We are still struggling with the dog door. I'm a bit averse to having her whine at it to go out because that seems asking for problems with accidents, so I usually go to her and encourage her to go through. I don't open the main door, but I'll say, "Go, Ziggy ! push that door open!" Who knew I'd be a cheerleader for this dog? She's somewhat more willing to come in by herself, though she will also stand outside and cry until I say, "Come in!" and wave her in.
Yesterday she wanted to go outside because her bone was out there - her new thing is to chew on it, then take a break and come inside, and then when she thinks the time is right she'll go back outside and get it and bring it inside. She stood at the door and cried and I just ignored her because I knew her game. She kept it up, laid down whimpering. poor poor Ziggy can't go outside! But of course she can! She just had to go out the goddamn dog door by herself, but she acts like when I have a tasty treat someplace she can't reach - she doesn't countersurf, if I put something up then she knows to keep her paw off and she usually complies.
She's acting about the dog door like she acts when I'm in the kitchen - she hangs back and waits for permission. Like a vampire. ANd like with that, if she really wants something she's going to ignore me and go for it. This morning she wouldn't go out on her own until she heard commotion and the neighbor dog pitching a fit, and then she stormed right out there.
I really do think that she thinks that she's supposed to ask permission to go out the dog door and that she thinks she's being mannerly by doing this. And I do not know how to convince her that she doesn't have to ask permission, that she is free to go anytime she likes. Even in the night, which she has never once done. Maybe she could let me sleep in more if she knew she could just let herself out in the morning.
This is a new puzzle with Ziggy, who is usually brash and rude and doesn't think about being mannerly or asking permission. I want to figure out how to leverage this to help her learn better manners in other situations. But at the same time, I don't want to get up whenever she needs to go in or out!
Hm ... I think that her rules are: ask permission of the person unless there's a crisis. She heard a crisis outside and ran out on her own. I think that she considers people coming to the door a crisis that she must handle - she needs to check them out and make sure it's all good, and she won't stop jumping on them. How do I convince her that I've got this under control?
This Ziggy is such a challenge. A friend said something on FB about the next time Ziggy pees somewhere I don't like, and I was baffled. Ziggy doesn't communicate that way, thank goodness. Sometimes she vocalizes a lot and I can never figure out what that means but it's hilarious. Wish I could decipher that. She expresses herself in other ways, such as aversion to doing certain things.
Yesterday she wanted to go outside because her bone was out there - her new thing is to chew on it, then take a break and come inside, and then when she thinks the time is right she'll go back outside and get it and bring it inside. She stood at the door and cried and I just ignored her because I knew her game. She kept it up, laid down whimpering. poor poor Ziggy can't go outside! But of course she can! She just had to go out the goddamn dog door by herself, but she acts like when I have a tasty treat someplace she can't reach - she doesn't countersurf, if I put something up then she knows to keep her paw off and she usually complies.
She's acting about the dog door like she acts when I'm in the kitchen - she hangs back and waits for permission. Like a vampire. ANd like with that, if she really wants something she's going to ignore me and go for it. This morning she wouldn't go out on her own until she heard commotion and the neighbor dog pitching a fit, and then she stormed right out there.
I really do think that she thinks that she's supposed to ask permission to go out the dog door and that she thinks she's being mannerly by doing this. And I do not know how to convince her that she doesn't have to ask permission, that she is free to go anytime she likes. Even in the night, which she has never once done. Maybe she could let me sleep in more if she knew she could just let herself out in the morning.
This is a new puzzle with Ziggy, who is usually brash and rude and doesn't think about being mannerly or asking permission. I want to figure out how to leverage this to help her learn better manners in other situations. But at the same time, I don't want to get up whenever she needs to go in or out!
Hm ... I think that her rules are: ask permission of the person unless there's a crisis. She heard a crisis outside and ran out on her own. I think that she considers people coming to the door a crisis that she must handle - she needs to check them out and make sure it's all good, and she won't stop jumping on them. How do I convince her that I've got this under control?
This Ziggy is such a challenge. A friend said something on FB about the next time Ziggy pees somewhere I don't like, and I was baffled. Ziggy doesn't communicate that way, thank goodness. Sometimes she vocalizes a lot and I can never figure out what that means but it's hilarious. Wish I could decipher that. She expresses herself in other ways, such as aversion to doing certain things.
No comments:
Post a Comment