Today is the day & the term "to spoil"

Well, today is the day; it's all coming off. My big blonde bundle of curls is getting shaved; I don't want to but I have to. The temps are rising and Luke has been a bit sluggish the last couple of days. And with the added coat comes the "velcro effect" as well. Honestly when he goes for a run in the canyon he comes home with no telling what attached to him. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to get the brush through his coat and it's just plain hot now.

Even though he will be chilly in the evening when we go to bed for a couple of weeks; he will not be suffering from the heat during the day. And I have to admit; not only do the dogs all have their own bed; but they all have their own blankets for just those times when one looses their coat. If they have been shaved recently they will be tucked in at night with their very own fleece blanket and they love it. Especially Luke; he does loves his comforts. And no I do not consider this to be spoiling; just imagine having a big warm wool blanket on and then someone rips it off. You'd be pretty cranky.

Many people say to me "oh my dogs are so spoiled." The term spoiled to me is a bad one and in dictionary terms it is not a good one either. Spoil - to impair, damage, or harm the character or nature of (someone) by unwise treatment, excessive indulgence, etc.: I always correct people when they are either speaking about spoiling their dog or about how I spoil my dogs. They are being treated the way they should be treated, not spoiled. To me spoiling is exactly as the definition describes; creating a monster in effect.

But making real food meals for my dogs, allowing them the comforts of a bed on the floor, taking them out on daily excursions, keeping them clean and comfortable and giving them all the love they give me is treating them the way they deserve. Spoiling ones dogs to me would be to allow them a better spot on the bed, give them the couch because they growl if you try to sit there, go and get a cookie for them when they bark at the cookie cupboard or let them take you for walk instead of you taking them.

The true meaning of spoiling is a bad one and it is never a good idea to either spoil a dog or a human. It doesn't help anyone involved in the whole scenario.

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