Why do we go through this?

Occasionally I meet up with people who say, “Well, why did you get a dog if you knew that it wouldn’t listen to a thing you say?” Sometimes I play along and say, “I’m a masochist. I enjoy pain, but don’t want to scar myself, so I got a Shiba instead of indulging in BDSM.”

Some people just can’t function without adversity. If angst was a career, I would be writing this on my private jet. And it seems I can never give myself a break. So it stands to reason that I would not get a dog that makes life easy. I would not be truly happy with a dog that obeyed my every whim. I can only be happy with a dog who, when he obeys a command, makes it seem as if he is giving me the Holy Grail.

As soon as a Shiba responds to a command, the Shiba owner’s mind is immediately flooded with a plethora of endorphins, each one shrieking, “Did you see that?! He came/sat/flicked his ear!” For that one instant in time, it doesn’t matter if you’re broke or depressed or worried about life – by Dog you told your Shiba to something and he did it. Suddenly you can do anything. If you can get your dog to acknowledge your existence as something significant to him, you can get your boss to give you a raise, campaign for mayor, get to the top of that mountain and learn to parallel park all in one day!!!

People with border collies just don’t know what they’re missing.

They’re probably glad.

2 Comments

  1. Heh, heh, heh — some of us have a Border Collie/Shiba Inu mix! This means that our dog always looks at us, saying “Are you SURE you want me to do that?”

    Dorene

  2. I could not imagine sharing a house with an animal that obeys my every command. What fun is there in that?

    I have a cat, a dog, and a husband- none of whom come when they are called unless there is food involved. I could not imagine having a slavish type thing involved in my life- its like we have our own personal boundaries and lo, to the one who oversteps the other!

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