"Wow! You have a very well-trained dog."

[Salem]

That's what the veterinarian said a few months ago.

Here's the story:

My mom, sister, and I were away for a few days in Chicago in late August to attend Critical Mass (a huge bike ride where bicycle enthusiasts get together and clog up the streets of Chicago!).

While we were away, Salem got sick and was vomiting and had diarrhea. My dad came across his mess in the house, opened the window to let the smell circulate out, and began to clean the mess. When he left to throw out his used paper towels, Salem felt another bout of sickness. Rather than getting sick in the house again, he chose to jump through the screened window in order to get outside! (Don't worry, the window he jumped through is not very far off of the ground.)

After this, my dad took him to the vet and found that he had an infection and he was given the proper antibiotics. When my dad discussed what Salem had done, the vet was astonished and exclaimed "Wow! You have a very well-trained dog."

This makes me wonder where Salem really came from. I almost feel I can confidently say that he came from a family with a "no-messes EVER" policy. (We still have the broken screen in our garage )

I thought I would share this story and see if there were any others where your dog would go to great lengths in order to not get in trouble!

[Salem]

Just a note:

I have never given him a reason to feel that he would need to go to these lengths in order to not get in trouble. When I first got him, he was very aware of my movements and what I did with my arms and legs. For example, I was walking my mom's Bichon-Maltese mix and him at the same time and they felt the need to constantly change which side they wanted to walk on. At one point, I lifted my arm and my leg to untangle the leashes and he saw out of the corner of his eye and jumped; he looked terrified!

It's sad to see because I just know he had to have been struck for even the smallest mistakes in his past. Even just the other day, he took a piece of food from off a plate I left on the edge of my bed when I walked by (my mistake, though since I have had him he has never shown an interest in taking human food.) I noticed that he took it and I ordered him to drop it in a firm tone, and he dropped it and fell to the ground like I had taken my words and beaten him with them! Moments later he was back to his normal self, but it still makes me sad to see him like that. :/

[Lucy Dog]

Lucy gets sick in the morning every so often. Her stomachs empty and she throws up bile before i get a chance to get food in her stomach. She'll do it once every couple months.

Every time she does this, she always tries hiding it. I'll hear her breathing deep in the other room and she'll be standing in the corner with her head down throwing up. She even tries to lick it up if i don't catch her in time.

It really doesn't have anything to do with training. I think it's more of their natural instinct. I never scold or discipline her ever for throwing up in the house, but she always thinks she needs to hide it for whatever reason.

[Salem]

Salem will do the same thing! I found out the hard way a few months ago that he is allergic to bee stings, so when he got sick he attempted to clean it up before I got there. The few times he has gotten sick in the house, he has always laid down near me and and watched, almost as if to say "I'm sooooo sorry, Mom!"

It's very interesting how they want to hide their messes sometimes!