I'm having some breakthroughs on having little teenage Gus, who is a furry ball of energy, settle down once in awhile, and get pet. He has just learned a new word: "pet."
At first, he just wanted to run around and try to turn it into finger-boxing, but yesterday, I was skritching behind his ears, and he decided he liked it; he was still for awhile, and let me pet him. I repeated, "pet, ears, pet, ears." He already knows what "ears" are, and he learned what "pet" was. Later on, both yesterday and today, I worked my way into giving him a full body massage, while repeating, "pet, love, pet, love."
He indicates that he likes it because he will actually stretch out and lie down so that I can pet him better. I think he's getting the message that petting is how I show love, just like grooming is how he shows love.
We'll see how it goes, but I think we'll wind up with a pet-hog here. When my dog, Vela, was a baby, I had to ~teach~ her to let me pet her tummy, but ever since, she can't get enough!
At first, he just wanted to run around and try to turn it into finger-boxing, but yesterday, I was skritching behind his ears, and he decided he liked it; he was still for awhile, and let me pet him. I repeated, "pet, ears, pet, ears." He already knows what "ears" are, and he learned what "pet" was. Later on, both yesterday and today, I worked my way into giving him a full body massage, while repeating, "pet, love, pet, love."
He indicates that he likes it because he will actually stretch out and lie down so that I can pet him better. I think he's getting the message that petting is how I show love, just like grooming is how he shows love.
We'll see how it goes, but I think we'll wind up with a pet-hog here. When my dog, Vela, was a baby, I had to ~teach~ her to let me pet her tummy, but ever since, she can't get enough!
