'I spent 8 months training my dog to bark at my MIL's perfume and I don't feel bad about it.'
"I spent 8 months training my dog to bark at my mother-in-law's perfume and I don't feel bad about it."
Okay so. I have a 4-year-old corgi named potato. Love of my life. Would die for him. He's pretty chill with most people. Not a barker usually. My mother-in-law is a lot. Like A LOT. She comes over unannounced. Criticizes everything. Rearranges my kitchen when I'm not looking. once told me my pot roast was "brave" which I'm still not over.
She wears the same perfume every single day. Some Chanel thing. you can smell her coming from like 10 feet away. About a year ago i had this idea. took me 8 months but i did it. every time i sprayed that perfume (bought my own bottle, $150 which felt insane but worth it) i would get Potato slightly riled up. Just enough.
Played with him aggressively. Made exciting noises. Then sprayed. Eventually he just associated the smell with "time to go crazy." Now every time she walks in he loses his mind. barking. Spinning. Won't calm down until she leaves or goes outside. I act so confused.
"He's never like this I don't know what's gotten into him!!" my wife thinks potato just doesn't like her "energy." My MIL told my wife she thinks the dog "senses something dark in her" and honestly that sent me.
She's started coming over less. Says the dog makes her anxious. She went to her priest about it apparently. Asked if animals can sense evil spirits. I nearly threw up trying not to laugh when my wife told me. Anyway Potato got extra treats tonight. He's earned them. Best $150 I ever spent.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
[deleted] wrote:
Mines easy enough because she hates dogs so much I just don’t lock them up 😅 they are not bad, loud or jumpy. Literally them sitting in front of her wagging their tails is enough to piss her off.
classy-mother-pupper wrote:
This is hilarious. Dogs learn through repetition. They’re very smart. If my shepherd wasn’t already reactive maybe i could train him to get my SIL out of my house.
pitt1962 wrote:
Will never forget working on the female orthopaedic ward where every 2nd room was a demanding boomer with a fractured hip covered in ‘Youth Dew’ aaaarrrggghhh.
first_building wrote:
Unlike sight or sound, olfaction is directly connected to the Limbic system.
Amygdala = emotions (fear, desire, comfort, hate)
Hippocampus = associations and Memory
So you associate the smell with your mom, giving you discomfort and the Confirmation that nothing has changed.
It is very relatable that you didn't want that anymore.
BEEESKS wrote:
I would play audio of sirens and encourage my dogs to howl along, now they get triggered into howling whenever an emergency vehicle is driving by. They have a lot of fun when it happens, a couple times a week or so.
SaskiaDavies wrote:
Reminds me of a Rita Mae Brown story where a dog was trained to start howling to wake the dead if anyone accidentally said her aunt's full first name. The entire town knew to call her by a nickname. That dog was on alert around that aunt, just hoping someone would slip up.
Adventurous_Ad_6546 wrote:
As someone who used to train service dogs, bravo. This is honestly just as good a cause.
mad_housewife wrote:
I hope this is real, because I want to believe my mental image of Potato being a Corgi whirling-dervish just for the shevil MIL 😂😂