Delly’s our dog and like all dogs she loves sniffing. The few times she’s out without her leash she doesn’t go far because running would waste valuable sniffing time.
We take 25-minute walks every day. I march pretty brisk for 15 and let her sniff at her pace the other 10. But, if I pause anytime during my march – bang – that’s her cue she can stop at every tree, every lamppost. Her whole body language shouts , “Hey, we stopped at that other one, why can’t we stop here?” A moment of mercy becomes not only permission but presumption.
So for the next minute or two after the exception I keep snapping the leash as she stalls trying to get her way. It’s almost not worth giving her a break if she’s just going to take advantage of it and not be grateful. Oh yeah, she probably can’t be grateful in a thing like that – she’s a dog.
It’s easy to forget that a moment of mercy or permission or even an apparent alteration of God’s will may only be applied to that one time. You can’t assume or presume or demand for the future. Unless you’re a dog.
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