Sassy has a number of ways to tell us what she wants. I taught her to tell us when it involves food.
At 6 AM she was awake, so I did a hand clap to have her come closer and be petted.
Two light claps mean she should do what I ask. She licked her mouth instead - she wanted food.
Clap, clap. "Move, move."
She licked her mouth again. I had no doubts - she would not move when hungry for breakfast crunchies. I really laughed the second time. She inched up part-way, which meant some partial concession, conditional, as if expecting food to follow - and it did, after some petting.
Recently I tried out bird sounds on her. She smiled a little, amused. Then I used my turkey call, which was louder. Her smile grew.
She ignores the bird-feeder now. I filled the platform feed with corn this time, and the squirrels sat in that to reach the sunflowers above in the hanging feeder. Sassy is unimpressed with squirrels, unless they are nearby on a walk.
Most little dogs are ignored on our walks. She decided to visit three, surprising me. She went over to the chain-link fence. They began licking each other's noses, which shows trust. They enjoyed her visit so much that they began to fall over each other to reach her.
