Reilly Rules

This is Reilly, my sister's dog. He is a Welsh terrier that looks very much like a miniature Airedale. My mom has an Airedale and it's amazing how similar they are in looks. Reilly has a typical terrier temperament. He is a happy and lively but sometimes can have an attitude.
When I say lively, I mean really lively! For the first year my sister had this dog I think he spent more time jumping on and off the kitchen table than anything else. If you walked away from the table without pushing in the chair, he was up before you could turn around and say "Oh crap, I forgot..."
Welsh Terriers were developed to hunt independently and this meant that they were trained to be very assertive. Trying to get Reilly to be obedient was a nonstop job. He seemed to resent my weekly visits to exercise with my sister. More than once he went into my gym bag and took an article of clothing out and chewed it beyond recognition. My sister offered to wash it for me...I declined.
He used to take the remote control to the TV outside to the top of the kid's swing set/tree house and it would take forever for them to find it. It was crazy!
My brother in law used to joke that Reilly was 'special' and not trainable. I think he finally just got tired. He has mellowed with age and no longer jumps as if he has springs in his paws. He once jumped up and grabbed my scarf right off my neck! Now he not only greets me with approval, he even allowed me to take this photo...actually many photos! I think I've finally won him over!