Cynthia and I have been meaning to do our deck for the last couple of weeks, but the weather and our schedule did not permit us to tackle this job until this weekend. We told the kids, Alex and Bella, about it and as you can see Bella was ready to help out, but Alex needed a bit of convincing.
Bella started by surveying and accessing our deck’s damage in order to come up with a game plan.
This is how Alex did her evaluation of our deck’s damage.
Alex, then, decided to talk to Cynthia about this project, but midway through their planning Alex fell asleep. Way to tackle this job!
Once we had a plan in place, Bella made sure that we knew the areas where the most attention was needed by pointing with her little nose. She was such a big help to this project.
We try to include Alex and Bella in as many things as we possibly can in order to get them used to different things. Once we started working on the deck, they fell asleep in the kitchen by the sliding doors. What does that teach them? Self-control. Training your dog should be part of your every day life, and this is a perfect example of that. How does your canine companion help you tackle chores? Have a great Sunday!
AllMyCanineCompanions 
I tell Loki, “Come help me do this or that,” and he follows me from room to room and lies on the floor to watch me do my thing. I did this with my Doberman, Fenn, too. I like to be around my dogs and to include them in everyday life. For Loki, it helps me keep an eye on him, plus I think it is teaching him to be calm…which is awfully hard for his two breeds!
You are doing great! You are actually teaching your dogs self-control. My Bella, a 3-year-old pit mix, is full of energy and I do the same with her, as you do with your Loki, because I need to drain some of that energy, teach her self-control, and make her work since she can’t just take off and go wherever and whenever she wants.
Max follows me everywhere (though he has just about given up on following me into the toilet) and is constantly playing a game I call trippy. The aim of the game is to stand behind my legs when I’m not looking but without touching (so I don’t feel fur) and then wait for me to move and trip over him. His favourite spot to play is in the kitchen. I think he is more intelligent than he lets on and knows that tripping over in the kitchen may result in food being dropped. He helps with the washing by sitting on it. He doesn’t really understand chores.. He does understand ‘go get mum’ though when I fall (mobility issues) so I don’t mind if he doesn’t help with the chores 🙂
Lol. Max is really smart and funny. You know what? Just by my dogs making me laugh, like yours does, is more than enough help. Your Max sounds wonderful.
I follow momwithoutpaws everywhere even when she is doing her chores, sit near by or look for sniff mail
That’s wonderful:-)