Challenges in Communication

When babies are born, they don't understand the language but the more they hear the people around them speak, the more their vocabulary grows.  They learn mama and dada to start with and as the weeks and months pass, they pick up more and more words.  I believe that animals are the same way and that the more we speak to them, the more they understand.

Because of this, I have always spoken to my animals in full sentences, told them what was going on and have given them choices too.  I continue to marvel at what they can understand.  For instance, when I am planning to run an errand, I tell Kino where I am going and let him know he has a choice to go with me or stay home.  When I pick up my wallet and keys, if he would prefer to stay home, he goes into his crate. If he wants to go with me, he stands next to the drawer where I keep his leash.  On the rare occasion that the temperature is too high for him to go with me, all I have to do is explain that it will be too hot in the car and he will go to his crate.

I have always enjoyed the more "conversational" approach that I have with my animals and most days I feel pretty good about my ability to communicate.  However, there are some days where our communication is not quite as clear and on those days, my boy has me wondering about my communication skills.  LOL

It happened just last weekend.  One of my best friends had been going through a stressful process of buying a house. She had finally found the perfect house but there were multiple bidders and the process had stretched out for days as counter bids came in and the home seller evaluated their options.  She was anxious to get news and I was anxious for her.

On Saturday, I heard my phone ping and walked into the kitchen to see who had texted me.  Much to my excitement, it was an update from Lori and after reading her text, I turned to Kino and said "Woo Hoo! Lori got the house!!" With that, he ran to the front door and stood expectantly, waiting for her to come in.  I don't know if he thought I said "Lori's AT the house" or if he just heard "Lori" and "house" but it seemed the more I tried to clarify, the more insistent he was that she would walk through the door any minute.

I sent Lori a congratulations text and told her about Kino.  A half hour later, Kino was still standing at the front door waiting for her, regardless of my attempts to explain the difference between a visit and a home purchase. I sent her pictures because I wasn't sure she'd believe that he was still waiting at the front door for her.  Obviously, Lori is one of his favorite people and any time I tell him she is coming over, he excitedly runs circles around the family room as he waits for her arrival.  But this was different because his reaction was based on a miscommunication that I couldn't seem to undo.  Lori and I felt bad for him but we also couldn't stop giggling about it.  I continued to sent her periodic pictures of him planted there, occasionally whining and sniffing the door.

I don't know how long it was before he finally gave up on her arrival but I was relieved when he finally stepped away from the front door.  It might be time to come up with a nickname for Lori - either that or I need to educate him a little more about the home buying process.