Sometimes, I can’t tell if we’re accomplishing more at training Penny or, if she’s actually training us just to give her treats and praise.
Mom is pretty sure that Penny is learning and retaining some of it, but she’s also more biased than I am.
Penny favors mom out of everyone in the house and it’s easy to see the difference in the puppy’s behaviors when compared to the rest of us.
Naturally, that has me wondering if Mike and I are being duped by an adorably expressive face.
There’s just something so cute about how she tilts her head when she seems to be listening to someone talk and she does pout, too.
I’m sure that other pet owners have similar concerns if they think about it too long.
But, each of our beloved furry friends has names and is closely regarded as a family member.
And while we try to train them to behave and obey – it’s really more work than I remember it being almost 15 years ago.
After a recent attempt at running away to our neighbors’ yard, I’ve tried enforcing a leash-only mandate for Penny.
That evening I had gotten home from a meeting early and offered to take Penny out so mom and Mike could finish up watching their latest TV show binge.
I wanted those good-daughter brownie points and, for the most part, Penny usually did her business and ran to the back door to go inside faster than I could hustle.
So, I thought she’d be fine without the leash and just scooped her off the couch and headed outside.
That was not the case this time and I was poorly prepared to deal with it.
No, this time, she ambled along in the crunchy burnt grass to the fence that borders our properties and managed to scare a moth or butterfly out of the weeds then pursued said insect much more quickly than I anticipated.
After scrambling around the other side of the fence and trying to get her to stay, or sit or stop – I called mom on my cellphone and she made her way outside.
Luckily, mom was shouting just loud enough so that I could distract Penny by telling her to go to “mama” and that we needed to go inside.
It took a little herding on my part, but she did take off running to mom and played the part of adorable little angel very well.
After that incident, unfortunately, I’m the only person that seems to enforce the dog leash and it’s making her act like a brat when I do take her out.
She seems bent on chewing through her leash rather than following the lead.
Or, much to Mike’s dismay – she prefers charging at and chasing the poor rooster around the house instead of listening to anyone tell her to ‘stop’ or ‘no.’
Mom tells me that it reminds her of when we were toddlers and getting into everything while not following directions or misbehaving.
And I’ve got to admit that if that’s what it’s like raising children I’m not planning on having any at all.
Still, when Penny walks around with mom holding the leash, she’s the spitting image of some little angelic dog cast in the “Precious Moments” porcelain knick-knack style.
You know, those huge expressive eyes that look at you in a way that melts your heart and makes you go “aw” with so much exaggeration you might make yourself sick from the cuteness.
Penny’s got that look down and I’m just hoping that once she grows up into an adult dog that it’ll be less pronounced and I won’t be the only human policing her behavior.
