Copyrighted by Lorna Tedder. Originally published in Third Degree Tilt.

Sometimes people behave a certain way.

The Long-Awaited Honest-to-God Secret to Being Happy

It doesn’t matter how nice we are to them, they run from us, whether it’s out of habit or from being penned up.  They  scamper off in the other direction as fast as they can go, and you’re left  wondering why.  Last time they nuzzled your hand and licked your toes.

There’s no possible explanation for this change in behavior.

In polite dinner conversation,  my almost-14-year-old daughter tells her older sister and me how much she loves playing  with  the  puppy.  “And  you  know  what’s  really fun?” she says. “Just before I put him in his pen, I chase him around  the house,  waving  my arms  and  yelling  at him.  He runs everywhere. He loves it.”

“Aislinn!” her sister admonished. “You’re just teaching him to run from us when we’re trying to put him in his pen, which explains why I spent an extra 40 minutes this morning, running around the house in my underwear trying to catch the puppy!”

Trying to catch a terrier who was thoroughly enjoying the chase.


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