As a dog trainer – and a (dieting) human being – I’m becoming more aware every day of a little thing called “impulse control.”
The recent he
avy rains have created brackish pools of water on even the nicest lawns. And dogs can’t seem to resist the urge to drink from those nasty puddles. Even though the liquid in them is brown. And has rings of scum on the surface. And plastic bags half floating half mired in their depths. Yechh.
I was about to have a word with the dog I was training…as said dog was blithely lapping the water not two inches from the grocery bag...when I recalled the bowl of M&Ms at a party that I, and everyone else, dipped our hands into every time we were in its compelling vicinity.
Like dogs, we sometimes don’t think, we just DO.
You’re in the midst of teaching your dog to stay in the kitchen when he suddenly decides its time to clean his nether regions. Or you call him to you, and on the way to your beckoning arms, he plows face first into a fresh pile of goose poop.
Resisting the pull of bird plop, aged water, or an impromptu tongue bath – is just as tough for dog as it is for us, granted that we are seduced by more flavorful possibilities.
And if you are thinking “HEY, NOT ME! I have GREAT self restraint!”…ask yourself how often you look at your cell phone during any given day? Can you walk past a store window with a SALE sign without going in? If your partner orders tiramsu, do you ask for a 2nd spoon?
We all struggle with impulse control. Have patience with your dog. He wrestles with it, too.
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