Tech deck12345 asks: My toy is coming in the mail soon but I am getting really impatient, and my sister has the same toy and will not let me do anything with them. Help!!!!
Hi Tech deck12345 –
OH do I get this! We pups have no patience at all! We can be trained to sit still, but that doesn’t mean our attention isn’t completely on whatever it is we’re impatient about!
WHY can’t Handsome open the door the second I see a dog outside? WHY can’t someone feed me the second I smell their food? WHY do I have to stay perfectly still when obviously the person I love is walking away? And, every day, why can’t Handsome come back home NOW?!
Apparently adult humans learn a lot of patience. I guess that’s one reason they do so many things so well – from bringing food home to driving cars, to raising kids. But the reason kids need to be raised is because they’re like us dogs, and want what we want NOW!
Now Tech deck12345, there’s also a big difference between trying to be patient about something we’re just aware of (like that Handsome hasn’t come home yet) and trying when there’s something we want that’s right in front of us. I knew a dog named Ygor, who, when his humans would come home, would get so excited and impatient that he’d lose control of his bladder, and squirt pee around! Luckily, I’m in better shape than that, but I still just go nuts about stuff all the time.
And you, my friend, are stuck like Ygor when his family was just outside his gate, or me when a human’s eating barbecued ribs right by me. Your sister is able to play with that toy all she wants, right in front of you! AUUUGGH!!!! So what can you possibly do?!
Well, one thing you can do is just avoid watching your sister play with it till yours arrives. That works for lots of people. For example, if a person is trying to diet, one thing that helps is to not go to restaurants for a while, so they’re not surrounded by people eating yummy foods. Or, if she’s super-nice, you could ask your sister to not play with that toy until you get yours – or at least to not play it when you’re around.
But if you can’t get distance from her, and you can’t get her to stop playing in front of you… then you just have to let yourself go NUTS! We dogs chew on things, whine, scratch, chase our tails, whatever! It’s all how we get that energy that’s built up inside us out!
Now you don’t have a tail to chase, and you’d probably get in trouble for chewing on the furniture (I sure did), but maybe you could put that crazy energy into something else. Running? Playing games? Dancing?
In fact, here’s a great idea – what about talking your sister into playing something really energetic? That way you could get your crazy energy out, and at the same time keep her from playing with that toy!
But in the end, Tech deck12345, what you’ll eventually learn will be the bizarre and amazing fact, that actually it’s this crazy waiting that’s the most exciting and fun part about that toy. As great as the toy might be (and I love my toys – especially the ones that squeak!), it’s the excitement you have right now that is the greatest thrill about it.
So if there’s any way you can, ENJOY the waiting (Though, if you can’t, I totally understand!).
Cheers,
Shirelle