In our amazing house, we have an amazing fenced in yard so that we can let our dogs out while we are doing other things. Every morning, I let them run around in the yard while I make my tea and I call them back in when I’m ready to drink my tea. This morning I had a surprisingly pleasant realization: my dogs are well-behaved.
Okay, I know they should be well-behaved; they are, after all, the dogs of a dog trainer who trains for fun. But they are also each uniquely, ahem, challenged. I believe that Daph’s challenges stem from 1. her lack of socialization as a puppy, and 2. being really smart; and Faegan’s challenges stem from 1. still being a puppy, and 2. being kind of dumb.
smart puppy asking nicely
Most mornings, I open the door and yell, “Dogs!” Usually, Faegan comes running in, full speed, and often slips/trips/slams into something because omg something superawesome must be happening inside! This is her lack of brain at work. In the meantime, Daphne is doing the opposite and actually using her brain: she maybe looks at me, considers the presence or lack of treats in my hand, and decides whether or not it is worth her precious time to saunter over to me.
But today? I called them, and they both happily came right in. Not slowly, not fast enough to hurt themselves or anyone else; just right, quickly but safely. And then? Then they sat down in front of me and waited politely for their treats. And then they practiced sitting, lying down, “crawling,” and “asking nicely,” and they nailed every single one. Adorable. Faegan even took her treats politely and without biting my hand off – victory!
does this face look smart to you?
And now they’re in their crates with no chance to get into trouble, so hooray! I have well-behaved dogs at least for the morning.*
*It is important to record that this actually happens, especially when with a puppy, you are alternately yelling, “OMG this puppy is THE BEST,” and “Shit, puppies are THE WORST.” Let me tell you, my wife is dissatisfied with our general living situation when I am the one complaining that we have too many dogs.
Awwwww! I want a well-behaved dog. Yours sound great
We have a fenced-in backyard as well. If my dog wants to go out, she prefers to claw at the door until someone lets her out. Once released, she saunters around on the deck for about three seconds, then begins frantically scratching to be let back in.
We’re working on this.
In the meantime, can I borrow your dogs?
Haha, I sure do make my dogs sound great on my blog. Maybe I should write more about what a handful they are? Daph will try to attack people and trucks and dogs if she’s on a leash or in the house or in the car. Faegan destroys things, like multiple $50 dog beds, a corner of our brand new couch, and lots of other little things. Oh yeah, and all dog toys ever. And she screams when she doesn’t want to be in her crate. And she used to bite me if I took toys away from her (I taught her not to). They definitely are not perfect!
Aww, your comment makes me sad. Your post was to have a record of how awesome your dogs are, not to chronicle their misbehaviors! Take it back! This is supposed to be a good post!
I love this.
Also…I would LOVE a fenced in back yard. Although…at this point it would still require me to be out there with Murphy so he didn’t eat something stupid.
He definitely has omg. it’s on the ground it must be DELICIOUS-itis
And I absolutely have those moments when the morning has left me saying “aww..he’s such a good puppy” and the afternoon has left me saying “who IS THIS DOG?!”
ugh. html fail on my part.
Faegen’s face looks like our little Emma’s face. There may be little hope for her. But Emma is pretty much the nicest animal around, so I wouldn’t worry about it.
Yeah! The fact that “bad” dogs can be trained to be “good” dogs never fails to amaze me. I remember last spring there was a spaniel puppy I saw every morning on the bike path being walked by one of its two owners. It was the naughtiest looking dog I’d ever seen, lunging at every bike, squirrel and tree it saw. I used to fight back laughter seeing the frustrated owners trying to get the exuberant pup to calm down and walk beside them. But now the full grown dog would fit right in at a dog show. It doesn’t even blink when kids rollerskate past or birds land in front of it. It’s amazing the effect persistent, calm instruction can have on a dog.
Hahaha, I think Pearl is the challenging-because-she-is-so-smart variety, but I can see how both kinds would be difficult in their own way (but also adorable in their own way). We have a fenced backyard but the fence is too low and Pearl jumps it so I am super jealous of your situation. It’s funny how Jekyll and Hyde dogs can be. When they are being good you can forget so easily how frustrating they can be sometimes and then when they are being bad its very hard to remember how sweet they are at other times.
Awww Skye has the same dummy face! All I can say is I’m glad I didn’t have her when she was a 1 yr old dog- she was bad enough at 2! I swear 4 is a magical age, and I’ve been loving (almost) every minute of it since her birthday!