned that I am not as pretty as Maddie. No one touches my head.
Secondly, I have learned, you can be pretty and still eat
poop. There are some perfect
people in the world, and they eat their own poop and don’t know it. I think for Maddie, we can overlook
this odd behavior.
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