Last week, I posted all the intimate details of Lilly’s work with an animal communicator. And, while I love the idea of knowing what Lilly thinks, what she feels, etc., I also wonder if it might have a downside.
The communicator always tells people that you can’t ask an animal what she wants and not give it to her. To do so is just asking for behavioral trouble.
But, here’s the thing. I’ve given Lilly everything she asked for — the toys, extra play time between working, more walks, breaks from interaction with other dogs. I honor her warning signals that she’s had enough, and we walk away. I stopped using accupressure to calm her down since it only did enough to get her off the ground and led to even worse behavior.
And, not to be too anthropormophic about it, but what about me? As of yet, all this work, all these compromises, have NOT gotten me closer to my goal. (Honestly, at this point, I’d be thrilled to resume agility classes and just have her run for fun once a week in public.)
So, there’s the problem. I consider myself a pretty savvy dog girl, and yet, I’m having thoughts very much like the people who believe their dogs seek revenge through potty accidents.
Here I am wanting tit-for-tat results from Lilly. I want her to acknowledge my efforts on her behalf and return the favor. But, that’s outside her capacity, and I know that, but I still feel pretty bummed some days.
I’ve talked with the animal communicator about this, and she (like so many others) suggests essentially giving up on agility for Lilly.
If I had a nickel for everytime someone tells me to quit, I’d be a rich girl.
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