Ciela and Pumpkin

Ciela and Pumpkin
Originally uploaded by shermans.

In a nice exchange of services, some friends of ours watch Ciela one night a week in exchange for us walking their dog during the day. I'm not sure who's getting the better end of the deal. They really like Ciela, but Ciela loves walking Pumpkin. We've only been doing it a couple of weeks, but today Ciela took over. She must have been watching all of us and how we relate to the dog, because once she had the leash in her hands, she became the alpha dog.

She would pull on the leash and yell "Punky, no!" and "Punky, down!" which in her language sounds like "Punky, own!" Then she would pull on the leash and motion with her hand for Pumpkin to follow her, which Pumpkin would refuse, just as she refuses for me.

It's amazing to watch this transformation in Ciela. She's so dependent at times on her mother and me. And in crowds, she's very quiet, observing intently, or playing on her own. Even when she interacts with other kids or adults, it's very subtle or tentatively. But with Pumpkin, she somehow recognizes that the dog should obey her in a way that is strikingly different than her expectations of her mother or father giving her milk or crackers. She can already sense that she has some sort of superiority over Pumpkin that she doesn't have with anyone else.