Happy dog at the counter

Moose has always been very obedient about "sitting." Today, we put his sitting skills to the test.

We give Moose his medications by wrapping them in a piece of meat. As would be expected, every morning and night when we reach for his meds, the jingling of the pills in the bottle echoes throughout the house. This sound in joyous to Moose and he jumps up and comes running to devour what he perceives as a "treat."

Like a creature of habit, Moose came running this morning when I reached for his medication. The jingle called him into the kitchen and, when he arrived, he sat with his ears and eyes perked, ready for his tasty treat. But just giving him a treat without asking for him to do a trick was out of character in our household.

So, I helped Moose onto the kitchen stool. With my assistance,  he jumped up willingly. His ears and eyes were still perked as I told him to "sit."

While he sat at the kitchen counter like a human, I stepped away from Moose and told him to stay. I approached the cabinet and grabbed a plate. Moose waited patiently. I opened the fridge and got a few pieces of ham. Moose started to drool. Then I wrapped his pills in the meat, placed them on the plate, put the plate on the counter and scooted it towards Moose's nose.

You can imagine what happened from there.

It takes a special dog to be be comfortable in so many unusual situations. The way he handled today's adventure, you would think that Moose ate every meal at the kitchen counter with us. And, although he does not, he may from now on.

Why do dogs need dogs bowl after all?