HOME LIFE—If she doesn’t like the crate she is stuck in, she is less likely to panic than she is to simply find a way out of it. If she has had enough of your new restrictive schedule at work and the boring late-night leash walks, she will probably just find a way to get out for a tear through the hills on her own when she spots her chance. She will mostly roll with your strange human habits at home, but won’t hesitate to take care of her needs as she sees fit. She is the kind of girl who can take care of herself, undemanding and drama-free, as long as she likes the terms being offered.

You forgot to feed her on time tonight because you had an emergency at the office? No problem, don’t get up. She will just help herself to the chicken you brought home from the grocery store that is still sitting on the counter. The alarm didn’t go off at 6 a.m. so you slept through her morning constitutional at the park? She won’t make a big fuss, just a dump on your roommate’s bed. Her ability to be self-reliant is convenient when it comes to a time-crunched schedule that does not allow you to entertain her constantly. But it can be a little maddening when she takes it upon herself to solve problems her way.

For her, the answers are usually pretty obvious. The ex-girlfriend with a tendency to drama who shows up at your house at 2 a.m., and who you clearly aren’t excited to see? She probably needs to be told to leave. So your natural dog is happy to help by delivering a small snap at the ex’s hand as she moves toward you with an uninvited hug. Or the piece of pizza that your nephew dropped on the floor last week—that was obviously unwanted leftovers for her to eat. Why was everyone so mad when she snatched it up? And why on earth would anyone be so rude as to try to take it back, right out of her mouth? She makes every effort to work with you. But sometimes she thinks you just don’t get it at all.

The fact that you keep insisting that she lie on the couch with total strangers the way she does with you is totally weird. Would you want to lie on the couch with a total stranger? And what was the point of that bumblebee costume that you got for her to wear on Halloween? It was uncomfortable and itchy, and you kept telling her to stop trying to bite it off. Could you blame her when she snapped at the kid who repeatedly patted her on the head at the costume party and who kept saying, “Bee! Buzz! Bee!” over and over in her face?