Tasha and Others

Posts Tagged ‘Behavior’

I’ve often heard people refer to their dog as “my best friend.” However, in my case, it’s also the other way around. I am my dog’s best friend.

Being an only dog, and a  rescue, Tasha is so connected to me that’s it’s rare to see her following anyone else. Of course, she is my girl, and she loves me unconditionally. I never treat her badly. In fact, I’ve made up for the abuse she sustained as a young pup, and have spoiled her rotten.

Tasha follows me all around the house. She lies near my my desk as I work, and goes up and down the stairs when I do.

The fact that she doesn’t come when I call her (a very bad thing), doesn’t mean that she won’t come running back to me. When she runs in the opposite direction from where I call her, she usually turns back and gives me a look as if to say ‘I’m running away from you now, but not too far, and I’ll come back’.  This behavior is anything but ideal. When she goes with me to the mailbox, crossing the lazy road that circles the lake, Tasha sometimes dashes away from me. She comes back to the house in a few minutes, ready for a  treat as a reward just for coming home. She seems almost relieved to be reunited with me.

Even if I deprive Tasha of a daily walk or a trip to the dog park, she forgives me, and still appears to love me. When I take her to see her “doggie pals,” she still gravatates toward me, not letting me out of her sight. I’d say that Tasha is a one-person dog. 

This type of admiration is heartwarming. I have to admit that it makes me feel good to have her prefer me to other people and dogs. When visitors stop in to see me, Tasha jumps up on them (another bad habit), but quickly changes her mind as she turns to jump on me instead. I see it as another way in which she shows  her love.

What do I do to encourage her feelings of  commitment? Of course, I’m the one who feeds her good food and gives her toys and treats. I take her with me on outings whenever I can. ( Tasha loves to ride with me in the passenger seat of the car.) If I don’t take her with me, she jumps inside the car when I return to see if there’s anything in there for her.

At night, Tasha enthusiastically gets up on the bed and lays her head on my stomach, the rest of her body stretched out, completely content while I read. Her eyes close. I think she’s happy that the day is over and that now it’s her turn. Her position on the bed lasts until I turn off the lights and drag her over to the other side where she sometimes sleeps for the rest of the night, her head on the pillow next to me.

I am my dog’s best friend, but afterall, she’s my best friend too.

Tasha graduating

Tasha has been through three obedience classes. However, she sometimes has the most appalling behavior. She acts out in ways that have been identified in dog literature as the big “no’s.” For example, she:

• Jumps on people.
• Doesn’t come when called.
• Pulls on the leash when walking.
• Raids trash cans.
• Drops a ball or stick before bringing it back (this is an enigma becasue she is, afterall, a golden retriever).

The first two classes I took her to were at PetSmart, where they taught her to sit, stay, and finally, to come when called. Okay, so she has conquered one of five: to sit before meals and biscuits. The other behavior problems are probably my fault, as I haven’t enforced them enough.

The last class I took Tasha to was an intense two-week program. Again, they taught her to sit, come, stay, to lie down, and to come when called. The problem with this class was that I didn’t go with her. I dropped her off in the morning and picked her up in the late afternoon. They didn’t show me what or how they were teaching her, so I couldn’t follow their lead. I just assumed that she had finally gone through enough behavior modification.

Not so! To this day, I live with the fact that Tasha doesn’t retrieve. This wasn’t part of her training, but I’ve lost a lot of tennis balls and good sticks this way. The jumping on people is always embarrassing, as it is when she runs the other way when I call her. I tend not to want to walk her because she pulls me all over the place. Going through the trash is treatable, and Tasha doesn’t always do this, but when she does, she knows she’s being bad. I guess that this is her form of retrieving!

It seems to be pointless, but I still try to train her. Tasha is only about three-years old. Maybe as she gets older, she’ll listen to me. Or, maybe she needs a graduate training class.