I Saw That Look!

So, anyone that has been following my blog since July will know that I have not had an easy time walking my little PWD. I've had good periods...which consist of maybe 2 good walks in a row (out of about 1 trillion), but for the most part, it's been a nightmare.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

So, anyone that has been following my blog since July will know that I have not had an easy time walking my little PWD. I've had good periods...which consist of maybe 2 good walks in a row (out of about 1 trillion), but for the most part, it's been a nightmare.

It's not that my little PWD is a "bad" dog either! He's great! He's very respectful of other dogs, he knows when to play and when to walk away. He definitely knows his place in the complicated echelons of the canine world. He knows his place in our home too. In the grand hierarchy of his mind, at the very top is hubby (the only person in the family that has no interest in the dog whatsoever). Hubby doesn't care if we have a dog or not, hubby only walks him in the mornings, and the only reason for that is that hubby wants to get his daily exercise.

Hubby has made it very clear that he doesn't care if we were to give away our little PWD tomorrow. Somehow, this indifference has translated itself to reverence in our dog's mind. He WORSHIPS the very ground hubby walks on!!! Hubby has become the prime alpha member of the family!! Wherever hubby goes, doggy is sure to follow...makes my tummy turn if you ask me!!!

Soon-to-be-15 year old son is next in line. No matter what antics doggy is up to (whether I'm chasing him around the dining room table trying to get the dish rag out of his mouth, or chasing him around the house trying to keep him from eating the baseboards), as soon as son enters the room, doggy drops everything he's doing, and he just sits there, angelic-like, waiting to be pet or played with.

Now of course, there's me! I have absolutely no status in my doggy's mind whatsoever! I am below hubby and son, below other doggies and their owners, below sticks, rocks twigs and moss...I have zero status. Whenever I take him out for a walk (2ce a day minimum), he tugs and pulls on the leash..bites the leash, plays tug-of-war..you name it. What I find has helped my walks a bit, is that if I ignore him for a full day, he will walk slightly better with me. He'll still pull me down the street so hard that I have to run to keep up with him, but at least he won't put the leash in his mouth..that is...until I make eye contact with him. I try to avoid doing so at all costs. Once we establish eye contact, I know I'm finished. It's in that nanosecond of our pupils aligning, that he jumps in front of me, grabs the leash and never lets go.

When I'm out with him, I look ahead of me, I look up, I look to the side...doggy does everything in his power to make sure I see him. He runs out in front of me to face him, I quickly dart my eyes to the side to avert his stare. He runs to my side..then accidentally, I'll smile at an elderly lady waiting at the bus stop. I see she's looking at doggy, naturally, my eyes go down to him. Uh oh!!! I panic. He's noticed we made eye contact and for the next 30 minutes of our walk, he'll be biting, pulling, tugging...and he'll be oh so HAPPY!!!!

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot