Country Gal/City Woman: An Old Dog Teaches Me a New Trick

That "old saw"...you can't teach an "old dog new tricks"... may be true, and then again, maybe not! I have another slant on that maxim, and you be the judge.

Sadie, my five-pound, eight-year-old female Chihuahua, is teaching me, or at the very least, letting me know she understands me even when we are not talking the same lingo. 

Let me explain: One of the most favored of pastimes for the two of us can happen at any time of the day or evening. It begins by my asking in my native tongue, "Do you wanna rock?"  - referring to our favorite rocker-lounger where we snuggle up and watch dog food commercials, Subway commercials, Jimmie Johnson/Jeff Gordon of NASCAR fame, The View and MSNBC and stuff of that ilk.

Anyway, Sadie is very short-legged, albeit nimble, and unable to springboard herself onto my lap or our mutual comfort zone when I am not available. This rocking habit has been going on now for all those years, ever since we became a couple when she weighed just eleven ounces. So, of course, I would reach down to pick up Sadie, never really noticing (all these years!) the gentle squirming of her small body as we settled down for an hour or two of contemplating the world's events.

"Settling down" meant my throwing (in the most ladylike of manner, of course!) my right leg over the right arm of the rocker and she in the small space/nest formed between the upper portion of my "once-shapely thigh" and the rocker's cushioned arm.

This is the most comfortable arrangement for the both of us, and it has been going on for all these years, without a hitch, hesitation or hiatus. Except for the gentle squirming that Sadie exhibited, this was proving to be a most satisfying and emotional time of togetherness for the both of us. And, of course, I could brag to my bowling team members that "my" Sadie was on the high end of any dog Intelligent Quotient test, bar none. She understood my every word and responded in like manner. Well, she does fail the "Use the paper!" test, but I am cutting this Chihuahua a lot of slack because of her willingness to listen to me complain and whine as needed.

Having said all the above, a couple of days ago I was shocked to find out how so very misunderstood I have been these past few years. Keep in mind that the routine would be: I would ask Sadie if she wanted to rock, then proceed to pick her up, she would squiggle (squirm with wiggle) I would do my graceful, as can be, leg-throwing-over-the-arm-of-the-rocker bit, and she would nestle into that small space for a quiet time of bonding...pure bliss, I am thinking. And, then again...maybe not!

I must add here, to add to her/my confusion, that when it was time for a visit to Dr. Peterson's office for shots, a week's stay while I was in Las Vegas or longer when I would visit Atlantic, I would ask Sadie--"Do you wanna go bye-bye?"--pick her up and stuff her into her high-fashioned doggie carrier (again with that same hesitation) and out the door we would go.

The fact that she played the "hurt feelings" bit upon my return did not register with my Human Intelligent Quotient at all, that was my first mistake in understanding my beloved pet. Dogs are much like our kids: they don't always relay their inner feelings, squirm when chastised or uncomfortable and, sure as heck, take mental notes to parlay "something" ambiguously later in one form or another.

How this all came about I simply don't recall. But quite by accident and, frankly, I was up to teasing her a bit at that moment and while sitting comfortably in our rocking chair, I kiddingly asked Sadie if she wanted to go "Bye, Bye" with absolutely no intention on my part of doing that. Sadie practically ran up the side of the chair in her eagerness to rock...hmmm, that struck me as being a bit "odd" for this dog who was perfect in all departments (excluding the paper bit) but, ok...let's try that again and see what happens.

For the next few minutes, and it has now been several days and the routine never changes, Sadie responded with vim and vinegar the same way to my question..."Do you wanna go Bye, Bye?" when she knows I still haven't put on my face for the day. I was perplexed, yet delighted in her delight to join me in our favorite rocker without benefit of bribes of chicken tenders and Doritos. Now that is "unconditional love!"

Which leads me to this profound questioning of my teaching/listening/understanding abilities of the "dog world."

Having been around puppies and dogs all my life, I felt I had a good handle on understanding that the pets had a good understanding of the basics...fetch, sit, heel, down and stop that darn barking. What I learned in the past few days is that Sadie and I have been talking two different languages and yet understood one another enough to compromise, entertain, relax, enjoy, and share a togetherness so very special in my senior years, all the while Sadie in her added role as "protector" when the noise of a leaf falling on our front porch alerts her every sense. The noise level is raised when the mailman leaves his loot and departs onto the next home; I can hear him snort as he leaves the premises as he knows she is all bark and no bite for they have met and Sadie "loves" Pete of the .

So...this is what I have to figure out: I have come to understand that "Bye Bye" means, to Sadie, that we are in for a spell of rocking, which leaves me, without a clue, as to what "Do you wanna rock?" means. Right now it means "Whatever!" but I am sure she will let me know, in an unexpected and meaningful way, what those words mean to her. This I know...as long as we are side-by-side in our rocker-lounger, we are two happy campers watching movies with cutie-pie canines as the featured players, Cesars' dogfood commercials, and a fair amount of licking my fingers when they are laced with KFC chicken or barbecued ribs.

An afterthought...if this "misunderstanding of words" between mature adults should occur (and it does happen to the most and the best of us) how great it would be if we all would make a "comfortable nesting place" for those we love; and even if we never fully understand what each is saying, that warm, fuzzy feeling will linger and cover us for any bumpy days and roads ahead.

If it works for Sadie and me, it will work for you!

Read previous Country Gal/City Woman posts:

Country Gal/City Woman: "Roll the Presses!"

Country Gal/City Woman: My Father the Hero