Explaining Stuff to the Dog

RonE · 06-12-2007, 11:43 AM

I was particularly frustrated with Esther one day (perhaps when she chewed open the quart of motor oil on the family room carpet.) I didn't scream at her, but said something like, "Esther, I can't believe you did that. I think Esther must be the dumbest dog in the world. What am I going to do with you?"

Her tail never stopped wagging and, as somebody later explained to me, what she actually HEARD was, "Esther blah blah blah blah blah blah. Blah
blah blah Esther blah blah blah. Blah blah blah blah blah."

iwantmypup · 06-12-2007, 11:48 AM

omg Ron! I do that tooo! When pepper is doing something bad I am like " Pepper..Pepper please don't do this . I am very disapointed in you. " and she keeps doing her thing!
lol!Funny stuff we do

Snowshoe · 06-12-2007, 11:50 AM

LOL!! Orchid knows certain command words, like sit, stay, come, lay down, up (for stand up), kennel (her command for going into the kennel to sleep at night), and "Where is it?" (for when we ask her to find a toy to fetch).

Oh, and she also knows "kitty" so we have to spell that out so that she doesn't go try to "find that kitty."

I've tried several times to explain to Orchid that her fear of man hole covers is unfounded. That really there is no bad monster that is going to reach up from below and pull her down into the grate, LOL! I often wonder what other people think of me when they see me on the street trying to convince Orchid to give the man hole covers a chance!

I've tried telling her that her feet won't slip and that everything will be fine, but she doesn't want to hear it.

I HAVE found her to be a great listener when I need to get something off of my chest that my friends are tired of hearing about, though. She cocks her head to the side as if she understands.

Maybe she does. I'm with you guys. Dogs are easier then people to explain thigns to!

DogAdvocat · 06-12-2007, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowshoe

I've tried several times to explain to Orchid that her fear of man hole covers is unfounded. That really there is no bad monster that is going to reach up from below and pull her down into the grate, LOL! I often wonder what other people think of me when they see me on the street trying to convince Orchid to give the man hole covers a chance!

Maybe she knows something that you don't. Does she read Stephen King?

Chloef_2799 · 06-12-2007, 02:55 PM

I talk to my dogs ALL the time. Often my boyfriend will work long hours and it will be just me and them. I talk to them about everything. My boyfriend once came home early and I didn't realize he was home until he came downstairs and said "Holy cow hun, just make stirfry for dinner already and could you keep it down? I am trying to rest." I laughed my but off and appologized, I had been walking around the kitchen going on and on about my day and how long and crazy it had been and he came down just as I wa saying "well ladies what shall we do for dinner? Stirfry? or maybe we should or a stew....oooo I know lets do some salmon, oh wait its frozen. What do you guys think? Stirfry or stew?"
Sometimes I don't even realize I am doing it, I was walking them in the field behind our house once and Chloe found an old tim hortons coffee cup that was all yucky and of course she picked it up and tried to hide it from me but when I saw her I said "oh yuck, baby, that will make you sick, spit it out Chloe, come on now." Well there was a lady at the park about 30 feet away and she had a three year old and she looked over and laughed and told me it sounded like I was in love with my dogs because I spoke to them like they were my children.....well they are!
Oh and I always say good bye to them and give them kisses on top of their head. My standard going away response to them is "ok now girls, you be good and I will be home soon then we can go for a walk! bye bye now my poochies!" My boyfriend ALWAYS rolls his eyes and tell me to hurry up when he is with me!

howbout · 06-12-2007, 03:39 PM

Wait...this isn't normal???

EVERY time I leave the house I tell Brandy "I'll/We'll be back soon. Be a good girl!" And once I even caught myself about to do the one-two-three thing I do with my kids when they have decided not to listen...but then I realized maybe I need to teach her to count before I do that

Snowshoe · 06-12-2007, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DogAdvocat

Maybe she knows something that you don't. Does she read Stephen King?

LOL!!!!

