Background: Brodie is not a barker, but he is very interested in visitors to our home. Anyone who enters the house is someone who should be tossing a toy or a ball for him. A doorbell sound means that someone is here to play with him! He always attempts to beat me to the door, which is silly, because he doesn’t have the skills or thumbs to open the door. He waits impatiently for the door to open and the person to enter and playing to begin.
Halloween night was doorbell after doorbell after doorbell. Brodie realized after the 3rd or 4th time that these people were not coming inside. He figured out that I would step outside and hand something to those at the door. So he started going outside with me, but not to sniff or greet the trick-or-treaters or parents. He would instead, run past the visitors at our door and pee on the pillar which holds our covered porch.
The first time he peed, I thought he was just doing his business. The second time I realized he was peeing on the pillar, while looking back at the people standing at our door – in a very male dog way. The third time, I laughed out loud when the mother accompanying her toddler said “wow, I guess he is showing us who’s house this is!” It became a joke to me after that. I would answer the door, kids would holler “trick-or-treat” at the same time Brodie was fighting his way through the crowd to pee on the pillar. It happened at least 20 times that night.
Good news, we never ran out of candy but it was a nice balance of not much left over. I hosed down the pillar out front, I don’t want the walkway to our front door smelling like dog pee. And Brodie, I think he went to sleep thinking “I showed those people who lives here!”.
Until next Halloween….
Ready for the trick-or-treaters!
brandinarvaez
Living with a Labrador 