Mollie, the Black Lab, and Her Shenanigans

Meet Mollie

We have a granddaughter. Her name is Mollie. She is a 60 to 70 pounds black lab and is about 8 years old. Mollie is very vocal and quite a character. I can imagine her as a human with a snarky attitude. Mollie stays with us when her parents are on vacation and there is never an occasion where she does not use her manipulation methods with us. Mollie loves being outside, hence why she enjoys being here, because of our large fenced-in backyard. She can get annoying sometimes with her constant whining to go outside. Yesterday alone I opened the sliding door for her about 30 times. And whenever I said no, she grunted like a bitchy teenager as if saying, “FINE! I’ll just lay here on your swollen, puffy, hurt foot!” Then lay down on the floor using my foot as a pillow.

She Has Her Ways

I enjoy writing, so during my free time, I grab my laptop to write. But Mollie has other plans. “Grandma, let’s go outside,” I hear when she stands in front of me. If I ignore her, she will land her enormous head on my keyboard and look at me with sad eyes. How can I say no to her?

Sometimes, when I open the glass door for her, she’ll go before me, stop midway and look back as if saying, “Come on grandma, come outside with me.” If I decide I do not want to and begin closing the door or tell her she’s on her own, she will turn around and come back inside—of course, grunting as if saying, “Fine, I’ll stay inside.” Though most of the time I go out with her. Other times, when I open the sliding door, she will dash out running. And you better be careful, because if you’re in the way, she will drag you down with her. Therefore, we open the door and quickly step aside.

"I Love the Feeling of Dirt all Over Me!"

When outside, she LOVES to roll around in the grass or dirt. Then she runs towards us or indoors with her body full of dirt, leaves, grass, and whatever else is out there. When we dust her off, she will go right back and do it again. I think she just loves the attention and since we don’t like to see her dirty, one of us will dust her off with our hands. It probably feels like a massage to her.

Mollie and Chewy's Relationship

We have a small dog, Chewy. He’s not fond of Mollie. She couldn’t care less about him either, so they do not bother each other. They just ignore each other—unless Mollie dashes outside running. That’s when Chewy runs out with her to bark at the next-door dog.

We give Chewy carrots as treats. Though Mollie is not a fan of veggies as treats, she will grab the carrot, place it somewhere secure, walk up to Chewy and watch him eat his. Once she’s assured it is an edible treat, she retrieves the one we gave her and eats it as if saying, "If the annoying brat eats it, it's safe for me to eat it." It reminds me of the Life Cereal commercial with Mikey many years ago where the two brothers did not dare taste the cereal, so they had their youngest brother taste it first. Mollie does the same.

Mollie Can Talk

Her vocalization is such that it sounds as if she’s really conveying something. Whenever her parents come back from vacation to pick her up, it sounds like she’s complaining, “You left me here alone with my grandparents and that annoying small dog. They did not allow me to go outside every time I wanted, and they made me eat those nasty carrots!”

I have a wild imagination, and that’s what it sounds like to me. Her whining is all sorts of vocal ranges like she’s really complaining or commanding something. When my daughter and her fiancé come to pick Mollie up, if they sit with us for a while, Mollie will get in their faces, demand their attention and while whining, walk up to the front door as if saying, “Come on, let’s go. Take me home.” If they tell her no, she will lie on the floor and grunt with her usual, “FINE, I’ll just lay here.” If they get up and go towards the door, she will continue to whine and touch the doorknob with her nose, as if saying, “Come now, open it.”

I Want that Toy and I Will Have It!

Mollie is sneaky too. Chewy’s toys are all scattered around the house. Whenever Mollie comes over, we must pick them up and put them safely away. If Mollie gets ahold of them, she will tear them to pieces. Every so often we miss one and she grabs it. If we take it away from her, she will watch us to see where we hide it. Once no one is looking, she will get to the toy and grab it. By the time we find it, it is destroyed.

Mollie is Sweet, Loving, and Obedient

But Mollie is not all about being a stubborn teenager. She is also very loving. Every so often, she will come up to us and nudge our hand for us to pet her. When she was younger, it was nonstop. She wanted to be petted all the time. As she grew older, it is on her terms. Once you pet her, if she’s had enough, she’ll just walk away as if saying, “alright that’s enough.”

When she’s in a resting mood, she will snug up against your foot and take her nap.

Mollie is very obedient, too. When her eyes secrete gunk, all I have to say to her is, “Come Mollie let’s get your face cleaned.” She willingly follows along and allows me to wipe her face with a damp cloth. And that’s not because I give her any treats for allowing me to do so. I just praise her and tell her how beautiful she looks.

If she’s outside and barks incessantly, all we do is open the door and signal with our fingers to come inside. She immediately stops barking and returns inside while grunting. Sounds like a teenager, right?

Overall, Mollie is a very smart dog with a big personality and a snarky attitude. It feels like we can understand every word she is trying to say. For us, she's family - our granddaughter and we wouldn't have any other way. We don't mind taking care of her or her snarky attitude. We love her the same.