This dog though. She's been with us for 10 years now. She has us wrapped around her little pinky. I mean...just look at that face. For whatever reason, she has chosen me as her "alpha." Apparently, that means her world revolves around me. Chuck says when I'm not home she just mopes around. She doesn't care about eating, drinking, going outside. Nothing matters until mom gets home. But the minute I walk through the door, she decides to show me how much she loves me by letting me do things for her. Suddenly she's famished. She needs water NOW. She needs to go out NOW. She's highly jealous of Chloe - they vie for my attention equally. It's as if she's saying, Mom, look, these other people in this house don't care about me. Only you do, mom. Only you can meet every one of my needs as soon as I have them. And I need everything from you the minute you get home. I've been waiting all day." It's called bullying. Yes. My dog has learned to bully me. She comes and snaps at me to get me to do things. She needs me when I'm in the middle of cooking, or helping Chloe, or bringing in the groceries. It's urgent. It must happen immediately - whatever it is.
Take her water bowl for example. She might not have drunk an ounce all day. But the minute I get back from work, she's famished. Her throat is parched. She purposely waits to do this in my presence. And the way she tells me this is by going over to her bowl and licking the rocks. We can hear them clinking together. Supposedly those rocks were to help the pH level of her pee. It was to prevent those ugly yellow stains in the lawn. I don't think they worked, but we kept the rocks none the less. So this smart old lady knowingly goes to her bowl, licks rocks, and looks at me forlornly as if to say: you're okay with this? I kid you not - this happens within the first two minutes of me walking in the door every day. She's a conniving, manipulative, sly old dog who has learned new tricks. Her name fits her aptly.
Moral of the story....if you're thirsty, just lick rocks. Someone who loves you will notice and take care of you. At least that's Ninja's understanding.
