I have a very clever dog.  She is another character in a house full of characters.  She has perfected the boneless dog flop that some how makes her immovable from the best and warmest spots.  She takes advantage of the fact that I only ever sit on the front edge of my seat.  The empty part of the seat behind me she views as an invite to share space and will climb up between me and the seat back.  I know I am allowing her a bad habit, but it is so funny and kind of sweet to have her snugged up against my back with her chin on my shoulder.  She likes to have the inside of her thigh rubbed and will go by people and lift her leg to give them easy access.  I will say that this has caused adverse reactions for those not in the know, because it does look like she is getting to ready to pee (if she was a male dog).  What has initiated this musing is how she helps me (read – takes advantage of the situation) when I am exercising.

I try to get some extra physical activity in at least 4 times a week.  For me this means some running on a trampoline, weights, and stretches.  The stretches I do, where either I am on the floor or bending over, are very challenging; not the physical part of the exercise but the fact that if I am on the floor I am fair game to my dog, Hazel.  I reach down to attempt to touch my toes (one day I may succeed), my dog views this as an invitation to give me some dog kisses, get a good scratch or just hang out close enough that it may inspire a belly rub.  I lie on the floor to stretch my back, Hazel either sits on me or curls up where my legs need to go.  Moving around her does not work, she just adjusts where she is situated to relate to my new position.  She has even figured out that I usually do my stretches after I do jumping jacks.  She readies herself to swoop in as soon as I start jumping, and is right where my hands are going to go when I bend over to touch my toes.  If I switch up the routine, she pretends she wasn’t up to anything, its perfectly natural to be half off a chair.   She may be very clever, but she is not subtle.