White Dog chuckled. "Now she is just toying with him. She knows full well what he wants. Maybe she truly is part Eskie." It was my turn to laugh. "Think about Zso," I reminded her. "The Darker Ones have their own brand of stubborn."
Bailey and Steve were practicing using the dog door. Just like this morning he would lead her by her collar to the flap. Zso would go through first then he would lift the flap and gently push our newest recruit out of the door.
This morning he would then hurry around and use the kitchen door to join her outside for a walk around the perimeter of the yard before reversing the practice to go in.
She did pretty well but I am not sure she has quite gotten the connection between the activity and going potty. Tonight's session made it clear that it is still just a game.
As they did this morning Zso went first and Steve raced to the kitchen door after directing Bailey out...only tonight it was, for her, a race to come back in the dog door faster than Steve made it outside.
Picture the clock ticking. Go! Big Blue-Eyed Girl pushes out past Zsofia, touches the deck and whirls to come back in before Steve even hits the living room to kitchen doorway.
Zso came and laid on the couch to watch after a frustrating few attempts.
The closest match came toward the end of practice when Bailey stood outside the dog door just long enough for Steve to open the kitchen door and step out to see her bound back in. She was not interested in coming back out when he stood on the outside of the flap begging, whistling and pleading for her to stop staring at him through the glass and come back out. As she waited for him to come back in, she squatted on the mat that marks the dog door (for those with sight issues) and left a small puddle.
"I think she gets how our portal works," White Dog observed, "but she thinks it is like a playhouse thing. So how do we get her to understand the independence and correct pottying value of being able to come and go at will?"
"Time, patience, and practice, practice, practice," I reminded the Little White Dog of My Heart.
1 comment:
we think she is messing with you :)
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