Dogs have such an amazing power. If we all only knew that it is 'them' training 'us' to be their humans. All along, we thought it was us training them. Well, maybe it is a little of both, although I believe it is more of them training us. They have "super powers."
If you want to understand your dog better, then you need to pay more attention to their communications which can be verbal or non-verbal. Verbal is NOT done in human language, of course.
First, let me introduce the two of us working with our humans to help all other humans. I am Maggie Mae and beside me is my brother, Davis. I am almost one year old and my big brother is 3 years old. We had different moms and dads but we had the same expert, loving breeder named Kim Mills Davis. She is so amazing; full of love and understands each and every one of her puppies and their parents.
I am the smallest and youngest of the two in this household BUT I am the most vocal in every way that you can imagine. My brother rarely uses his vocal skills. He relies more on his body language, which is all of 61 pounds of him so I suppose that will work. I am only 38 pounds and I am female so I will use every communication skill that I can to get my point across. Whether it is showing my angel side or keeping watch over the neighborhood. I am there for our humans.
All you need is patience and you too can have an obedient human. They really want to please you and make you happy. First and foremost of all, humans want to be sure we go to the bathroom outside. Our silly humans bought "tinkle bells" that hang on the door to ring with our paws or noses to let them know that we need to go out. Davis seems to know this procedure very well. He has it down pat. If they don't listen the first time, he knows how to bang them or pull them off the doorknob, if necessary. They tried to introduce me to this concept. I tried it for a day and it wasn't working for me. I would much rather tell them myself, in my own voice, that I need to go out. So, I go to the back door and bark. I bark only once. It took them a few days to catch on, silly humans! It is much easier and now I really do not need to bark loudly any more. A simple little bark and they come running to let me out. If they don't, I use my paws to paw at the glass of the back door, to let them know for sure, it is an emergency and they need to open the door for me. I can assure you that if I just relieved myself right in front of the door - that would get their attention. I tried that twice. Believe me - they whisked me out the door in a New York minute! The important thing is that you continue having eye contact with said humans. Now they are trained.
If either Davis or my water bowl become empty, Davis mopes around and sometimes will ring the bells. Silly humans become confused. Does he want out? No, he wants water or food. Davis should really learn more about verbal sounds and how to use them effectively. Even non-verbal - like me! My nickname is now Ringo. Why? Because if my water or food dish is empty I use my two front paws and beat the stainless steel dish as if it were a drum. They get the picture immediately. This Ringo guy must be famous, because they laugh and say, "Ok, Ringo, we get the picture."
For a while, Davis and I were on two different foods. Mine was puppy food which had a little more nutrients in it for a growing body. However, Davis' food tasted so much better and he seemed to like mine better. Go figure. This caused Lola to have to hold the bowls and make sure that I was eating mine and he was eating his. Every once in a while we would confuse her and switch the sides that we came in to her. It kept her on her toes, for sure. Poor Smiley had no clue of how to do this kind of feeding. Lola would mix a little of Davis' food to fool me and him. It usually worked, especially if she gave it to us right out of her hand. She says she must do this because I have the sensitive tummy (whatever that means). Davis eats any and everything. She did buy some pumpkin to help in my digestive issues. Bless her heart.
One more trick to use concerning food is to stay close by them while they are preparing their meals. They are bound to drop something. If not, Davis has this method down pat. He is so good at giving them the sad, woe is me, pitiful eye stare. They always give in and find something that we can have.
We absolutely adore it when our grand-human daughters come over. There are so many crumbs on the floor for us to lick up. Not to mention in their chairs and on the arms of the chairs. Plus, if it is something they really don't like, they just throw it down on the floor to us. Great girls! We love all 4 of them.
If your humans like to read books or the newspapers, it is always a good idea to let them know when you are in need of attention. Again, my method is to just let out a bark. Davis uses his giant paw and swipes at the book or paper or even the smart phone. Pick your method - whatever works for you. Remember, this is good for them. They do not need to be reading bad news and are desperately in need of the love that we bring to them.
Humans seem to love taking pictures of us, we just must be sure that we are in charge of what they take of us. Sometimes I want to appear like a little doodle angel with my side kick, Davis beside me. He gets it. We are in this together. For example, Lola really wanted a great picture of the two of us sitting obediently in front of the Christmas tree wearing our bandanas for Christmas. Possibly a Christmas card picture. Ha! We both just layed down in front of the tree looking at each other. No sitting like an obedient dog. One picture of Davis alone showed that he was giving in. I had a brief talk with him and he was able to pull back and join me. He tried to tell me about if we were nice, that Santa would bring us goodies in our stockings. Goodies? Hmmmm, well, maybe, sort of, be nice and not so naughty.
At night, our humans settle down after dinner and watch a big screen tv. Sometimes it is a game with a ball involved. Both Davis and I would love to get in that game and catch that ball. It captivates us for a while. However, one day, Smiley had a show on that was all dogs. I was totally engrossed. WOW! I could be on that show and win the Best of the Show. Oh, but I heard Lola say that Goldendoodles had not been recognized yet as a true breed. Doy! What do they know? When it is not a show that we want to watch, we just come up on their laps and let them know that we are a bit bored. Usually, it means that we will get a pig's ear or bully stick or even a frozen meat marrow bone. All is good with us.
They also get the picture that if the weather is right, we may need some time to romp and play at WGAC Day Care. We have 4 legged friends there and also 2 legged friends. They treat us so well and they know what we like to do. Davis is a water freak! So if it is not pool weather, they let him chase the water in the hose when they are hosing down the playground.
We have learned that when Alexa, some talking box, wakes them up at 6:45, we will be going off to Day Care. Both humans get up and dress and in no time at all, we see Lola get on her shoes, grab her handbag and the leashes get taken down just for us. We can hardly contain ourselves. Davis tries to play Mr. Cool. But once I start barking, he joins in with his happy howl. We try to harmonize just to entertain our humans.
We are always happy to go to WGAC. It does not matter if we are going to the DayCare (although, this is our favorite! Duh! it is like a recess for a kid at school) And all of the 5 two legged workers know our quirks and what we enjoy. The other good thing is that inside WGAC, they all know us when we walk in. Whether it is to see Dr. Taylor, who is the best! Or the front office staff who don't even ask our names anymore. They just know! Plus there is Amber, our groomer. She is pretty fantastic. Great haircuts that make us look beautiful and handsome. She just instinctively knows what to do.
With a little work, you too can have well trained humans. Remember that we have a real duty to our humans. Encourage them and love them and you will receive all of that love back ten times more. Trust me!
Maggie Mae
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