Many moons ago, before I had ever become a dog-owner, I never thought it possible that a dog could be so focused. What I mean is that, I knew dogs could perform tricks and jobs (IE-rolling over, sheep herding, aiding the sight-impaired, etc), but I never realized just how much concentration they were capable of. ( I know I shouldn't end a sentence in a preposition but I feel it makes sense in this case!)
Ever since we got our doggie at the tender age of 8 weeks, we realized that once he set his mind to something, there was very little my family or I could do to distract him. He would get into "The Zone" and absolutely NOTHING could snap him out of it.
Case in point:
1-Puppy wants to go into my bathroom. I tell him "no"..He continues towards the door like he doesn't see me or hear me. I block his path with my body. Puppy walks around me and tries to get into the bathroom that way. I physically turn his body around so that his nose faces into the room and away from the door. This does not distract him. He continues to go for the door...he has been doing this for 14 months, even though he knows he is not allowed in there.
2-Doggie like to hump the pillow in the guest bedroom. He has been fixed and technically should have no desire. However, doggie feels he must profess his love to the pillow. He pulls the pillow off the bed, wraps his front paws around it and humps it for the next millennium. I have taken the pillow from him..he finds it. I have substituted it for another toy..he discards the new toy and looks for his beloved. I have changed the pillow cases..he doesn't mind the new look. I have put Tabasco on the pillow...he loves that extra "kick" the Tabasco has. He has bonded with the pillow and wants to make it his mate for life. We do not tell our guests when they sleep over. We just casually change the pillow case and suggest they keep their door closed for privacy reasons. Our guests feel very welcomed thinking that the only reason that the dog is always in their room is because he likes them...only my hubby and I know the truth!!!
3- Doggie sees a used Kleenex on the street while I am walking him. He pulls towards the Kleenex, he tries to run to the Kleenex...even after I've walked half a block away he still keeps looking back for the Kleenex! I am amazed. I wonder, "If he can remember, 10 minutes later..that a Kleenex was once on the street...if he can keep looking for it, then why oh why can he not remember to heel at my side or sit just before we cross a street?"
I then finally came to the realization that the Zone is selective. My doggie chooses his OCD. Bathroom, pillows, Kleenex (only the used variety, of course), are what drive him. All the other stuff that I've been trying to teach him for over a year is just not that important to him.
Like I said at the beginning, he gets very focused, and NOTHING I can ever do will distract him from his mission.
For more blogs, please visit http://cluelesspuppyowner.blogspot.com/ and http://thecluelesspuppyowner.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment