Tearful Manipulation

There are some who think that dogs have no emotions. Well, at least not human-like emotions, they say. Here, I say they're wrong.

Why, you ask? Because, I answer, my dog cries.

Now, I'm not talking about cries of pain or yelping, as all dogs do. I mean Samson cries. His big eyes get moist and he squints... and big tears start falling.

When does he do this? I'll tell you, it has nothing to do with pain and EVERYTHING to do with manipulation. Somehow, somewhere, my dear puppy learned that crying will get him almost anything he wants. And if he whimpers while he cries, well, we're just pudding in his paws.

Here's how it happens: We'll be eating, or maybe holding a toy or any thing that Samson may WANT, even if it's just attention. He slowly walks up, sits quite properly (as only this regal little dog can do) and looks us straight in the eyes. He starts to squint, ever so slightly, and then looks down, just a bit forlorn... Eventually, his eyes come back up and I'll be darned if big, wet tears aren't making their way down his little snout. After the tears start, he makes a long, drawn-out snort sound that we call the "brat-snort" which solidifies the fact that we have something that he wants. He takes his little paw and paws at our hands to give him what's in there, very gently pulling it towards him. I know I'm not making this up because I've had several witnesses of this account, so it can't be my imagination. For a while I thought I was seeing things...

WHERE, oh WHERE did he learn this behavior!?!? I certainly didn't teach him, and to be totally honest, Sadie is not that smart. Is he a Doggy genius? Or maybe he knows more of our behavior than we'd like to think. In any event, it's a bit unnerving to have your dog tear up for things. Not only that, but the tear stains left behind are really unsightly.

I'm glad to report that we've caught on to his little game. Not that we don't appreciate his blatant manipulation of our feelings, we do. But it's just not feasible to give an animal everything he wants just because he cries for it. It's shameful, really.

Our only hope is that he doesn't start to do anything else bizarre--like pick up the living room or somehow try to pay us off, as a normal teenager might do in order to get what they want. Then we'll have a REAL problem on our hands, because it's hard to say no to favors!