Can My Dog Read My Mind?

My dog does not like water, and he's never happy about getting a bath-- and he has an uncanny sense of when I'm going to give him one; normally, he loves to go for a walk, and when you take the leash out and call his name, he comes rushing over and starts bouncing off the walls, but when I'm "tricking" him and pretending we're headed out for a walk, but we're really heading upstairs to the bathroom, he looks at me holding the leash and then slowly creeps into the room farthest from the stairs and lies down in a lifeless lump . . . then once I put the leash on him, he ever so slowly makes his way to the stairs-- like a dead man walking-- and he doesn't even glance at the front door, instead he grudgingly goes up the stairs and slouches into the bathroom-- and I'm not sure how he knows that it's bath time, perhaps he hears the word, or he hears me get towels out of the closet in Alex's room, but it's strange and perceptive and very funny; I need to take video next time it happens and post it up next to his typical behavior when you call him for a walk.
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3 comments:

  1. zmanFebruary 26, 2017 at 12:26 PM

    Do you set up the tub before you put the leash on? zcats are nearly-inanimate blobs of fur, moving only to trace the path of the sun across the living room and to eat ... unless I get the cat carriers out, in which case they know they're going to the vet and they turn into highly animated blobs of teeth and claws. Maybe you should mix things up and wash the dog outside, so he'll really think he's going for a walk until you turn the hose on him.

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  2. DaveFebruary 26, 2017 at 1:25 PM

    maybe i should actually take him outside for a short walk and then lead him up the stairs to the bath . . . but i don't think i should screw with him too much, he just hates baths, but he behaves himself, just reluctantly

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  3. UnknownFebruary 27, 2017 at 11:01 AM

    I watched your dog hoover every scrap of food that hit the floor during a party so he's obviously food motivated. Dogs learn by association. "Bath time" = "treats!" is a superior motivator than "bath time" = "some a-hole pulling me up to the tub where he sprays water at me and laughs". Positive reinforcement 101.

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