[ SHOWGSD-L ] Children and animals - How true
- From: "David & Diane Kingston" <aviator@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 13 Dec 2004 12:43:38 -0700
For those of who have raised or are raising a family, this is an apt
comparison of children and pets...
I just realized that while children are dogs - loyal and affectionate -
teen-agers are cats. It's so easy to be a dog owner. You feed it, train =
it,
and boss it around. It puts its head on your knee and gazes at you as if =
you
were a Rembrandt painting. It bounds indoors with enthusiasm when you =
call
it.
Then around age 13, your adoring little puppy turns into a big old cat. =
When
you tell it to come inside, it looks amazed, as if wondering who died =
and
made you emperor. Instead of dogging your footsteps, it disappears. You
won't see it again until it gets hungry then it pauses on its sprint =
through
the kitchen long enough to turn its nose up at whatever you're serving.
When you reach out to ruffle its head, in that old affectionate gesture, =
it
twists away from you, and then gives you a blank stare, as if trying to
remember where it has seen you before.
You, not realizing that the dog is now a cat, think something must be
desperately wrong with it. It seems so antisocial, so distant, sort of
depressed. It won't go on family outings.
Since you're the one who raised it, taught it to fetch and stay and sit =
on
command, you assume that you did something wrong. Flooded with guilt and
fear, you redouble your efforts to make your pet behave.
Only now you're dealing with a cat, so everything that worked before now
produces the opposite of the desired result. Call it, and it runs away. =
Tell
it to sit, and it jumps on the counter. The more you go toward it, =
wringing
your hands, the more it moves away.
Instead of continuing to act like a dog owner, you can learn to behave =
like
a cat owner. Put a dish of food near the door, and let it come to you. =
But
remember that a cat needs your help and your affection too. Sit still =
and it
will come, seeking that warm, comfortable lap it has not entirely =
forgotten.
Be there to open the door for it.
One day, your grown-up child will walk into the kitchen, give you a big =
kiss
and say, "You've been on your feet all day. Let me get those dishes for
you." Then you'll realize your cat is a dog again.
=20
Diane and David Kingston
=20
Aviator German Shepherds
http://www.aviatorgsd.com
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