Guilty

I will admit in advance that in this situation, I was guilty of ascribing some very human emotions (guilt, sneakiness, innocence, etc.) to Morey. I was unconsciously thinking "if he were a human and did this, these are the emotions and reactions he would have", but in reality, he is a dog who is going to do what's rewarding for him and not connect it to what he is doing 3 seconds later. But, it makes a better story if you give Morey the emotions and thought process he might have from a human perspective. : )

When I first got Morey he would jump in the front seat as soon as I left him in my van (to do a quick errand or carry groceries into my apartment). After several "discussions" about this, and with the help of a tether, he learned that he was supposed to stay on the back seat. This hasn't been a problem for several months and I had kind of forgotten about it until today.

For the past few weeks it's been too hot to leave Morey in the van at all. Today, though, it was 60 degrees and so I left him in my van while I worked out (his new babysitters weren't available). I parked in front of the gym and as soon as I came out, I could see Morey sitting in the driver's seat. The sidewalk is cobblestone and me pushing my rugby chair across it makes a very loud noise. When Morey heard it, he jumped off the seat and climbed back to his seat in the back. As I opened the back of my van to load my rugby chair up, he stuck his head over the seat, looking very innocent.

Had I not seen him in the front seat, I would never have known that he was up there...except for the bountiful evidence he left behind! In the form of a nice yellow fur coating all over the entire seat. Lovely. As I turned around and asked him "Did you do this?", he wagged his tail in an appeasing way as if to say "Well, yes, but the view is so much better from up there!" (Told you I was going to force my human-ness on my dog!)

In reality, he jumped in the front seat because a) it was fun b) the view is better c) who knows why. He most likely jumped back into his seat when he heard me coming because he had learned from previous experiences that when I open the door if he isn't on the back seat, that's what I ask him to do. He looked "innocent" when I opened the back because he had forgotten all about being in the front seat (and didn't think it was a problem to begin with) and was just happy to see me. And he wagged his tail when I asked "did you do that?" because I used a jokingly accusing voice and he was reacting to my tone, not my words.

So, now I have thoroughly analyzed this experience and come to the conclusion that none of my initial projections were correct. Hopefully I have redeemed myself in the eyes of my dog training friends, educated those who have never considered this perspective, and entertained you with an amusing anecdote in the process. Not too bad!