Is It Just Me?
— Susan Rigby, Guest Columnist
Join Wimberley humorist Susan Rigby as she attempts to navigate “the small stuff.”
I love my dog and I know that Seymour loves me unconditionally, well maybe with conditions. When I adopted him, I read about how important it was to train your dog.
I taught him things like sit, stay, go nightnight and to potty outside. He will do them most of the time. I was the leader, the top dog and in charge, and he knew it.
But slowly, over the years, Seymour seems to have been working on training me. For example, if I am on the phone, he will invariably bring his toy to me to play tug-of-war. He will pick it up and drop it at my feet over and over until I finally play. He knows that when I am distracted by being on the phone, it is the perfect play time, and it can last until I finally hang up.
If he is hungry, even if it isn’t meal time, he will jump on the sofa with his paws on my chest and fix his eyes on mine. He can stay that way for hours, if necessary. It is not necessary, because, within minutes and even after saying “not yet,” I give in and get him something to eat. It makes him happy and I love to make him happy.
When he goes outside to do his business, he never thinks about who will pick up his number two because he knows it will be me. Contentedly, he will lie in the grass and watch me walk around the yard with my pooper- scooper. He doesn’t even show me where to go. It’s like I am on an Easter Egg hunt and he is looking to see if I find them all.
When I finally realize that I am no longer the top dog in my house, he jumps on the sofa, slowly cuddles up with his head on my lap, his tail wagging and will give me his loving eyes that melt my heart.
I may need to read more training books, but maybe it’s okay to have two top dogs in the house.
