I have a dog [ actually 2, and until recently I had 3, until the oldest died at 22 years old] Her name is Kismet, but we all call her Kizzy. I also have a niece named Tanya. I adore her. I could write volumes about her awesomeness. She actually loves my autisticy ways. [the only one in my family other than husband, kids, and grandkids] Right now she is understandably frustrated with me. [ "Aunt Vicky, I love you so much but right now you're making me want to tear my hair out" frustrated, which is sad,because Tanya has very nice hair]
Tanya is a dog trainer, an excellent one. She has been the salvation of many a pet owner who was close to giving up their pet until she helped.
I guess I trained my dogs incorrectly. Kizzy, especially, can be a pain in the butt.[an adorable one. She is a yorkie poo, which is almost a cat type dog] Tanya has patiently explained what I can do differently to change some of her behavior. I was ready to embrace those changes until Tanya explained that the secret to raising a well behaved dog is letting them know their place in the pack. She said that the omega dog is comfortable in the pack simply because of the security derived from knowing their place.
Wait a minute. Omega here. The scapegoat,the one blamed for everything,all of my life. I am not, nor have I ever been, comfortable being in that role. It does NOT give me a feeling of security knowing that when someone else screws up I'll be blamed for it because that is my pack position.
So, a good 95% of me knows that Kizzy being both the baby AND the boss can be annoying, even to my youngest son and husband, They tease me about it often. When people come to visit, many people do not like her "Of course you came to visit me, the princess Kismet" attitude. I know that. What I don't know is how to get past feeling that if I train her properly, that I will be making her feel bad. I love her so much. How could I not? I mean, she IS the baby...and the boss.
21 Nov 2013, 11:40 am
