Well, before I get to my post today…a lot of you seemed quite concerned after watching the video of my walk in Cornwall Park and suggested that my humans should really get a bigger car machine to carry me around. Well, actually – they did have one before! From when I was a little puppy, they had another much bigger car whose name was ‘Honda CRV’ - this was Hsin-Yi’s car and she loved it.
There was a special space at the back all for me and my humans taught me that I must always lie down when I’m in the car, so I don’t get thrown around too much which would make me feel very sicky (when I was a puppy, I was sicky every time I went riding in the car – Hsin-Yi spent a lot of her time cleaning puppy vomit! But I grew out of it by about 6 months…)
Then at the end of last year, my humans were planning to do the “moving overseas” thing and so they sold the big car machine in the last month and only kept the little one for the last minute things…but then they had to change their plans!
Because of lots of bad things all happening at the same time, they decided it was not a good idea to do the “moving overseas” thing then and that we should remain in NZ for another year. And although we only had 1 small car machine left, they decided we would just try to manage with it because it would cost too much money paper to buy another big car again and then sell it again at the end of the year! So that is why I’m riding around in an undersized car machine…
It might look a bit cramped when I’m getting in but actually, I really like it - I get to ride on the comfy back seat and be much closer to my humans…I can even rest my head on the shoulder of whoever’s driving! So don’t worry about me – and this is only temporary. When we move to our new home in Australia next year, my humans have promised to buy a new car machine which will have a special space in the back for me again!
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OK – now to the thing I really wanted to tell you about: well, you may remember me mentioning a couple of posts back that I have started learning a Canine Freestyle Pairs Routine with my friend, Bodie the Border Terrier!
We haven’t had much time to practise together but here is a video of what we’ve been doing so far – it’s still a bit messy and needs LOADS of work but we’re having lots giggles putting it together!
This is really just for fun and to try something different, because Hsin-Yi feels that things get too serious when we’re just practising for competitions and then it misses the point of what doggie dancing should be about!
In fact, some people have said some very unkind things about me which made me feel really mad and upset. They said I’m a useless doggie and won’t achieve anything because I don’t like to dance unless Hsin-Yi shows me that she has a treat in her hand, so I know that I am going to get a reward at the end. This means I won’t ever get very far in competitions as our humans are not allowed to hold treats in the ring – because these people believe that “dogs shouldn’t need treats because dancing should be self-rewarding“
AHEM! Hsin-Yi says that is a really naive and patronising thing to say - because it shows that they don’t understand dogs at all – they are judging all dogs by one type of dog and don’t even realise that lots of dogs are different! It’s like saying all women should love cooking because they should find it “self-rewarding” - just because they are a woman!
Huh! Just because I’m not like the Border Collies and other working breeds who just LOVE working for the fun of it and can never keep still and are practically begging to be given stuff to do…they’ll run and jump and spin around even without the promise of treats – they’re just so happy to be doing stuff. Well, great for them but I’m a different sort of doggie: I’m pretty mellow and laid-back. Us Danes have very low work drive and are difficult to motivate; I mean, I like dancing and stuff but I’m just as happy lazing around in the sun and napping…so I like to know that there’s going to be some reward for me expending all that energy! I’m not going to just do it for the fun of it! (What fun? What’s the fun in manically spinning around for nothing?)
Anyway, I don’t see what’s the big deal about my human holding a treat in her hand when we’re dancing – it’s not like she’s feeding me during the routine or luring me with a piece of food – have a look at this video of my last performance of “Me & My Shadow” – most people don’t even realise that Hsin-Yi is holding treats until we tell them!
I think it’s good enough that I’m focusing on my human for such a long time and doing my tricks & moves in time with her and the music and not making any mistakes – why do I need to prove that I can do it for nothing – just to get ribbons and titles, to show I’m “worth something”? I think it’s more important that we dance well as a team and really wow the audience with a snazzy routine, than if I’m just plodding around – without treats but also without any focus or energy!
Anyway, Hsin-Yi told me not to let those silly people make me feel bad. She says that she could teach me to work without treats if she really wanted to – but it would make our training sessions really stressful, ‘coz it wouldn’t come to me naturally like it does with the other working breeds and she would have to get really tough with me.
Hsin-Yi likes challenges (that’s why she ignored everyone who said you can’t dance with a Great Dane!) but she says this isn’t a worthwhile challenge to spend our time on. Life’s too short and there are too many other better things to do than spend hours forcing me to do something which she doesn’t believe is important anyway.
For her, being in time to the music and performing interesting choreography (something a lot of other people can’t do, even though they’re working without treats!) and people saying they enjoy watching our routine the most – and of course, having fun – is far more valuable than showing I can be like a robot doggie and work for nothing.
(c) Pauline Smith
Hsin-Yi says she’s very proud of me already for just dancing as well as I did in that video – especially as I have achieved far more than anyone expected a Dane to do already! She’d much rather spend our time teaching me new routines, than just trying to perfect 1 routine for competition and showing that I can do it without treats. So what? What’s the big deal about that? Isn’t it more impressive if I can do 6 different routines, with new tricks and moves each time, than one same, boring old thing repeated over and over?
Besides, I’ve decided that even if I’m “useless” because I won’t dance without treats and so I can’t earn ribbons and titles…
…well, at least I do Therapy Work and swimming and modelling and beach hikes and Agility and city tours and playdates and TV work and church blessings and Hallowe’en parades…and many more things than those ‘perfect’ doggies might do in 6 lifetimes…so there! Humph!
(sorry for the grumpiness but I think some humans shouldn’t comment or judge unless they have trained a Mastiff or Beagle or Malamute or some other “non-traditional, difficult” breed themselves and achieved a lot with them! Anyway, I have got that off my chest now and I feel much better! )
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