AA #8 – My Mouth Was on Fire

Agatha is 14 weeks (3½ months) old in this adventure. She still wants to explore everything with her nose and mouth, but Puppy School is teaching her that not everything interesting is safe.

I am a puppy, and being a puppy is exciting because everything is interesting. Every smell wants to be smelled, every sound wants to be heard, and every moving thing wants to be chased. If something falls onto the floor, I think it probably belongs to me.

This week, puppy school taught us two new things. The first one was “Take It,” and I understood it right away. “Take It” is easy, just like “Come Touch,” because I get to move toward something I want.

The other lesson was “Leave It.” “Leave It” is hard, just like “Focus,” because I have to look at something I want and not take it. The treat is right there, so leaving it seems like a very strange idea.

The people put a treat near me and said, “Leave it.” My nose leaned toward the treat, my paws wanted to move, and my puppy brain shouted, “NOW!” The people wanted me to wait, but waiting is one of the hardest things a puppy can do.

A few days later, the people were making supper. The whole house smelled wonderful, and I stayed close because good things sometimes fall onto the floor. Then a little red thing bounced down right in front of me.

I did not think, sniff, or ask. I grabbed it, chewed it, and swallowed it before anyone else could. For one tiny moment, I felt very proud because I had found the falling thing first.

Then my mouth was on fire. My tongue burned, my lips burned, and even my nose felt hot. I licked and swallowed and tried to make the burning go away, but it stayed and stayed.

The people gave me water and watched me very carefully. I drank, but my mouth was still hot. I could not understand why the fire would not leave when there was no fire anywhere that I could see.

The little red thing was called a cayenne pepper. My mouth hurt for a long, long time, and that is almost forever when you are a puppy. Maybe the pepper had been a “Leave It.” I was just faster than the words.

Another day, my mommy person was holding a shiny tea kettle. It was interesting, so I jumped up and touched it with my nose. The kettle was very hot, and I pulled my face away almost as soon as I touched it.

My mommy person checked my nose and made sure I was all right. The hurt was quick, but I remembered it. Maybe the quiet kettle was another “Leave It,” even though it did not look dangerous.

Then something small fell onto the floor one day. My puppy brain shouted, “Get it!” before I even knew what it was. I jumped forward, grabbed it, and got it into my mouth before the people could reach me.

This time, the people yelled, “Leave it! Drop it!” Their voices were loud and serious, and hands quickly pried my mouth open. They took the little thing away before I could swallow it.

The people looked very scared. I had never seen those faces before. They held me close and told me it was people medicine. People medicine can make puppies very sick, but I had not wanted people medicine. I had only wanted the thing that fell.

That was when “Leave It” started to mean something different. The pepper had not looked dangerous, the kettle had not looked dangerous, and the people medicine had not looked dangerous either. My puppy brain had said, “NOW!” every single time.

At puppy school, we practiced “Leave It” again. The treat sat right in front of me, and I wanted it very, very much. My nose leaned forward, my paws leaned forward, and almost all of Agatha leaned forward.

I stayed where I was anyway. The people smiled, said, “Yes! Good Agatha!” and gave me a different treat. Waiting was still hard, but nothing burned, nobody looked scared, and everyone was happy.

I still like “Take It” better because “Take It” is easy and delicious. “Leave It” asks me to stop before I grab something and wait before I put it into my mouth. I am still a puppy, so I do not always know which things can hurt me.

Maybe “Leave It” is for things that do not look scary. Maybe the people sometimes know which things hurt puppies before I do.