When she misbehaves.
Tinky-Winky never, ever misbehaves. Her recall isn't 100%, but that's about the only bad thing she ever does. In the house, she's perfect. She doesn't bark. She doesn't chew. She doesn't dig at the carpet. (I planted her a lawn on the balcony and she dug it up, but that was her lawn to do with as she wanted.) She doesn't pee. She doesn't get in the garbage. She even knows to puke on the linoleum.
But sometimes, she does something that's like the beginning of a misbehaviour. Then I say "what are you doing?" and we both laugh.
We're a good match in that way. Neither of us is the least bit playful or has any sense of humour. We're uptight each with our own kind. We're both spinsters at heart. But we "get" each other.
So today, Tinky-Winky decided it was her walking time. Yes, yes, Cesar, blah blah blah. The reality is, things between us are balanced enough that I don't need to be strict with her anymore. Once upon a time she was really bossy with me. Now she's not. So when she asks for something nicely, usually she gets it. But back to my story: she decided it was walking time, so she came into the living room and did a play bow. And this brought her face to face with a library book that was lying on the floor. She looked at it and got the idea to play with it. First she tried to open it with her nose. Then she tried to chew on the inside. Then she tried to chew on the cover. Then I said to her "we don't eat library books." And she looked at me and we laughed. She didn't even get any drool on the book.
I love my dog.
Tinky-Winky never, ever misbehaves. Her recall isn't 100%, but that's about the only bad thing she ever does. In the house, she's perfect. She doesn't bark. She doesn't chew. She doesn't dig at the carpet. (I planted her a lawn on the balcony and she dug it up, but that was her lawn to do with as she wanted.) She doesn't pee. She doesn't get in the garbage. She even knows to puke on the linoleum.
But sometimes, she does something that's like the beginning of a misbehaviour. Then I say "what are you doing?" and we both laugh.
We're a good match in that way. Neither of us is the least bit playful or has any sense of humour. We're uptight each with our own kind. We're both spinsters at heart. But we "get" each other.
So today, Tinky-Winky decided it was her walking time. Yes, yes, Cesar, blah blah blah. The reality is, things between us are balanced enough that I don't need to be strict with her anymore. Once upon a time she was really bossy with me. Now she's not. So when she asks for something nicely, usually she gets it. But back to my story: she decided it was walking time, so she came into the living room and did a play bow. And this brought her face to face with a library book that was lying on the floor. She looked at it and got the idea to play with it. First she tried to open it with her nose. Then she tried to chew on the inside. Then she tried to chew on the cover. Then I said to her "we don't eat library books." And she looked at me and we laughed. She didn't even get any drool on the book.
I love my dog.
4 comments:
Cute story - made me chuckle. :D I am trying to picture you two laughing...well, I guess I'm trying to picture Akemi (our shiba) laughing. o.O
It is a bit funny to catch her about to do something that she knows isn't "good girl" behavior, like reaching up to ring the bell to go out just after we've just come in for a walk.
That big open-mouthed smile with the eyes all shiny, ears perked up, and maybe a play bow. I'm pretty sure that's a dog's way of laughing.
This post brings back bittersweet memories. Once upon a time, I had a dog. I loved her to death, & we did almost everything together. Three months later, I wanted to kill her, her behavior was so bad. I miss that dog, but she's got a better home now.
When I first got Tinky-Winky, there came a point where I wondered if I had made a mistake, because of her aggression. But we got through it. Sounds like you did the right thing for your dog.
Post a Comment