Concepts your 4-legged companion doesn't "get" - or, might as well, your pesky S.O.

[UTUSN]

These pics are about 3 yrs old, when the models were pups. Their looks have "matured" somewhat. Anyway, the dude on the right is theoretically the head of the household. Actually, he's always been a timid and sort of sad little dog, mostly undemonstrative. She is an outrageous flirt and perky and a glory-hound.

When they're both outside and they're ready to come inside, he has long been the master of standing on the hind legs and banging the door with his fists. There's a sheet of see through plastic protecting the screen, so it all makes a loud banging noise. Very effective and appropriate. He was doing that before she joined our pack, but she stands by behind him, since apparently she knows what the procedure is but does not allow herself to do it. But as soon as the door is opened for them, SHE swooshes past him, in front, to enter FIRST. When she's outside alone and needs to signal for entry, she just mews (like a cat) and beg-whines, does not "knock".

As for him, he apparently believes that this knocking thing only works at the front door. Whenever he is at the back and wants to come in, he stays about 5 feet back from the door, looking up through it when he hears somebody there. Both of them seem to prefer the front door 95% of the time.

[Brickbat]

1. It took awhile to train Mr. Brickbat to not take our one dog's submissive peeing personally.

I think his reactions were even more a pain in the ass than the dog's. Everything is going much better now, though.

I would also like it if the submissive dog would learn that he doesn't have to be polite and worry about waking us up when he has GI issues in the night. It's OK to let us know, rather than letting it go in his crate and waiting for the other dog to start whining because it smells so bad.

[foxfeet]

2. We have one of those doggy "gumball" machines that dispenses treats

when a bone-shaped lever is depressed. Our male Cairn terrier, Angus (black/brindle), got the idea very quickly and soon was gleefully whacking the lever with both paws to get the treats. Our female Cairn, Mamie (light wheaten-colored) could not figure it out to save herself no matter how patiently we trained her. It got to the point that she was so frustrated by the entire experience that she attacked Angus whenever he went near the gumball machine. Despite her relatively small size (she was the runt of her litter and always had food issues) she could back him across the room in a hurry (a skill she found useful when he'd try to hump her). Our friends made lots of "dumb blonde" jokes at Mamie's expense. She lived to be 16 without ever once getting the machine to work by herself.