Dekker Shares His Observations About People
Woof Woof!! My name is Dekker, and once a month I get to share my observations about people and answer questions that readers (and sometimes their pets) ask.
If this is your first time reading my advice, you can find out more about me and service dogs HERE.
If you want to know more about where I was trained, that would be a neat place called NEADS.
Dear Dekker,
I seem to have the hardest time getting everything
on my calendar finished, especially during
the holiday season. My clock just
moves too fast each day!
Sometimes I wish I were a dog and only had to do
what someone asks me to do and I
could sleep in between.
Any advice?
Thank you, Busy Bea
Woof woof, Bea – Well, last I knew the only way you can be a dog is to have a couple of dogs as parents and we don’t get to choose our parents.
I watch people spend a lot of time wishing for things that are just not possible when they could be sleeping.
As for calendars and clocks, can you listen to your body instead?
My body tells me when it is time to eat and I have a daily routine that I can count on every morning and every night, even though things often get scrambled in the middle of the day.
Dear Dekker,
Why does time go so fast? I make my plans for the week
every Monday and almost never finish everything
before it is Friday! I use a planner to schedule,
a timer to pace my work, and several
spreadsheets to track my progress.
None of this seems to work.
When Friday arrives I end up
farther behind than
when I began my week.
Thanks, Late Larry
Woof, woof Larry,
See my reply above to Busy Bea. You seem to have the same problem. I wonder if you are from the same breed or even from the same litter.
Certain breeds have similar problems and owners have to learn a lot about their specific temperaments.
If you and Bea were service dogs you would learn to trust the one who calls you to serve and let that person worry about the passage of time.
Your job to serve is simple… listen, follow…and sleep. Staying in the present and listening to my body keeps me from needing a calendar.
Dear Dekker
I am beginning to worry about growing old. I watch friends
and neighbors become lame, deaf or so confused
they can no longer take care of themselves.
The thought of that happening to me
is so scary it keeps me awake
at night. What can I do?
Thank you, Anxious Arthur
Woof woof, Arthur,
Well well, it seems you are like Bea and Larry when it comes to sleeping. Not being able to sleep is something I don’t know a lot about. I have been known to sleep standing up. It helps to have a place to rest your chin though.
Worrying about getting old doesn’t interfere as much as aches and pains in my body.
According to the charts I am now the equivalent of your 75 years.
My whiskers are getting a bit grey, but everyone tells me they are cute.
Do you have any changes that are cute or do you only see the parts that don’t work?
I am on a special diet for some reason I don’t totally understand, but I know what I eat makes a huge difference in my ability to frolic and have a good time.
Spend more time eating right, find someone who thinks your grey hair is cute, find a place to rest your chin and you may relax enough to sleep standing up too.
Hi Dekker, I love reading your monthly posts…
they raise several questions for me.
How do you decide what to pay attention to?
How do you figure out what you need
to put first? Have you ever put the
wrong thing first and not paid
attention to something
important?
Love, Dara
Woof woof, Dara…All your questions imply that I have a lot of control over my thoughts and actions. In that way, dogs and people are not a whole lot different.
My thoughts are triggered by something in my body. A scent, a touch from a human, hunger, the sound of the kibble jar lid being removed.
Thoughts just happen and none of us can do a lot about them.
But how I act on my thoughts has come through a lot of training and discipline.
It’s so hard when something tasty is dropped right in front of my nose but I hear “leave it” deep inside my head and I know life goes a lot better if I listen to that.
When someone scratches my butt I get all wiggly and without a strong look from my person, I would love to climb up in her lap.
I have learned to pay attention to both my inner voice—and her voice. I try to put the one I love first. It always works out best that way.
One time we went on a walk in a place called City Forest and the temptations were almost more than I could endure…new smells, children with their pets running by, squirrels, and sounds peculiar to the woods… that I didn’t pay attention to my person.
Paying attention to the one I am with is the most important thing I do.
I tugged and pulled. I ignored her when she said ‘leave it and all I could do was feel the instinct of my body. All thinking had stopped. Does that ever happen to you?
She stopped walking.
She waited.
She spoke one word. “Cookie”.
That is guaranteed to snap me back to consciousness. She doesn’t use it unless she has to, but I ALWAYS hear it because I love kibble cookies.
With her help I am immediately back on track.
Doing the ‘right thing’ has to be about teamwork, with or for someone you love, and then all things are possible.
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