But the dog knows when I take her out in the morning that I want her to poop.  And I know she knows because she was trained to do so when told (the command is “get busy get busy get busy!”)  Seriously, why have a German shepherd if you aren’t going to take advantage of that big brain and impress all your friends with how many words your dog knows?  For Pepper, it’s 65.

Pepper knows every family member by name and can be sent to go get any of them on command.  She knows all of her toys.  She can be sent to any room in the house, (yes, “go to the kitchen” is something she understands and will do when told).  None of this is rocket science, especially with the Hound of Heidelberg.  Just say a word over and over, giving her a liver nugget each time, until she shows you that she knows what the word means.  Then, once or twice a week, go through the whole list.

What can I say?  We got the dog when she was six weeks old and we don’t have kids, so there you have it.

But given all that, she still won’t poop when I tell her to.  She will for my husband.  He’s even taught her complex concepts associated with doing what she’s told.  When she won’t go, he’ll ask if she wants to play, and when she replies yes (oh, yeah, we also taught her that she has to ask for what she wants by barking once in response…), he’ll then tell her to “get busy” and SHE WILL!  She understands that she can’t play until she does her other business.

This never works when I try it.  Nothing does.  She just will not poop for me.

So, I look at that as one of the things in the universe that I can’t control.  My attitude is that if it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t, I’m not the one who has to wait until the next walk.  Why get mad at what you can’t control?  I guess sometimes it takes facing off with someone even more anal retentive than you are to get you to simply let go, not sweat the small stuff, and allow things to happen as the universe intends, not as you command.

Thanks for the reminder, Pepper.  You bitch.