These are things I celebrate, because they do not come easily to Maya (well, except barking of course...that comes far too easily!). She almost never rolls in anything, took a whole year to consider checking out the counters for edibles, even though they are right at chin height, and had to be taught how to dig holes. Yes, I taught my dog to dig holes...it seemed like something she'd enjoy.
When she finally did counter surf, it was to eat almost an entire pie that Brian had baked. Happily, we had already had a piece each, otherwise my amusement might have been much less. Really, I was tickled. As a puppy, Maya was too fearful or inexperienced to do much in the way of problem-solving, and here she was coming up with creative solutions all on her own!
I also praise her for rolling in stinky things. "Way to go Maya, you're rolling in fox poop!" is something I have actually said. Followed by, "Good dog!"
The thing about being a fearful, anxious dog is that it limits your ability to interact with the world in positive ways. Maya is smart, sensitive, and vigilant, and it's sometimes hard for her to relax enough to just revel in being a stinky, stealing, cheerful dog. I have learned to enjoy those things along with her, and she is slowly relaxing enough to do more of them.
Eating toilet paper, however, is not a behavior I ever plan to celebrate. That's just gross.
No comments:
Post a Comment