Bacon doesn’t motivate students either

I’ve heard it said that it is important to do something that doesn’t involve dogs every once in a while so one can be reminded why one never does things that don’t involve dogs. For myself and, I’m guessing,  a majority of folks in the US, this “occasional something" would be going to work. The other day I came across a quote from blogger Seth Godon that seems to explain a lot in both my work life and my dog life: “It’s more productive to offer directions to someone who has already decided to go on the journey.” All teachers know that good student motivation is what drives learning. 

Bacon is usually a pretty good motivator for my dogs because I don’t use it very often. Candace, the expert dog whisperer in Owatonna, suggested bacon to me during one of our many consultations about Wallace. Let me tell you, no amount of bacon can convince Wallace it is a good idea to take a journey out in the yard to do his business when there are sixteen inches of snow. Even Shelby, normally a snow lover who will run around and be goofy, or flush out (and sometimes catch) rabbits from under the evergreen in our yard, has had enough. I get it, of course: Repeatedly plowing through chest-level wet stuff to do the deed can’t be a good time. And for the record, bacon does not motivate my high school students either.

Although Otto the crabby German hasn’t signaled his pleasure that I’ve been home a lot lately, both Shelby and Wallace have (and I’ll trust Otto is also pleased. My boy knows, even buried under his fleece blanket). I’ve conducted school business on my computer at the kitchen table with a spaniel’s head resting on my knee and a dachshund on my lap, and I’m probably just as productive at home as at work. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement because the “watchdogs” get to share my lunch if something gets dropped. In fact, the only downside I see to this is the rather large wet spot on my right knee, but dog people understand and don’t judge. Anyway, I think a lot about how behind the times we are as compared to most of Europe when it comes to allowing dogs in most places. My brilliant daughter studied abroad for her entire junior year and texted me pictures almost daily of people doing mundane life things…with dogs.  Dogs went to laundromats and grocery stores and cafe restaurants. Dogs traveled on trains and buses. Dogs went to the library. This was all in addition to the usual photos of dogs on walks or dogs in parks or fields. Around here, a person can only do all those things with their dog if it is a service animal. Here’s the thing…I have seen with my own eyes websites where you can have your dog declared a service animal by a medical doctor. They will send you the paperwork, the card for your wallet, the equipment for your dog, and whatever you need to make it ‘legit.’ How sad for the people with real needs and actual service animals, who now have to put up with the disdain and skepticism of others, and possibly have to prove the legitimacy of their animals so they can go about their day. If YOU are one of those people with a fake service dog—ick.

Perhaps if the US was more dog friendly, we’d have no need for the ‘great pretenders,’ and we’d have happier people in general, right? Of course I don’t mean to exclude cats, but I think they would be happier NOT being included in this movement. I know my Winston certainly has no interest in going anywhere I want to go, at the time I want to go. He just hangs out (inside, because we live in town) and beats up, er, boxes with Wallace whenever he wants. Anyway, that’s my new dream: to get us on equal footing with Europe on the dog-friendliness scale. All three of my dogs have European roots since they are purebreds. I wonder how their personalities would be different if they still lived in their countries of origin:

Otto: Wallace ist eine kleine Plage, dummkopf, der Trottel…!

Shelby: Right then, shall I have a go? Wallace, please take yourself to the loo.

Wallace: Ma heids mince.

Yeah, probably not a big difference.