Earlier today I was watching Kimber playing with some new doggie friends.  We’d come across them as we turned a corner, out of some woods and into a field.  She was happily sniffing and scampering until she turned the corner and there they were.  Playing.  Three of them.  What do you expect she did next?  Ask me if I thought she should ask to join in?  Wonder if she would be welcome?  Worry that they wouldn’t want her?

As I watched her launch herself into the melee, I wondered at her confidence.  And it struck me that dogs just assume that they’re welcome, until someone tells them otherwise.  And why should it be any different for us?  I know that my friends and I would never think or tell a new person to piss off.  So why do we assume any different when we’re the new person?  Why do we talk ourselves out of so many great, new situations?  Maybe we should be more like Kimber and her friends, and just assume that we’re welcome until someone growls at us?  Because I have to tell you, those dogs have a lot of fun!