Dog Training 101

Hello, gentle readers!

I was lurking on Facebook and I came across something that made me pause. The meme read “It’s a humbling moment when you realize your pet has successfully trained you to do something.” I laughed. Wouldn’t you? And then I sobered. Rather quickly. Because it was so true. I am well trained.

A quiet moment...yes, they've taken over my couch!

If you’ve read my blog before, then you know I am the human mother to two German Shepherd puppies (they are 7 and a half months old now…just like with two legged kids, the four-legged ones grow very quickly). And what mischief the one doesn’t find, the other does. Pepper is a thief. Don’t leave socks unattended or you will find them in the yard. Lacey is an instigator.  

         But they are both very sweet girls and I love them.

         So, how am I trained? Where to begin? Okay. When I’m sitting quietly (which doesn’t happen that often), one of them will bring me a toy, drop it in my lap, and just stand there, tail wagging, eyes sparkling, ears perky and I know, she’s just waiting for me to throw the toy or play tug of war, depending on what was brought. And I do. Easy peasy, right?

Here’s another one (a very common one). The “I want a cookie” look. It generally starts with the same pose…tail wagging, eyes sparkling (ever notice how expressive a dog’s eyebrows are?), ears perked up, tongue hanging out and constant looks at the kitchen. If I don’t respond, they will nudge at my hand and again, look at the kitchen. If I still don’t respond, they will come up on my lap and give me kisses, at which point I say all right and then they use me as jumping board and run to the kitchen to wait for me. I never get the “I want to go out look”; we have a doggy door.

As you can see, I have been very well trained. And isn’t that the way it should be? They give us everything...love, companionship, a reason to smile. We can certainly pay them back with the same.

Until next time, remember to spread kindness wherever you go.

Marie