I didn’t know this before now but I can only pick up a dog if it is standing up. When Rocky is lying on the floor and I go to pick him up, he turns into something that feels like a 25 pound sack of wet noodles. It’s as if he is boneless. If I try to pick him up under the armpits, his arms straighten out and he slides through my hands, flowing like unset jello back down to the floor. If I try to grasp him around the rib cage, he flops on either side like I’ve broken him in two. Since I am afraid of breaking him (even though I have seen him bounce like rubber), I have abandoned that grip. I thought about picking him up by his legs (since he is usually on his back or side while lying down) but I am afraid I would dislocate something. No, the only way is to strangle him by hauling up on his collar until at least his fore legs touch the floor. Then he seems to develop some bone structure and I can haul his tummy up, thus making the hind legs contact the floor and putting him into a position where I can scoop him up with one arm under his chest and the other under his bum. And throughout this process, he remains remarkably good natured if unhelpful. Somehow, Peter has less of a problem than I do.