Is this how a dog feels?

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I’ve often wondered what it is like to be a dog, always having to do as you’re told (I’m not very good at that), coming and going at your master’s beck and call. But most of the time dogs seem pretty happy with their lot, and the more orders they get, the happier they seem to be. A well-trained dog with a job to do - think of a working sheepdog or a sniffer dog or a gundog - seems about as happy as could be with a job well done. In contrast a badly-behaved untrained dog left to its own devices doesn’t appear particularly happy. I got an idea of how this might feel the other day. There is a pair of robins living at the bottom of our garden and every time I go out to do anything in the veg. patch, one or both of them appears within seconds in case my activities turn up anything interesting. They are obviously quite used to my presence because they come really close - one even took a worm from my hand, a few times I've come close to stepping on one, and another day I almost watered it with the watering can! Often, as soon as I go out, I will hear a little flutter of wings and then a soft little whistling song (not the full-throated song, but a gentle whistle that the robin can make without opening its beak) and immediately I look around for it and then start to dig about and look for some tidbits a robin might appreciate. And then it dawned on me that these robins have got me trained! They sing me a little song, and I find them some food. And I am more than happy to do so into the bargain - in fact it really brightens my day! Maybe this is how a dog feels when it responds to commands to please its master? All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2020.