Walking In A Dog's Shoes
I was eagerly sitting in my Experimental Psychology class listening to my Professor teach, as usual. Then, someone said there was a huge bug on the window, inside of the room.
The description (namely, the size) was enough for me; I didn't even have to see the bug. I got the heeby-jeebies, wiggled in my seat, and had the burning desire to continuously keep looking over my shoulder and side-to-side to attempt to locate the invader.
I heard the words the Professor was saying as he continued to teach, but could not process them or think about them for at least a few minutes. My mind was preoccupied, whether I liked it or not, due to the big bug. Despite my very strong drive to succeed in this class and impress the teacher, I could not pay any attention to him because of the very scary thing supposedly clinging to the wall.
I hope you see what I'm getting at, here. Next time your dog is afraid of something and "blows you off" when you ask for a behavior, think of my experience in my favorite Psychology class with my least favorite creature in the world.
20 comments:
What a great post!
It so puts things into perspective!
Cool thanks. those are some words of wisdom
Benny & Lily
Ha! Very good analogy!
Sure my mom understands that!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza
What a great reminder! I was reminded in a similar way when I was recently paralyzed by fear when faced with climbing up a fire lookout tower. Ah ha, I thought - that's how K feels when I ask her to walk on scary-looking steps or across a weird surface like a grate.
Thanks for the reminder!
Good point you make there, I take it you made it though to the end of the class without it landing on you!
Jan
VERY well Pawed.
Very good point, thanks for posting this!
Excellent reminder...there is no such thing as a dog "blowing you off"...they don't think that way. There is always a reason, you just have to discover it. Thanks for reminding us all to always be patient with our pooches!
Excellent reminder...there is no such thing as a dog "blowing you off"...they don't think that way. There is always a reason, you just have to discover it. Thanks for reminding us all to always be patient with our pooches!
Wow! That's so smart! Next time mom get's annoyed I'll just scream BUG!! and make her freak out!! :)
good point, I ABSOLUTELY HATE when people say there dog is blowing them off, it is always either they are getting poor or mixed cues and dont know what to do or they are UNABLE to listen due to not knowing how to handle their excitement or fear, or ???? but I just think it is pretty rare that dogs plain blow you off.
Outstanding point, we all need to think about what could be going on inside our heads.
Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara
Great observations and perfect analogy! Thanks!
thank you so much for this post! I just experienced this with Kirby, as he has to now get used to the furnace coming on in our place, it really isn't loud, but there are different sounds. When we practice obedience stuff or play ball and he hears something he stops dead in his tracks. I have decided that instead of trying to get him to keep doing what we were doing, I just let him listen to whatever he's listening too..eventually he turns my way and we continue! I just love your analogy!
Kirby's mom
What an insightful observation! Very cool. I will remember that one for sure, thanks for sharing.
Well it is Halloween weekend and it is suppose to be spooky!
xxoo
Deborah
I would be creeped out too! What a great perspective on the situation
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/
How about an A for being brave and staying in your chair?
Great post and so true! I've been fasinated by the TV show about OCD. The behavior is so strange and irrational... and yet people cannot stop themselves. And when the therapist stops the behavior, the physical reaction is very real... shaking, sweating, and anxiety of the highest level. So it definitely helped me realize that there are something I just can't change about Reagan's noise phobias. There is just something out of her control.
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