Happy Sunday, folks!

I was reading your comments on my post on Janey again and I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Most if not all of you wanted more posts on Janey and since it’s a lazy Sunday, I thought I’d tell you more about Janey and her shenanigans at home.

Truth be told, as cute and lovable as Janey is, she’s one heck of a stubborn old coot. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on stubborn dogs and I understand why a lot of dog owners and trainers don’t like to use the word “stubborn” on dogs. They’re simply untrained. But believe you me, when you’re down on your knees trying to get your dog to do something as simple as going for her potty, enticing her with heaps of treats and toys to no avail, you just have to resort to the fact that the ol’ gal is stubborn as a mule.

Janey isn’t like a lot of dogs. She’s not motivated by food or toys, which makes her quite hard to train. Oh she loves her treats but if she has to work for them, nope, she’d rather not have them. She doesn’t like toys that are rubbery or plastic as she finds the taste yucky (you should see her face when shown a new rubbery toy. One lick and it’s like, euuwww, get that thing away from me!). As she doesn’t have any front teeth and has to rely on her back teeth to hold onto things, soft toys are the best. However, she’s not a fan of all soft toys. Oh, this gal is selective all right. Squeaky toys must not be too loud. They must have the right volume of squeak.

Hahaha, she’s quite a character, isn’t she?

If she doesn’t feel like going out to potty, she can hold it in for at least 15 hours. It scares me shitless (pardon the pun) when she does that. She’s very attached to me and wants me there for all her potty times and walks. Initially, she was all right with Tim bringing her out for potty and walks without me but after 2 weeks, she decided she doesn’t want him to bring her out any more. It’s fine if I’m there with him but if it’s just him, nope, she won’t do it.

Searching for gold with friend Coco

The past few weeks were bad. She wouldn’t go out with him for her last nightly potty. She would sit down, lie down and even if he drags her, she’d rather he do so then to move. I hate the dragging but even I see his frustration. She wouldn’t be enticed with treats or toys. No amount of positive reinforcement would help. We could be calling her, telling her she’s a good girl countless times and she wouldn’t budge. Worst of all, she would play possum in the 40C+ degree heat because she doesn’t want to be with him outside.

See, the funny thing is, she’s completely different when we’re at home, even when I’m not there. She’d play with him, go to him when she’s called, do her tricks even without treats for him and so on. She’d be at the door to see him off to work and be crazy excited when he comes back. It’s just the night potty (or any sort of potty) time that she becomes utterly defiant and literally puts her foot down.

Things are getting better now. She’s still showing signs of reluctance and plays possum from time to time but at least there’s no need for any sort of tugging or dragging. That was after we discovered her weakness for cheese. She only gets cheese from him when it’s just the two of them so she’s starting to put up with it because oh, does she love cheese. So, for cheese, she’s doing it!

Hello, where’s my belly rub?

She’s a funny one, this ol’ gal. She doesn’t do delayed gratification at all. As much as she loves cheese, if I hold it in front of her too long and she doesn’t get it, she doesn’t want it anymore. I can be holding it right in front of her, offering it to her and she decides, nope, don’t want it no more. Tsk tsk. 😛

Even in her most stubborn and defiant moods, it’s very hard to stay mad at her because this one knows how to steal our hearts over and over. She’s mastered the puppy dog eyes very well (exactly like Puss in Boots in the Shrek cartoons). One look and one paw on us and we’re putty in her tiny paws. More tsk tsk.

Every day with her is like taking two steps forward, one step back. Even though it’s a step back, it also means it’s one more step forward, which is very good. With Janey, we’re happy to celebrate the tiniest of victories.