You know what is funny? When she was just a little thing (maybe 11 weeks or so) my BF and I came home to an entire room full of chewed book pages and covers. I think she only destroyed one book, but it looked like she had tried to eat an entire library. Even the cover was shredded into these tiny little bits of paper, and there was Orchid in the middle looking really proud of her self, as if to say, "Look what I did! I did this all by myself!!!!"

That was the first and last time we allowed Orchid to be out of her kennel while we were gone.

tirluc · 06-12-2007, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by howbout

Wait...this isn't normal???

EVERY time I leave the house I tell Brandy "I'll/We'll be back soon. Be a good girl!" And once I even caught myself about to do the one-two-three thing I do with my kids when they have decided not to listen...but then I realized maybe I need to teach her to count before I do that

i did the "1-2-3" thing w/ Tir Ceo once and got it complete b/4 i even thought about it.....guess what?...it worked!!!...

also, when we are doing training and they are "having an off day" i call a brief halt, kneel down, talk w/ them for a bit and resume the training.....it's been successful every time.....

and, when out at the park and i'm directing them to their ball and they're just not paying attention, i'll call out "are you being stupid on purpose, and is this a temporary thing?"

Renoman · 06-12-2007, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borzoimom

Ohhhhh yea- .. My dogs were always easier, and at least you do not expect a dog to clean up after themselves also.. lol
My husband, who only owned one dog in his lifetime before meeting me, use to giggle at what I tell the dogs-.. uhhhhh - then I noticed he started doing the same thing.. lol.

Well, I know you may not believe me, but every night before bed Chazz puts his ball (the one he carries everywhere) in the toy box. This is something he has always done I never trained him to do this. Every morning before his day starts, he pulls the ball out of the toy box. Buck is great at taking the toys out of the toy box but putting them back... not so much! He likes to keep his on the coffe table. My son, on the other hand ....

Chloef_2799 · 06-12-2007, 07:32 PM

Renoman - that is hilarious! My friend came over a little while ago with her four year old son and he was playing with some giant lego blocks. Well Sadie walked over and was sniffing them and my friends son said "no doggie" so Sadie walked away all sad. At which point Chloe marched on into the room and went right over to Cory and started licking his hands until he laughed and dropped his lego block, Chloe picked up his lego toy and brought it over to Sadie!!! it was the funniest thing I have ever seen, as if Chloe was saying "now now children, we must all share our toys!"

Renoman · 06-13-2007, 05:16 AM

Chloef, that is very funny. Dogs just never cease to amaze me.

borzoimom · 06-13-2007, 07:56 AM

True story from last night- ( bad rolling thunder, lightening , DRIVING rain- Hottie heads for 'cover in the the house in the back bedroom suite- shiver shiver- worry worry... I walk in looking for him..)
-" Now Hottie- dont worry buddy- look what Momma has for you .. ( pulls out a dryer anti static sheet- starts to rub him with it) " There you go Hottie- Michy said this would help you- remember we did this the other night- seeeeeeeeeee it helps doesnt it??"
Hottie jumps down off the bed, with a slow tail wag, not as worried- and obviously happier... lolllllllll...

Renoman · 06-13-2007, 05:57 PM

And non-dog people say dogs don't understand what you say to them. Bah!

BTW - does the dryer sheet thing really work?

RonE · 06-13-2007, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renoman

BTW - does the dryer sheet thing really work?

Are you kidding?

You rub it on a shar-pei and it comes out like this:

Renoman · 06-13-2007, 07:36 PM

Cool!! Imagine what it will do for my shepherds!

katebeswick · 06-13-2007, 07:52 PM

I have the same problem explaining things to my dog lol! My boyfriend always tells me that Chewy (our German Shepherd) didn't take English as a second language! Sometimes I wonder what they're thinking too because she'll just look at me like I've lost my mind lol! Thank God she does know the dog commands though like "sit" and "stay" and "down." She may not always follow them but at least she knows what I mean.

borzoimom · 06-13-2007, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Renoman

And non-dog people say dogs don't understand what you say to them. Bah!

BTW - does the dryer sheet thing really work?

YES- it WORKED!!!