Willow here….So I overheard mom explaining intelligent disobedience to someone. It’s actually something we Service Dogs are very good at and no, it’s not a bad thing. It’s actually a very good thing. In this case what happened was mom had asked me to lay down next to her while she was standing. Sensing she was a bit “wobbly” I moved and lay in front of her, on her feet. The person she was speaking to questioned why I hadn’t “stayed”. Mom laughed and said “intelligent disobedience. She then explained what that means. Sometimes I actually know what mom needs before she does. Now, I’m not “dissing” mom but she can be a bit stubborn and it did take her a while to understand this. That, I’m told is the normal process of bonding. Ugh, humans! Just pay attention for god’s sake and we could speed this up. Anyway, a great example of this is a leader dog who’s told to walk on but sees a speeding car coming it’s handler is unaware of. The dog refuses the command. intelligent disobedience prevents the human from being hit by the car. It’s actually a positive trait 🙂 Thankfully, mom now “listens” to me. I know before her if it’s a bad morning and NO mom you should not go down the stairs without me. I refuse to move until she grabs my harness and goes with me. I’m much better than the railings. I know when it’s a bad night and that trip to the bathroom should not be done “furniture walking.” I get up of the oh so comfy bed and go with her. Do you know how many times in the beginning it took for HER to learn this? She would try to tell me to just stay in bed and….she would fall. Do they make an E-Collar for humans?…lol It’s called INTELLIGENT disobedience. Geesh!

Now, I would like to expand this to get my way with other things however my attempts thus far have been unsuccessful. Apparently, mom pays more attention than I think. There have been times when we’ll go somewhere and I know the route, I know where all my friends live. If mom takes a different turn, I begin “talking” from the back of my SUV. She can see me in the rear-view mirror. I know she knows what I’m saying. When that doesn’t work, I throw myself over on my side out of sight and hold my breath. Dead silent. When I get no reaction from mom, I pop my head up. “Hey, seriously, I could have DIED back here!” Mom usually looks at me in the mirror and laughs. In this case, my what I consider very intelligent disobedience has no effect on mom other than to amuse her. Sigh….

I guess mom’s pretty intelligent too:)

~Willow (Typing courtesy of Blaise “The Good Cat” he has those little kitty paws)