Hi, I’m Savanna! Read my introduction to learn more about me and my spunky Chihuahua mix, Penny.

“Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens. Brown paper packages tied up with string…” Just like the song says, those are a few of my favorite things. But when it comes to our dogs, they often have very different favorite things than we do.

Even if you have more than one dog, their favorite things may be completely different, even if they’re of the same breed. After all, every dog has their individual personality and preferences. Penny definitely has her favorite things that she loves. So to change the lyrics of the song a little bit, these are a few of my dog’s favorite things.

Penny’s 5 Favorite Things:

1. Green Toys

Yes, that’s very specific. Penny has several toys, and that’s an understatement. But her favorite ones seem to be the green ones. Nine times out of 10, if she brings us a toy to play with, it’s a green one.

To me it’s strange that she prefers green toys. While we previously thought that dogs were colorblind and see everything in shades of gray, scientists think that dogs can actually see blue and yellow as well.¹ Since green is a mixture of blue and yellow pigments, I thought maybe it’s because green is one of the colors she can see the best.

But dogs can’t see green either, so I don’t know why she prefers her green toys over all the other ones.

2. Being “Kitty Monitor”

As you may know if you’ve been reading along every week thus far, we also have three cats. Penny has taken it upon herself to be the “kitty monitor.” If the kitties are active, she’s always right there beside one of them, making sure they don’t cause any trouble.

Instead of calling them by their actual names, we call one of them “friend kitty” because he’s the friendliest towards her. One of them is “stripey kitty” because he’s a tabby, and the third is “speckled kitty” because she’s a tortoiseshell. These are the names Penny knows them by, and if we say, “Go find stripey kitty,” she knows exactly which cat that is and where to find him.

If one of them starts meowing, she always runs to investigate. She particularly likes to keep an eye on “speckled kitty.” I can’t figure out why she keeps an eye on this particular cat, but it’s probably because she wants absolutely nothing to do with Penny, but Penny wants something to do with her.

3. Car Rides

Penny also loves car rides. I know a lot of dogs like car rides, but there are plenty of others that don’t. Usually this is because they associate car rides with going to the vet. But Penny has always loved car rides ever since she was a puppy. It doesn’t matter if I simply open my car door to get something out of it. She’ll follow me outside and jump right up in the car, wagging her tail as if we’re going somewhere, even if we aren’t.

I feel bad that she gets excited about us going somewhere, even if we aren’t. It makes me want to take her for a short little ride, even if it’s just around the block.

4. Laying in the Sunshine

A lot of dogs love laying in the sunshine. Penny sometimes asks us to take her outside just so she can lie in the sun. And who can blame her? Sunlight is good for all of us. It allows us to produce vitamin D, and it increases serotonin production, which is a neurotransmitter that improves our mood, reduces anxiety, and improves sleep, and it has the same benefits for our dogs.

I guess what the song says is true. Remembering our favorite things doesn’t make us feel so bad. And in the case of sunshine, it can actually make us and our dogs feel better.

5. Playing in the Dirt

Sometimes Penny gets what I call the “diggy zoomies” where she runs around the yard, stops in the dirt, digs a hole really fast, and then zooms away. Then she repeats it a few seconds later. When she does get the “diggy zoomies” she goes on and on for 5–10 minutes before stopping.

Usually when we’re out working in the yard, raking, planting, etc., she’ll also play in the dirt with us, like she’s helping us dig. It turns out, she’s a hard worker and a very efficient digger.

Writing a New Song

“My Favorite Things” is a classic song, but if Penny were to make up her own version, it would probably go something like this:

“Going for car rides and green toys aplenty, watching the kitties and doing some digging. Laying in sunshine for vitamin D, these are a few of my favorite things.”

What are some things your dog loves? What would their “favorite things” song sound like?