Pushy Bitch

A pushy bitch lives in our house. The pushiness means she gets her way most of the time. Her strategy is to push hard, take risks, accept setbacks, keep going, and she receives the most value for her time. She demands attention, is messy, leaves things laying around the house and is erratic in responding to requests.

The entire household focuses on her, her needs and are cognizant of her powers of persuasion. Her main weapon is persistence. The unrelenting pressure she can bring to bear is awe inspiring. Until loud, forceful push-back happens, she continues to demand her outcomes expecting compliance and success.

After push-back occurs at a strong enough level, she is lovable, focused, supportive and fun. Until the next contest of wills. We are never sure if it is the time of day, the time since the last push and how someone is holding their face in an odd manner that triggers the next round of pushiness.

This behavior results from genetics, early training, those around her not having enough patience and a realization on her part, it works. It works so well she has no incentive to abandon it without some strong outside force. We are working on the process and have had limited success.

Now the funny part: Her behavior is similar to the behaviors of success I teach to my clients to use in furthering their careers and lives. Seeing these same actions every day, up close and personal shows the power and impact they have on others.

Now the funniest part: The pushy bitch in question is a two-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. She runs the house. No easy task with two capable and strong-willed adults in the house plus an 11-year-old Cavalier to let her know what is expected.

The punch line: Scarlet, the pushy bitch, is a Medical Alert Service Dog. With her dark red working Service Dog vest in place, she transforms into an elegant example of her working station in life. At 11.5lbs (5.3kg) she is the smallest of her breed and the smallest Service Animal anyone has seen. In her uniform, she is obedient, calm, quiet, patient and watchful. She leaves the other self at home where we are still working on behavior modification.