Too Good to Be True?

Binder's a good-looking dog and a very smart boy. He's playful, but not too rowdy. Affectionate, but not needy. He gets along great with every dog he's met, and is friendly and outgoing with humans, too. He walks well on a leash, hasn't had a single accident in the house and has never tried to get on the furniture.

If you've read all of the posts here to date you might get the impression Binder's a little too perfect, that maybe he's lacking in the idiosyncrasies that provide personality. Welllllllllll...almost.

For Binder, life is all about food. Where he might find it, when he might get it, why he didn't get more. He inhales his food in less than 30 seconds, then looks up at me with big, pleading brown eyes like surely I shorted him. He's learned not to go near the other dog's dishes while they're eating, but can't help looking longingly in their direction while they finish their kibble at a more reasonable pace. Even though I never leave food out on the counter I have evidence he's checked - just in case - on more than one occasion. When I'm loading dirty dishes into the dishwasher he sneaks into the kitchen if I have my back turned and slurps up whatever is clinging to the various utensils in the silverware basket (today it was the remnants of yogurt treats - yum!) until I shoo him away. When I open the pantry door he appears out of nowhere. When we walk through the garage he sniffs the spare bag of dog food longingly through the packaging. I could easily picture him as the "I Has a Sweet Potato" dog.

So no, Binder's not perfect, but he is a great dog and a very lovable boy, and I am really enjoying his company. Anyway, his obsession with food has a definite upside - it makes teaching him new things a breeze because so far there's nothing he won't try if a treat's involved.