I have been feeling so decadent lately, just sitting around doing what I want to, or not doing what I don’t want to, for a whole week.
This morning the dog ran off on me. I think there’s another animal that’s been up near the houses, maybe the orange cat new kitty has been fighting with, maybe a coyote (though I hope not), and apparently that requires a lot of peeing all over the neighborhood.
I hollered and hollered and finally, when I yelled, exasperated, “Fine, I’ll just go for this walk without you,” who should come loping out of the darkness?
No use in getting mad at him. As much as he’s improved at being a dog over the past year (did I tell you all my theory that this may be due to the thyroid medicine? I mean, that’s the theory–he’s learning to brain because his brain is working in ways it didn’t before.), he still does not understand anger. It doesn’t mean to him, “Oh, shit, I have pushed things too far and should shape up.” It just means, “what the fuck is going on with her and am I going to get hurt out of it?” He just does not make the connection between my anger and his behavior.
Which, I mean, is not surprising. How recently did he finally get that his behavior could delight me?
But I realized, based on Christmas, I come from a loud family that uses a current of anger to shock people into behaving. I have very few skills for motivating someone who doesn’t understand all the yelling.
I think dogs teach you things. This dog is teaching me a hard thing I barely have the skills for.
Tiny Cat Pants 
Children are also good for teaching you how shoddy the teaching tools you inherited are. I’ve had to unlearn a lot and it has been kind of painful because I thought I was already a good person who knew how to parent. Also turns out 70% of the stuff my parents did raising me was not really good for me OR something I should do with my kid. I probably would have the same problem with dogs, my dad was kind of heartless towards them/prone to hitting them to control them. I know if I had a dog I would have to constantly fight what I learned growing up to be a good owner.