I’ve recently discovered the secret to a successful relationship. Just to be clear, I’m not talking about your average, run of the mill, happy marriage. Think big people, image a perpetual honeymoon and you get where I’m coming from.
Like most of the worlds great discoveries, I sort of stumbled upon the truth. One day Tom accidentally referred to me as “Maggie”, not an unusual occurrence in our house. I made my usual joke, pointing out that if he actually treated me like baby girl I’d be the happiest woman in the world. Don’t get me wrong, Tom is very good to me - but with Maggie he takes it to a whole new level - it doesn’t matter what she does, he thinks it’s all adorable.
Once the words were out of my mouth a light went off. What if I actually started treating Tom like a pug? Now before you get upset and start sending hate mail, let me clarify - I’m not talking about sit, stay and fetch -this isn’t intended to be a training program. I’m talking about positive reinforcement and respect – less of the “bad dog!” approach. You’d be surprised how far a “you’re a good boy!” will go.
Let’s just say it works, after all who doesn’t want to be loved unconditionally? The thing is, once you go down this road be careful how you express yourself. Today I was in a cab with my good friend Janice, who has been privy to all the details of my little science experiment. I was telling her that it doesn’t matter how much I treat Tom like a dog, he still leaves his shoes in the middle of the floor. She understood where I was coming from, but the taxi driver was a totally different story.
Like most of the worlds great discoveries, I sort of stumbled upon the truth. One day Tom accidentally referred to me as “Maggie”, not an unusual occurrence in our house. I made my usual joke, pointing out that if he actually treated me like baby girl I’d be the happiest woman in the world. Don’t get me wrong, Tom is very good to me - but with Maggie he takes it to a whole new level - it doesn’t matter what she does, he thinks it’s all adorable.
Once the words were out of my mouth a light went off. What if I actually started treating Tom like a pug? Now before you get upset and start sending hate mail, let me clarify - I’m not talking about sit, stay and fetch -this isn’t intended to be a training program. I’m talking about positive reinforcement and respect – less of the “bad dog!” approach. You’d be surprised how far a “you’re a good boy!” will go.
Let’s just say it works, after all who doesn’t want to be loved unconditionally? The thing is, once you go down this road be careful how you express yourself. Today I was in a cab with my good friend Janice, who has been privy to all the details of my little science experiment. I was telling her that it doesn’t matter how much I treat Tom like a dog, he still leaves his shoes in the middle of the floor. She understood where I was coming from, but the taxi driver was a totally different story.
3 comments:
You should see mine after a bath.....soooo cute and funny....sprinting around and shaking furiously.........leaves alot of hair on the carpet though....
Funny girl.
Since it's my 12th anniversary today I think I will use this technique on my hubby...I think you've started something! Do you think he'll catch on when I call him a good boy and stratch him behind the ears? If he likes it, I think I'll be a little worried!
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