You know how I got all five of those dogs in that picture to sit and stay? I micromanaged them. All of them. And I was quick with my shutter finger, too. That helped. A lot.
I confess, I am a micromanager. But only of the younger dogs.
I realized it today when I was directing who could go to the water bowl and when. I felt guilty at first, with my self-awarded Micromanager title, but that guilt lasted only 2 seconds before I was back to micromanaging.
This was the situation: I had put fresh water (scrubbed the bowl, added a giant cup of ice cubes, then fresh, cold water) down for the dogs and Tango had just begun to drink when Caysun sauntered up. Tango avoids conflict and will leave the water bowl if another dog approaches, especially a puppy. Because I don't want Caysun to (1) make Tango leave and (2) realize that her approach can move a dog, I simply diverted her attention (so easy to do to a 4 month old puppy, thank goodness), and Tango could finish his drink.
Just now, as I was typing this piece, Caysun and Ike were playing next to the dog bed where Lily was sleeping. They have the entire house in which to play. They didn't need to be there, half-in half-out, of the bed Lily was relaxing in. So I asked them to beat it, to get out of there, and to find another spot to play. They did and Lily got to stay in the bed. She would have left, though, if those two younger dogs had fooled around much longer.
That's the tough thing about my older dogs -- they sometimes take too much from the young upstarts. It's so much easier for them to get out of the way, to move to where the young ones aren't. So, I become Micromanager; sounds a little bit like a superhero! I keep the "kids" in line and let the older dogs have some peace and quiet.
Are you a micromanager? Leave a comment and let me know if you are, and why or how you do (or don't) do it.
