What Does Eddie Want?

Maybe his eyes are the problem.

One of them has a funny little black stripe. The other one's clear blue. It’s unnerving. 

Eddie is our 2-year old mini Sheltie-Aussie mix. He’s a great communicator.

​Once we took him on a car ride to see the headwaters of the Metolius River near Camp Sherman.

He liked the hike, but the car ride was not good at all.  Eddie has a serious problem with car riding. I don’t think I've ever seen a being - human or animal - look so car sick. Or be so car sick. Not fun.

Eddie’s got an incredibly expressive face. He’s almost human. Sometimes, I think he might start speaking sentences out loud to us in English. But, he doesn’t.

He looks up with his crazy eyes and the one ear that doesn’t stand up straight. And he barks. Or spins around in circles. Or jumps straight into the air for no apparent reason.

We ask him what’s up. 

“What’s the matter, Eddie?” is a common refrain. He’s had a walk. He’s eaten. His water bowl is full. He’s played catch. He’s been outside, inside and outside again.

What does Eddie want? No one actually knows. Because even though he’s a very expressive dog, he can’t speak English in sentences. One possible answer is that Spoiled Eddie’s running the whole family from the confines of our tiny 100 year old bungalow. Likely. 

But it could be something else entirely. He could be sick. He could be hurt. We can’t really know because, you know - he’s a dog. 

My clients aren’t dogs, they’re grown adults in long marriages.  Even so, they remind me of Eddie. Since they don’t need to bark or jump straight up in the air to get attention, I wonder why they struggle to be understood by their partners.

Sometimes they kind of act like Eddie. 

They fuss about the dishes or the laundry when what they really want is more authentic intimacy. They complain about the kids, but they’re really worried about the future of their relationship. They don’t know how to say the stuff that needs saying. Even though they know how to speak English. In sentences. 

Eddie hasn’t shown any signs of learning to talk. Fortunately, my clients are getting a whole lot better at letting their partners know what they really want - without barking.

Kinda awesome.

How about you? Is communication a challenge in your relationship? 
​Email me and let me know. I'll personally get back to you.