Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Am I Being Manipulated by My Dogs?

   When I am looking at stories for the Bayou Boys to report on BFTB NETWoof News, it always amazes me how many studies are done to prove what pet parents already know. Dogs and cats are super smart and can be very manipulative. 
Here are some of the ways I am manipulated.
 Every. Single. Day.
This is the exact look I wake up to every morning.
• Wake Up ~ Bentley wakes me up around 6:00 each morning so he can go outside. He noses the cover back and gives me a kiss. It is so incredibly sweet. Then, he begins scratching the sheet until I get up. Of course, Pierre gets up and joins us because they get a treat when we come back inside. We usually sleep another hour or so before he is ready for breakfast. There is no snooze button on a Basset.
 
• Meals on Demand ~ I get a ten-minute warning before dinner. Bentley will come let me know that I need to mix his Dr. Harvey’s up at 4:20 so that he can eat at 4:30. As I’ve said before, the term “Hounding a person to death” must have been coined by someone with a Basset Hound.
• Scratch Me ~ Pierre does his fair share of manipulating too. One of his favorite demands is to be scratched. He loves being scratched on his head and chest. If you have a hand available, it should be used to scratch him.
• Go Outside ~ Both of the boys lie about needing to go outside. We have *PottyBells on the backdoor and they ring them when nature calls or they want to go play. Pierre will ring them in the evening when he gets bored and Bentley is asleep. I take him out and he just stands there looking around. I know that is all he wants but I still take him. Bentley has decided that he needs to go out during our dinner. We know he doesn’t have to use the bathroom. He is mad because we aren’t giving them any special treats while we eat. He waits to see if we are going to give them anything and if it’s "only" a dog treat, he eats it then goes and rings the bell. LOUDLY! I tell him that he has to wait until I’m through and he goes back and puts his head under the bell, backs up and BANG! Then he turns and stares at me. Okay, he is eleven-years-old and what if it really is an emergency this time? I leave my dinner and take him outside where he pees two drops and goes about sniffing the yard. Yes, they know exactly what they are doing!   
• Bedtime ~ Pierre sleeps next to me in the bed. He can jump on the bed, but he won’t. Instead, he waits until Skipper and I are both in the bed (that is very important to him) then, he “asks” to get up. We tell him that he can, but he still won’t jump. He puts his legs on the bed and I have to lift him. It is a fact that a small Westie size dog can take up 2/3 of the bed!
❤🐢🐱❤
While it might be true that our dogs can be manipulative, one good snuggle, or kiss makes every single doggie demand worth it. Still, do they really need to do a study on how smart our pets are when they can just ask us?
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18 comments :

  1. I'm manipulated too... the worst is the 10 minutes before mealtime reminder, they bark as if there is no tomorrow ;o)))

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  2. Hehe, my Peeps are always saying "Who trains who" in our house...truth is of course I have trained them...although there is still a bit of work in progress regarding TREATS!
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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  3. Mom says we need a revolving door because we are always wanting to go out, then we stand there waiting to come back in. All we really wanted was a treat. We also demand snuggle time. We keep Mom well trained in most aspects of life, but she is the one who always wakes us up too early. We would gladly sleep in but she always wants to be up early.

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  4. Yep, totally confessing my dogs have me wrapped around their little toes.

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  5. The peeps cannot stand it when we whine and you do it so well, Bentley! It drives my mom nuts too☺

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  6. It sounds like you are being manipulated by the dogs but the dogs know somehow you'll cave in to them. Try not to be so predictable.

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  7. Angel starts loudly meowing exactly one hour before mealtime! We must endure...or give in. The Hubby is terrific at enduring; I crack after about 15 minutes...

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  8. Oh I am cracking up over this post. I watched the Hallmark Rescue Dog SHow last night.
    Bentley would have surely won the Best Talking category and Pierre the scratch my category
    Hugs Cecilia

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  9. Those studies that tell us all the things dogs can't do are so funny. My dogs and I laugh...

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  10. OMD, Bentley, you sound JUST LIKE ME!!! I have pawfected the whine, and it drives Ma nutty! heheheee I likes to do it to gets Ma off the puter, and play with me and gives me beefy! It works most the time too ☺
    Our work is never done boyz....
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  11. Our beagle Kobi would always go to the door to be let out when he thought it was getting close to dinner time. He knew we couldn't ignore that request! He'd go out, come right back in, and then say "as long as you're up....how about some supper?" (at least that's what he trained us to think)! LOL Just lately, Luke has started doing the same thing!
    They are so much fun, and too darn smart a lot of the time!
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  12. Bentley and Pierre have some of the same manipulation tactics we use here - manipulating masters - that's what we are:)

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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  13. A lot of this is sounding veeerrrrryyyy familiar!

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  14. Good job, boys! I too am well acquainted with those types of doggie subterfuge. My humans are pretty easy to manipulate. I don't usually insist on waking them up early in the morning, which my ghostwriter appreciates a lot since she works a late shift.

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  15. WE do the ask to go out thing too, stand and look around then expect a treat. Hazel's new trick is to not eat unless Mom hand feeds her. But she knows that somebody has to pick me up when I finish and if Dad is not there to do it, Mom has to and then Hazel will eat on her own. Spoiled little turd Mom call her BOL!
    hugs
    Mabel

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  16. Oh my gosh, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your 'snooze button!' Elsa has that nose nudging thing down to a science. Half the time she's the one responsible for my typos. BOL

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  17. Mine do all the same things!!! We are the creators of their activities!!

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