My dog is bad...

Deal with it!

Neighbors... Friends... other animals.

She barks loud. She's obnoxious. She poops and pees in the back patio when we're away.

We'll pick it up.

She's embarrassing at times.

She squeals at other animals as we walk past. She tests my patience habitually.

But she's a dog. She's my dog.

She's actually my first dog. I didn't grow up with a dog. I mean, I had a dog once for a couple of weeks. We had to give her up because we were moving to a place that didn't accept dogs. So I've never truly had a dog. I used to view them almost as an item. A commodity. But not this badass that sleeps on half of my and my wife's bed.

As a puppy, she was a loud barker. It wasn't until she broke through my screen door that I realized she was mostly curious and passive. Bad, but a softy. And gross. She ran up to another dog full speed just to sniff the living crap out of his crapper. I thought for certain they were going to duke it out. She's all hype.

That also showed my lack of understanding. About who she was. Why she wanted to do certain things. Why she actually did do certain things. My ignorance led me to believe that because of her bark, she was an untamed, ferocious beast. And I'm around her all of the time. So I could imagine how others who heard her would be frightened.

I could imagine. But don't be.

My dog barks at anyone who doesn't live in the house. Most of our friends and family are afraid of her. But there is a musician friend of mine who's had dogs all throughout his life. He's not afraid. Whenever he comes by after a long hiatus, she'll bark for a bit. He doesn't change himself around her. Eventually she warms back up and turns on her back for him to pet her belly or, in really awesome cases, she'll take his hand with her paw and gesture him to pet her head.

My dog is very protective of her community... that being the house. Being afraid of her means you have something to be afraid of. Yes, she can be scary at times. She's supposed to be. In her mind, this is all she has and you're a threat until you're not.

Survival 101.

We take her on walks everyday and try to avoid distractions in other dogs. We're trying to find a way to get her to be fine around other dogs without her squealing. If anyone has any ideas on what to do, we'd love to hear it.

This badass girl isn't just a pet, but a part of my family. She's bad, but so is your nephew. And I gotta deal with his snotty face and ratty attitude. You can deal with my loud-ass dog.

Deal with it!