Does your dog boss you around?

I've never had any trouble telling my dog no. When she stares at me, I don't feel pressured into sharing food with her or giving her attention.

My Mom is a different story. She feels guilty if Misha is watching her. Misha knows her routine now. She knows when my Mom gets meals and snacks. She know which ones are sharable. She even knows the difference between when I am in the kitchen and when my Mom is in the kitchen.

She follows her when it is time for food. Because of this, my Mom feels Misha "needs" something. If Misha is watching her at 6:30 pm, she assumes she is asking for a piece of cracker. So, she accommodates her. My Mom isn't the only one who is this way. I remember my Dad was terrible with Sierra. He said he couldn't eat if she was staring at him because it made him feel bad. LOL

It drives me crazy. I give the dog very little human food and only if I am eating. I don't decide to have a snack because my dog looks hungry.

Do you feel bad when you dog is giving you sad looks? Do you find yourself pressured into getting a snack because your dog looks like she is hungry? Have you found your routines change so they are easier for your dog?

 

I'm not surprised. Peanuts and Chooey are smart enough to have figured that out as well. And eventually, my mom got frustrated with them. Of course, I've warned her and yet she keeps on thinking that the dogs are hungry reason why they look at her that way.

Like you, I don't get easily swayed by their big sparkly eyes and manipulative techniques. They know when I'm eating that I would never give them anything unless it's placed in their food bowl or I call them.

 

I don't have this kind of problem because basically I, myself, don't eat very much. So I have to remember that my dogs need food more than me. So far they haven't begged me for food. But they will look at me if it's time for their run and I am running late.

 

A Big Yes. Mishka can be a bossy boots. In fact this morning at 7.30 am, a Sunday of all days, our sleep in day, Mishka came upstairs and started a conversation for maybe 5 seconds. She hasn't done this for a long time either. So I did get up to make the coffee. No sleep in. She was definitely bored and letting us know. The Bossy boots. We had to laugh though.

 

I am the one "assigned" feeding the dogs always so when they know it was feeding time already and I am not yet starting eating (cause I am feeding them after me) they will go to where I am staying as if telling me to eat now and feed us! LOL

 

That's very polite of them. At least they didn't insist on being fed before you eat. This is an oddity that I have noticed about my dogs, too. When it's time to eat, they follow a pecking order. Fortunately I am top dog, so I get to eat first.

 

Many years ago, when I was doing my teaching practice in the next county, I was given digs with an elderly lady and her two very spoiled Scotty dogs. Part of the work I had to do was to fill in a large chart for each child, every day. I didn't have a table to work on so I had to juggle the chart while sitting on the sofa.
Unfortunately for me, the sofa had a flat back and the dogs liked to sit up there, one either side of me. Waiting.
These little dogs would sit there perfectly calm while the lady was in the room, but as soon as she left they would both simultaneously, take a dive down onto my chart. They then landed on the floor where I swear they laughed at me, before returning to the back of the sofa, where they would be sitting as if nothing had ever happened by the time their owner walked back in.
I did get wise to this after a few days but it was impossible to get the chart out of the way quickly enough without getting it screwed up. I was very glad when that teaching practice finished and I never had to see the dogs again.

 

I've found dogs can be manipulative if you let them. They know how to work those eyes to make you feel guilty. They will stalk you relentlessly if you give in. When my Mom says Misha looks hungry, I laugh. Misha doesn't look hungry. She looks like a dog who knows if she stares at you long enough you will share food with her.

They are set on routine, aren't they? They figure out meal times. They know when you go for your walk. They know when it's snack time. They know the days certain people visit. They are better at keeping a schedule than we are.

While Misha doesn't push me around for food, she can be quite persistent about neck massages. She gets on your lap and then turns her head in funny movements. This means "I want my neck scratched, please." If you don't respond, she turns to the other side and tries again. If you don't respond to that, she gets closer and hits in the shoulder like "Hey dummy! I said I want my neck scratched." It can be annoying especially if you are trying to read a book or do some paperwork.

However, I am glad that she wants to be scratched since this is the dog that went a year not wanting to be touched. Now she demands a neck massage every day. LOL

 

@Melody
If you should ever reach a point where you think Misha had already used up her quota of back-ordered scratches, then you can try this to break her habit. Suddenly turn on her with a fierce bark and see what happens. I have seen older dogs do that to frisky puppies that didn't know when to stop.

 

I'm a little ashamed to confess this, but my little dog boss my family and me around all the time . He has his own sofa on which we are not allowed to sit and he has his own room where he storages rotten apples and pine cones. I know this sounds a little bit scary but we don't need this room or sofa anyway and we find his behaviour kind of cute .