The Golden Retriever called Sunshine is a pleasant and obedient dog, quietly playful, and very friendly. When she needs to leave the house, she goes to the door and raises her paw to the door handle until someone lets her out.
Sunshine’s family needed a new storm door last week. When the installer put the door in, he needed to make an adjustment before he could insert the full glass panel. For a day, the door was just the hinged frame without anything in the middle. Sunshine went to the door as usual, poked her nose slightly through the space where the glass would normally be, and then reached her paw toward the handle. She would not cross the plane of the open space. Instead, she waited until someone opened the “door.”
Okay, Sunshine is a conditioned dog. She had never seen a door through which she could step. She has always known the glass barrier that some human had to open, and, even though nothing but air separated her from the outside, she did not cross the nonexistent glass. She waited for both help and permission to go through the unopened door.
Don’t be Sunshine.
Sunshine’s family needed a new storm door last week. When the installer put the door in, he needed to make an adjustment before he could insert the full glass panel. For a day, the door was just the hinged frame without anything in the middle. Sunshine went to the door as usual, poked her nose slightly through the space where the glass would normally be, and then reached her paw toward the handle. She would not cross the plane of the open space. Instead, she waited until someone opened the “door.”
Okay, Sunshine is a conditioned dog. She had never seen a door through which she could step. She has always known the glass barrier that some human had to open, and, even though nothing but air separated her from the outside, she did not cross the nonexistent glass. She waited for both help and permission to go through the unopened door.
Don’t be Sunshine.
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