My dog has an aversion to gates and cages. I know. What dog doesn’t? My retriever has a serious aversion to them. Back in our old apartment, we bought a mesh cage for her to keep her from running all over our apartment like a wildebeest. The first day, she gnawed off the zipper on the top and by the second day she learned to wedge her large frame out of the tiny hole she created. I have this on video and it’s funnier than watching a cat get stuck in a milk bottle.
Now in our new apartment, we have babygates. When she sees them, she runs and hides. She doesn’t completely hide because she wants to see what you are doing but she hides herself well enough that she within safe distance from them. Well, on several occasions, I’ve accidently dropped these gates while putting them up. They make this loud clanging sound and apparently, this hasn’t helped her get over her aversion. The other day, I touched the gate with my hand and true to Pavlov’s dog, Zee ran into our hallway and hid behind the wall. Our other dog, stayed in his bed and looked at me as if he’s somehow superior to Pavlovian conditioning. This scene made me laugh all the way to the busstop. Then I got all maniacal and tried to figure out ways to torment my dog with the gate. I could put the gate up and eat bbq ribs on the other side. I could keep the gate next to the bed. I could gate her bed up. Then I realized that I was thinking of ways to traumatize my poor dog. What kind of dog owner is that? Of course the guilt set in and I gave them a hunk of my steak dinner. Man, I need to be my dog in the next life.
