Ramblings about a dog

I never thought I would be I would be a dog owner. I meant, I've dreamt about it when I was a child but I was never really into it because playing with a dog is one thing and looking after it is a totally different issue. That was before we got our golden retriever, Max.

It was my dad's idea to get a dog and everyone else was not as keen. Initially, I assumed he was just kidding, but still I did all the necessary research and "played" along - all the while thinking he wasn't serious about it. We went around pet shops, looked at puppies and asked around. I never really did believe my dad would actually go get one, I mean he didn't even discuss it with the whole family. He brought me to a pet shop and asked to view the puppies, when he suddenly asked if we should get one and before I could really reply, he already paid a deposit for the puppy. What more could I have said?

In my opinion I feel that he did it on a whim then - we did not have a schedule who was to walk, feed the dog etc. And needless to say I was not happy. Initially for the first 2 weeks, it was pure torture and I really did not like having the dog around. My dad took the "honour" of training the dog and he was pretty tired out. However, little did I expect that Max would grow on me - being the lovable creature that he is. And now I simply adore him; not to the extreme extent as some other dog owners would though.

Max is a golden retriever who is around 2 and a half years old. He's an intelligent, energetic and adorable dog. When he was brought home at the age of 4 months, he was toilet-trained, taught to sit and give paw, within two weeks.

Initially, he was fed on dry food, but somehow or the other as time went by his diet changed from dry food to cooked food; no preservatives of course. He gets to eat chicken, pork, beef, fish(with no bones)! Even my friends commented that he has a pampered life.

For a dog, especially a golden, he can be pretty lazy and stubborn. But as with his breed, he loves his food and can be finicky about it at times.And apparently he has a temper too, which rarely surfaces. Once when he was told he could play with a mini cushion, he walked past us and simply threw the cushion in his mouth in our direction! And when he goes out for walks, if the sun happens to be a little too hot for him, he'll either walk in the shade and refuse to move, or simply walk behind the shadow of the person bringing him out for a walk.