A friend of mine went on vacation and asked me to watch her dogs. I knew the one, Josey, pretty well and we could tolerate each other. He was a typical dog, with the addition of a sneak streak and not much use for people except as food providers.
The other dog wasn't known to me, except by reputation, and I was astonished to see how emotionally needy this Retriever was. He wouldn't eat unless I coaxed him. I even had to stir his food with my fingers and sit there watching him as he ate. He'd come tearing down the stairs like a freight train if I mentioned the name of his owner's son's girlfriend, but he really didn't care for me.
Mind you, I'm a quiet person. I don't talk much. Not to people, not to myself, not to animals. I knew he needed and wanted attention, so I stroked his ears and rubbed his neck as we watched TV, but I didn't talk. It just didn't occur to me.
As the days went on, Josey stayed the same, but the other dog became less and less willing to eat and more inclined to hide under beds. One night, he entirely refused to go in his kennel and I had to sleep on the couch, knowing that a dog who disliked me was roaming free as I lay there helpless.
Then, one day, he did something I asked and, without thinking about it, I said, "good boy!" Instantly, everything about him changed. Head up, tail wagging, paws dancing.
"Is that what this has all been about, boy?" I asked. "You just wanted me to praise you?"
Yes, of course! he seemed to say, happier than he'd been since the master went away. I was astonished at how much it mattered to him, but I complied, and was careful to praise him often after that.
We had no more problems.
I learned a lot from that dog about how to treat others.
No comments:
Post a Comment