A Question of Motivation
Mack is a really good dogg. He is so motivated to please that he is very easy to discipline. With rare exception, he does what he is supposed to, 
when he’s supposed to, and how he’s supposed to. Beene, on the other hand, is motivated mainly by inertia. In fact, as I’m writing this, she is staring at me with a look that says, “.” She’s so spacey that she’s almost impossible to train and her unwillingness to focus has brought us to lower our expectations an order of magnitude from what they are with Mack.
This morning, I woke to the realization that I had no more coffee beans. It had not escaped my attention that I was using the last of our beans yesterday morning, but I optimistically assumed I would remember to buy more before the next morning. No big deal. I am totally flexible enough to turn “walking the doggs” into “taking the doggs to Makeda for my favorite beans (Seven’s Espresso Huli blend).”
Makeda is like most places in Seattle in the sense that there are dog treats at the counter for the dogs most store owners assume you have. I got my beans and grabbed four little dog treats to give the doggs who were patiently waiting, tied to the bench outside. I always have Mack sit and hold the treat on his nose, which he does no matter how badly he doesn’t want to. So, I say, “Sit. Mack, hold it…” and he sits and holds his nose steady for me to set the treat on. Meanwhile, Beene sits down behind him and as soon as I set that damn treat on his nose, she dives over him like a giant oafish ninja and snatches that treat right off poor Mack’s nose. As if that’s not bad enough, she leaves a bunch of slobber on his nose.
Ah well, some doggs have all the luck. After all, I did give him the remaining three treats.
