15 Seconds

We were eating dinner the other day.  The dogs should be laying down and not bugging us but one seemed to have forgotten what to do.  I asked for a down but the dog in question was looking everywhere but at me, all the while “ignoring” the cue.  I don't know if she looking for a spot to lie down since all the good spots were taken? Maybe she was focused on the smell of the food or heard a noise outside.  I didn’t give her time to follow thru, instead I repeated my request a second and then a third time.  That’s when I caught myself and realized I wasn’t giving her what she needed, time to hear, process and follow thru on the cue.  This time, after I asked for down, I remembered to count in my head to 15.  On 14 she lay down. 

The tagline is 15 seconds to failure.   Why is it so important?  If someone says your name while your brain is engaged elsewhere does it take you a moment to process and then respond?  She wasn’t ignoring me, she needed that same opportunity:  to hear, process and respond. We also reinforce giving her the chance to make good choices.  If we keep repeating the cue, often getting louder each time, the dog will either tune you out completely and you become background noise or decide that “down down DOWN” means down and will literally wait for you to say it 3 times each time. 

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​You may even find that you stay calmer and won’t get as frustrated when counting to 15. Glaring at a dog and waiting for them to follow the cue that, like a machine gun burst  of shots, repeats “down down down down” doesn’t give a clear direction of what we want.   Keep the cue short, say it once and then wait for the dog to process and respond.  The dog will be happier and so will you.  

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