Old dog, new trick

Okay, so it's a picture of McAllister lying down. No big surprise, eh?

But, it's also a picture of a VERY GOOD DOG.

He's lying down in front of the dining room doors. In the living room. While people are eating.

Our dining room has a new, and very special, rug that is predominantly black. It doesn't go well with fur.

McAllister, on the other hand, is ... well, an orchard dog. He likes to be under the trees when the fruit comes tumbling down, if you catch my drift.

From his first day here, we have told him he simply cannot come into the dining room. We placed a stool in the open doorway so he would understand, and between meals he has been very good about it.

Not so during meals, though. He has seen the doorway, seen people eating, and figured the orchard effect would be in full swing so he'd better be there. He has tried squeezing past the stool each time, and we've told him "No" each time.

This evening (with lucious meat on the table, no less), we decided to see if he had gotten the hint. We took the stool out of the doorway as we were beginning dinner. And ... either he's a vegetarian, or he has learned not to come into the dining room while the meal is going on.

Good dog!

It is such a blessing to talk with a dog who gets it!

Flop!

No, he's not a flop. But McAllister has already found some good spots in which to flop as he settles in to his "retirement home."

Here, he is between the coffee table and a large Ottoman. I can walk past him if I pick my way carefully past his tail.

Other good spots so far:

1. Narrow corridor between loveseat and wall (A.K.A. only way to get out of the living room).
2. Next to our bed at night, between us and the bathroom.
3. Just outside the dining room doorway, on kitchen floor (in case "manna" should fall from the heaven of our dining table).
4. Just outside the other dining room door (same thing, but this is a real door, so nothing doing).
5. On the outdoor deck, staring at the back door and waiting to come in.
6. The main hallway to the back rooms of the house.
7. (and cutest) On his bed, in our family room, watching Matt play piano and rehearse. Only time I've seen him on his bed, so far.