Once upon a time last night, as I was eating supper (sitting on the
couch, which is near the front door), I was vaguely aware that Harriet
was lying in front of the door. I usually give her my dish after I'm
finished, so she was waiting patiently for her treat.

At the same time, my neighbors were out in the hallway, trying to teach
Kayla to sit. (Why on earth they'd wait until she's a year old to do so
is a mystery.) Anyway, I kept hearing "Sit, sit, sit, sit," and so did
Harriet, because she sat. Apparently, she decided that doing what the
voices said might make me eat faster?

Teh enb.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

"Shelly" said in
rec.pets.dogs.behavior:

Anyway, I kept hearing "Sit, sit, sit, sit," and so did
Harriet, because she sat. Apparently, she decided that
doing what the voices said might make me eat faster?

Nah, she's just obeying The Command, which is a good thing.

Friday gets frustrated when someone pulls out treats and tells
their dog "down". Friday downs in the blink of an eye but the
other dog doesn't. Friday is patient until the third "down" and
barks out that he's friggin' down! Hand over the freakin' food
already!

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"Rocky" wrote in message
...

Nah, she's just obeying The Command, which is a good thing.

Indeed! I love it that my dog will listen to other people, even if
they're disembodied voices. I'm not sure she would have been quite that
motivated to listen to the voices if she weren't focused on my food and
her upcoming treat, but that's okay.

Friday gets frustrated when someone pulls out treats and tells
their dog "down". Friday downs in the blink of an eye but the
other dog doesn't. Friday is patient until the third "down" and
barks out that he's friggin' down! Hand over the freakin' food
already!

That sounds familiar, only instead of barking, there is cussing and, I
swear, a whistling noise emits from Harriet's ears. She thinks the
universe revolves around her, and she has absolutely no patience with
stoopit dogs/humans.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

"Rocky" wrote in message:

Friday gets frustrated when someone pulls out treats and tells
their dog "down". Friday downs in the blink of an eye but the
other dog doesn't. Friday is patient until the third "down" and
barks out that he's friggin' down! Hand over the freakin' food
already!

Sounds like Khan. It usually goes: Down. Stare a hole in the human's head.
Woof softly. Woo-woo about the unfairness of it all.

Suja

On Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:35:42 -0500, "Shelly"
wrote:

Once upon a time last night, as I was eating supper (sitting on the
couch, which is near the front door), I was vaguely aware that Harriet
was lying in front of the door. I usually give her my dish after I'm
finished, so she was waiting patiently for her treat.

At the same time, my neighbors were out in the hallway, trying to teach
Kayla to sit. (Why on earth they'd wait until she's a year old to do so
is a mystery.) Anyway, I kept hearing "Sit, sit, sit, sit," and so did
Harriet, because she sat. Apparently, she decided that doing what the
voices said might make me eat faster?

Teh enb.


sounds like Miss Harriet is well trained....
Nessa
--
trying to be the best human she can,

"Nessa" wrote in message
...

sounds like Miss Harriet is well trained....

I wouldn't go that far! She was highly motivated and kind of on
automatic pilot. I think most dogs are more likely to obey
commands--even from strange, disembodied voices--if they are focused on
something they really, really want.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)