Doggone Etiquette —

Toys, Treats & Treasures

By Bardi McLennan

A Word to the Dog:

This is an important time of year for you to show off all your very best manners. You know what they are – paying attention to what you are told to do (and what you are told not to do), not jumping up on people (or furniture), and keeping your nose out of anything that is not yours! Your VIPeople may be doing a lot of last-minute shopping and all those bags and boxes they bring home are strictly off limits to you dogs! If you “Sit” nicely, you may be allowed to watch while things are taken out of the bags and boxes, but do not try to participate. Lending a paw would not be appreciated.

A Word to the Dog’s Owner:

Let’s face it. Dogs are our family members, but at least one thing separates them from us, and that is their inability to imagine the future. So our anticipation of holidays and events are not in the realm of canine logic. Every Rufus needs to be cut a little slack when their day-to-day household gets turned upside down, whether for holiday festivities or just the gang arriving to watch a football game.

However, that does not allow you to put up with bad behavior, poor doggy manners, or whatever you want to call it. It’s still up to you to prevent these mistakes. That’s “prevent” as in “not letting it happen.” If you’re making a lot of corrections, you’ve missed the opportunity to prevent.

A sign of your appreciation for very good behavior might be an occasional treat such as a (small!) special biscuit or even better, a few minutes of playtime. The latter might be a nice break for you, too. If yours is a rambunctious young dog, during these last days before Christmas you’d be smart to dole out one or two of the toys that you bought to put under the tree. It will help to keep an otherwise disruptive Rufus entertained and I’m sure Santa won’t object! The only caution is to be aware of jealousy if you have multiple pets. In that case you no doubt already understand and know how to separate the dogs from the cats from the hamsters.

That pretty much covers the “toys” and the “treats” so you are possibly wondering about the third topic. I saved the best for last. Treasures are the wonderful funny, frustrating, fond memories we all have of our pets. No matter how short their lives, each one leaves us with its own individual collection of memories to cherish.

Today these treasured reminders are more likely to be photos and/or videos captured in every up-to-the-minute way imaginable, and covering every naughty, good, clever, beautiful thing our current dogs have accomplished. The pictures bring back memories. ‘Remember how Rufus barked at seeing his first snowman?’ ‘There he is pulling the kids on their ice skates!’ ‘How he loved to curl up with that new kitten!’ ‘Oh, remember the year he smashed the gingerbread house?’ … it goes on and on!

These pictures are treasured keepsakes that may be shared online or in person today, and for years to come they will stir up our fondest memories. For now, the dogs themselves are our treasures.

Until next time—BE GOOD!

- Bardi

Bardi McLennan bred, trained and showed Welsh Terriers for 30 years during which time she wrote a monthly column on canine behavior in Dog fancy Magazine. In addition to contributing to numerous dog publications, she has written 15 books on dogs, the latest being Rescue Me! which received the ASPCA Humane Issues Award last year.