A friend of mine told me the other day that she loved how I knew exactly what my dog wanted with her different barks and her body language. I had never really thought about it before but my friend was right.
When we get up in the morning, Molly starts stretching right before she wants out. She stretches out her front legs and then she stretches out her back legs one at a time. Sometimes she doesn't want out right after we get up, she just wants her morning treat first. The treat has become a standard and there really is no communication necessary for that. If I have been negligent in my duties and i have ran out of treats, then she will sit in between me and the pantry and give me disapproving looks because she knows one is not forthcoming.
If I have not noticed what time it is or I am busy, she will find me (usually in front of the computer or the TV) and start barking at me when she needs to go take care of her business. If I do not react quickly enough, the barking gets louder and more urgent and she will run up to me, bark real loud, and then run away.
She also has different barks for different things that are going on outside. If she sees one of neighbors mongrels in sight or in our yard, it starts out as a low growl that turns into a high pitched whine but never really develops into a full fledged bark. If she hears the UPS truck, it is a series of loud barks. If she hears something and doesn't know what it is, it is a bark with a question mark at the end of it.
I have learned how to interpret all of Molly's barks and body language and she has learned how to interpret mine. We are on the same page and it is too bad I am not in tune with people like this. It is really a shame that people's needs are not as simple as a dogs.
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