Zoey's Christmas Miracle

Zoey is The Dog Who Loved Too Much. We have been up for an hour and already there have been two episodes of this, which is manifested by loud growling from the dog that is the target of Zoey's affection. Her favorite is Asia, and so she finds her big sister and gets as close as she can and starts her snuggle routine.

Asia can growl pretty loudly and so this is kind of annoying, and I also worry about Asia letting her poor little sister have it and so I intervene. Luckily Zoey is not too particular and getting to lean on me and be petted is also a favored activity so she is easy to distract.

I know it is a little late but today Zoey got her Christmas Miracle!!!!!!! For once her big sister not only did not growl and snarl, but gave in and reciprocated the affection :) Look at Zoey's blissful expression...



Zoey is not unlike a lot of humans who love too much. You can just see it coming like a train wreck -- the one who loves thinks, "if I just do this a little more, I will be loved". And the recipient of the affections -- like Asia -- just wants some space. The harder the one tries, the faster the other runs and so the chase begins.

All of us who have dogs know well how to stop this really pointless game -- stop chasing! Trying hard to make someone care about us when the other person is clearly giving "back off" messages is counterproductive and it is disrespectful. Both people in a relationship get to decide the nature of that relationship -- relationships, by definition, should never be unilateral.

And so if you are the Zoey and find yourself trying hard to ingratiate yourself to your Chosen One, go find a more receptive leg to lean on. And if you are Asia, whose snarling and growling is just really ineffective -- remove yourself from the situation or if that is not possible, be nice about it but you might need to bite a bit.

And for goodness sakes -- don't reinforce someone you want to leave you alone!!!! Zoey hit the jackpot with this Christmas Miracle and now she will keep putting in the quarters, taking the losses while hoping for that big jackpot again... Sigh... that means lots more growling and snarling at our house...