Guard doggin'

I am still a little boy, so I do not have many jobs to do right now. Mostly, my job is to be good. Sometimes, that one is hard.

But I see ways that I can help, even if Mommy and Daddy have not told me that they are part of my place in the family. One I see is guarding my house and my family.

I am spending a little more time outside by myself. Not much: my parents say little boys need extra help being safe (and staying out of trouble). Still, getting to spend a few minutes in my yard, watching the world go by, is fun. Boys need their space, and I live in an interesting neighborhood.

Last night, as I was watching things, I thought, "There can be some scary stuff out here. Some of that scary stuff might be bad for my family. Maybe I can tell my parents when I see something scary. Maybe I can tell some of that scary stuff to go away, too."

Suddenly, I saw something that looked scary -- a car that drove right up to my house. It was dark, so I could not see it or see who was inside. I thought, "TELL MOMMY!!!!!!" So I did. I barked and barked, really loud, using my best "big boy" voice. She came running out, just like I asked. She said, "Good boy! Good boy! Good guard dog!" I liked hearing that.

Guess what. That scary car? It belonged to my Daddy. Daddy is not scary, but I was still so excited about doing a good thing that I stayed in guard dog mode (Daddy says it was adrenaline. That is a VERY big word.). I did crazy things that I guess real guard dogs don't do -- like jump up on the couch and do (little) butt tucks. I am not allowed on the couch, but I could not help myself.

Mommy says I have some things to learn about being a guard dog, but she is very glad that I see that as part of my job when I get to be bigger. I like helping my family.