Myrtle has none of it! Well, very, very, very little, which is almost always to my benefit. Truly, about the only will power she's managed to muster on my behalf is refusing to share her bacon. In all else, she caves.
Do you see my new baby? That's Gorilla Baby! Myrtle has no will power when it comes to walking by the $3 Baby bin at Petsmart when fetching more food for me. He's GREEN! Myrtle and I share an affinity for that great color. Turtle Baby and Gorilla Baby will be the best of friends. I just know it! In any case, each time Myrtle comes home with a Petsmart bag, I know that food will not be the only thing found inside.
Myrtle has told me about how puppies come to mommas, about how there are places where puppies wait for mommas and poppas to find them, places where puppies are viewed first, are chosen, rather than just given to their mommas like I was. So, I thought I would proffer some advice about how to look for signs of a lack of will power in prospective puppy mommas and poppas in case you are a puppy looking for a home:
- visitors who stick their fingers through cages
- visitors who throw toys
- visitors who make strange noises
- visitors who sit on the ground
Now, you might think those have little to do with will power, but the key is repetition. Take the repetition in the list itself: visitors. People who show up repeatedly probably have little will power, especially if they come during day. By this, I mean if they come during their work time. Work means what a puppy momma or poppa does to earn money. Missing work for visits to puppies means they might have have little will power when it comes to being firm with puppies because having a puppy will be really, really, really important to them. So, you want to position yourself with those mommas and poppas.
If they stick their fingers through the cages, shower them with kisses. Shower them with kisses every possible chance that you get if the momma or the poppa reaches out to you or gets down on the floor to play with you. Giving copious amounts of affection is always a good move for those who are a bit weak in the will power department.
If they want to play with you, tossing toys and such, play until they stop. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Wag your tail. Play until they are exhausted. Then, curl up next to the prospective puppy parent and put your head in his or her lap.
If visitors make strange noises, that usually means they are talking to you. You should talk back...but not too loud or too much. A good time to talk, though, is when the visitor is coming and especially when he or she is leaving. A well-timed ruff will expose weakness in will power for those who snuck away on a lunch hour looking for a puppy to bring home. If a visitor walking out the door turns back for a minute or two more, then you have a good bet of picking a momma or a poppa whose will power may be lacking.
So, why someone with weak will power? Well, weak will power means that you get lots of snuggling, lots of bites of meals, lots of fetch, lots of kisses, and, most importantly, lots of babies with those most marvelous squeakers in them!
This is my life with Myrtle. Amos Adams signing off!
Good advice, Amos. My wife Sue used the same strategies in selecting me.
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