My Dog and Hats

My dog and hats:

Our dog Bosco is a couch potato and would not be much protection if it came down to it. But he is very lovable and is smart. Since I have lost most of the hair on my head I try not to go out in the Florida sun without a hat.

I noticed the other day that he responds differently by which hat I pick when I go out. I have a nice, clean, presentable hat I use when I have to go to town, two or three “trash” hats I use for yard work and the like, and two “Boating” hats. 

If I put on the nice hat Bosco just sits there or goes to one of the places he curls up and sulks. He knows that hat means he will not get to go.

With the trash hats, he is attentive, and follows me around. If I go out the back door he knows he can come, if I go out the side door he may get to come, and the other door means he can watch me through the front window and I will be coming in and out and might get to go out.

The boat hats get him excited…he knows he gets to go! He will not let you out of his sight as he does dog things and we get ready to go. By the time we are ready we seldom have to call him to get on the boat. He is a boater dog to the max, but he is like many girls. He will not get in the water. 8-)

The other day I confused him. I went boating wearing a trash hat. I had the boat loaded and ready to cast off before he noticed. He would have swamped the dinghy getting in if it had been a smaller boat.

We had a nice boat ride on the river and he had great fun when we passed 3 cows waist deep on the river bank.  He would growl and bark at them, and then turn and look at me as if to say “am I doing good” and then growl and bark again. When one cow looked at him in the eyes and Mooed, Bosco retreated to the back of the boat behind me. 

It will be interesting to see if he will want to go boating again if I have a trash hat on. 8-) He might remember the big mean Moo Moo Cow and me having that hat on.