All Things Dog Blog

Friday, May 4, 2012

Weekly Wag #19: Rejoice in Reunions

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

This is one of those Weekly Wags that I imagine will bring shaking heads from trainers. Don't tell Michael about it, okay? ;)

I secretly love it when my dogs are happy to see me when I arrive wherever they are. Whether they are at home waiting on me, at doggie daycare running in the play yards, at my mother's home enjoying some 'family time' with Jacque, or after a Winter bath at their beloved groomer's, Miss Bonnie. I am thrilled that they are happy to see me when I return. That unconditional love thing gets me every time.

Conversely, I work hard to train the boys to greet our callers with gentlemanly calmness. I know this must be confusing them. Bad pet parenting! It's a work in progress to be sure. I am generally able to get a nice Sit when regular visitors come to call. But unexpected salespeople or neighborhood kids evoke a whole different level of enthusiastic announcement from both boys.

Am I terrible to focus on Tanner's excessive excitement first? I guess it's a necessary step in protecting smaller kids or frail elderly from his friendly, albeit full frontal kisses. While he does jump slightly at times like this, when he believes it is necessary (?), he has finally learned not to jump ON the person of interest. Progress! His kisses are now bestowed without much bodily contact, making him a bit safer and me less embarrassed. The training goes on.

So what is the message of bonding today? Maybe I'm trying to soothe my own angst about not completely following through on this important bit of our training. But still, I love being greeted by the boys with their signature "I missed you mom" ways. Oliver dances on hind feet while Tanner slathers me with kisses that I completely revel in. Am I awful?

Your comments on this at the original Weekly Wag post will enter you in a quarterly giveaway. Simply click the badge to take you there. I hope you enjoy your reunions with your dogs, even if you just walked out to the mailbox.

This post is part of the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop hosted by Life with Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers, and Confessions of the Plume. You are welcome to link up here, or visit any of their sites for their rules of participation and another opportunity to link up. Happy hopping!

11 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hey Carrie's Boys, Jet here. Hi Miss Carrie.

Mom feels the same as you do. She's working on my barking and JJ's jumping so people can enter our house calmly... baby steps for us so far...; May 5, 2012 at 12:36 AM
FANCY the Red Standard Poodle said...: Hi Y'all,

Stoppin' to say "hello" and see how y'all are doing. My Human would be happy if my excitement when someone comes was less excitement. I just can't help myself! No matter how much I practice...

Hope you continue having a fantastic weekend!

Y'all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog; May 5, 2012 at 10:20 AM
Lisa said...: Haha! You're funny. As a trainer I don't disagree at all! The only caveat would be for a dog who suffers from separation problems. Allowing the craziness and feeding into the excitement/anxiety can cause or exacerbate separation problems.
But without those issues a happy dance when you come home? Absolutely!
From the picture it also looks like you're doing it right. When they are excited and want to greet guests in an over-the-top way you can over ride that by redirecting to a command. (such as your down in the picture) Great job BTW!; May 5, 2012 at 1:05 PM
Carrie, with Tanner and Oliver said...: @Lisa: Thanks! I am trying, but they are sooooo friendly :); May 5, 2012 at 1:59 PM
cstironkat said...: We adopted Artie last weekend, and it is great to see how excited he gets when we get home. He is learning to sit, off, stay, and drop it. Today was his first day going shopping and he had a blast.; May 5, 2012 at 4:26 PM
AJ said...: Jack's reunions are insane, even after only 10 minutes apart. He's worked really hard on them, but he still has so much trouble containing his excitement - he sits, but it only lasts for a second or two and then he will knock his body against your legs in an attempt to get closer. It's an improvement on the jumping, but it's still a continuing effort - I'm aiming for a nice, calm greeting one of these days!; May 5, 2012 at 6:20 PM
Rumpydog said...: DeDe does pretty good at the door. It's Rumpy that still wants to jump up. Ironically, DeDe's the one that gives the most ferocious bark to strangers- it stops them from even wanting to come inside.; May 5, 2012 at 7:44 PM
Carrie, with Tanner and Oliver said...: @cstironkat: Congratulations on a new furry family member. Tell us more!; May 5, 2012 at 7:47 PM
Michelle Spayde said...: I just suffered the sudden loss of one of my special needs kitties (my sweetest boy), and I can't tell you how much it helped me to come home to Sarah, and be greeted with love and joy. I really needed that, and I wouldn't give it up for the world!

Anyway, large dogs (Chow Chows) were a huge part of my life for several years before the Poms came in and took over. Happiness and kisses were part of each and every day, but they were trained to only behave that way with me (and no jumping). As a "dangerous breed", I trained them extensively in an effort to avoid any issues.; May 6, 2012 at 2:27 AM
Dawn said...: I have a similar problem. My dogs are happy to see me when I get home but they are very well-mannered about it. They know they can't get away with jumping on me. But I have a difficult time trying to teach them to behave the same way with visitors. Many visitors will say, "That's okay. I don't mind. I love dogs." I try to explain to them that I am training, but by then it is already too late. :P; May 6, 2012 at 10:45 AM
No(dot dot)el said...: I have that same problem with Barley. He's only 1 but we he just gets so excited and still barks at the unexpected visitor. It makes us all jump. I hope we can break the bad habit. Hey there I'm new here. Trying to start up a monthly link for my "Letters TO Pets" would love to get any and all animal lovers to join in.; May 8, 2012 at 8:13 PM