Through their eyes....

My mom wrote a piece for the Yorkie Moms group this week and I figured she wouldn't mind if I shared with you. I kind of liked it and so did some of my friends. Mom gets sort of embarrassed about stuff she writes because she's not really all that "purr-fessional" or anything. OK! Here it is:

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Mary-Margaret's mom, here. Most of you know me only through the posts made by my Yorkie, Mary-Margaret O'Brien. Those of you who are new to the lists probably wonder if I've lost my sanity but I assure you, that's not the case.

Originally, I started writing about my experiences with this new 9-week pet store puppy, who politely informed ME that her name was the unlikely "Mary-Margaret O'Brien". After a month or so of dealing with potty training, power struggles, and so on, I decided that it was time for HER to write her own stories. In doing so, it put me in the position of taking dictation from a 3-pound dog (who is now almost 8 pounds) , and it forced me to see the world through her eyes.

Imagine yourself inside the tiny little body of your furbaby. Now look up at this gigantic creature upon whom you are totally dependent for food, love, training...and imagine being scolded for pee pee-ing on the carpet or gnawing on a living room table leg, both perfectly natural things for a small pup or psychologically challenged dog to do.

First off, there's this language barrier. You don't hear words...you hear what sounds like barking. If you're picked up and paddled for "pee pee", you have absolutely no idea if it's because you did what you had to do or if you did it where you shouldn't. Scary, huh?

If you got a rescue dog, then there's "baggage" to be dealt with, and you will have NO idea exactly what happened before you adopted your baby. Be patient...be loving. Never HIT your dog or you risk your hands becoming something to fear, rather than something to feel safe in. Never YELL at your baby. Never forget to FEED your baby. And most of all, never forget to LOVE your baby whenever and wherever possible.

A dog, and in particular a Yorkshire Terrier, has feelings, too. Take the time and make the effort to see the world from their perspective and react accordingly. You will see a marked difference in your relationship with your dog.

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I guess you can probably see why I love my mom so much, huh?