And the phone rings...Woof Woof

We all know that kids tend to bug their parents when parents talk on the phone. Whether it's because the kids want a lollipop or want to pinch their sister, maybe play a video game they’ve already been told “no” about, they know that if mom's on the phone, the immediate reaction won't be as bad as if she were off the phone. And even if it happens when she’s off, who cares!

Well, my precious Nala has bad phone behavior, too. And the weird thing is, only when I talk to certain people. My kids tell me I have different phone voices for different people - a business voice, a voice for my mom, a few for different friends. Anyway, any time the phone rings, Nala comes to check out who’s calling, and I guess she knows those voices, too. If it’s my mom, she starts to bark (Nala, not my mom). I’ve had to walk away from my kids when I’m on the phone because of the pestering  and I’ve had to walk away from Nala, even put her in the upstairs bedroom (or put myself there), because she just barks, and sometimes she even starts that crazy run around growly thing she does.

Don’t get me wrong, I know perfectly well why she does this. I’ve created this bad dog behavior, me, it’s all me. When she was a puppy, I would often take her out when I was on the phone. So now she knows, phone= mini walk. And what dog doesn’t like a walk, even a mini one. 

So I still do it. I know - wrong thing for a mom to do. It’s like giving your three old the lollipop she asked for when you’re on the phone because it’s easier than saying “no”and listening to crying/arguing/screaming. So I take Nala out - still. It’s easier than listening to her bark/snarl/ run around. And she usually actually does her dog business, comes in feeling good and refreshed. And if I’m still on the phone, she barks again when we come inside and her leash is off. And guess what - against my better judgement, I go ahead and give her that biscuit!

Nala and Lilly

Well, I said I was busy, but this is ridiculous; my goal is much more than one blog a month! We'll see if I can do better this summer. Speaking of summer, it's here and so nice, so relaxing - afternoons at the pool, sleeping a little later, and evening walks. We love after dinner walks, especially Nala. She jumps around when she sees tennis shoes going on our feet and her leash come out, nothing better than a walk for a dog. By the way, Nala has a gentle leader collar that she wears so my girls can walk her; well really so I can walk her and she doesn't pull us down the street. With the collar on, she's such a good, well behaved girl, without, well...

So here we are taking a nice dusk walk and we see a dog bounding through the bushes in front of us, I mean bounding, like a deer, from bush to bush, disappearing, than we see her again. Then we hear, "Lilly, Lilly, come here!" 

But Lilly's not going anywhere. Then I see a familiar site, the dog mom shaking a bag of treats and  being totally and completely ignored by her dog. 

We're not sure if we should walk on or stay and let Lilly get home, but decide to walk on since Lilly's not going anywhere except her her romp through the bushes. The woman, getting frustrated, because her own dog is ignoring her, offers Nala a biscuit. Nala gratefully and quickly accepts. Well now here comes the suddenly interested Lilly! 

 "Who's eating my biscuits," she wonders and comes to check us out. 

They do the dog greeting, and then because she has on her good dog collar, Nala has to act a little bad and jumps at Lilly. Lilly jumps back. There's really no aggression, but no one's listening, either. I'm pulling Nala, my girls are laughing, and the woman is still  yelling at Lilly. I think her exact words were "I'm gonna kill this dog!" Of course, she's not serious, but this comment makes my girls laugh harder and the coup de grace is when she throws (yes, throws) the bag of dog treats at Lilly. 

Now we're all laughing, even Lilly's mom. 

Somehow, she gets ahold of Lilly who happily follows her into the house. We go about our walk, but I was oh so glad to see another dog who well, just doesn't listen.

And so was Nala, because nothing's better than a biscuit to top off your cherished evening walk.