All of a sudden, Sir Chick has started taking his foster brother duties very seriously. Over the past few evenings in the pre-dinnertime stage, he has been carefully and patiently teaching Miss Stevie about “The Look.” The Look, he says, is the cornerstone of a good treat acquisition strategy. In his lifetime (“I was winning suckers over with my look before your grandma was even alive, kiddo!”), Chick said, he has won great things using his The Look. He has gotten pounds and pounds of fruit and veggie scraps, lots of licks from the cookie batter bowl, plenty of spatulas to inspect and polish, about a squillion dog treats, some jerkey, some roasted chicken, a handful of human popsicles, and even a few naps on the Couch Where No Dog May Go.
He taught this look to Lollie Wonderdog during her stay with us, and she took to it right away:
The challenge has been greater for Stevie, who has a hard time making a model’s face that even remotely resembles angsty, concerned, and in dire need of that treat. Nevertheless, she’s so cute that it works for her anyway. Here are a few of her feeble attempts at an interpretation of The Look.
Stevie’s “I want it so bad I’m toppling over” Look:
The “try as I may, I can put no believable concern in my look” Look:
The “does it work if I just look repentant” Look:
And my favorite, the “watch out or it might land on us!” Look (in which Chick collaborates as well):
For the record, Sir Chick wishes to fully disassociate himself from these attempts. ‘They are an embarrassment to my species,’ he says. ‘She’s just a child, Sir Chick. She’s just a child,’ we reply.
For more info on adopting Stevie Wonder, click here or contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com.
Love and a Six-Foot Leash 
Hilarious! I hope she’s getting a few treats for trying so hard 😉
that’s too funny. Lollie did indeed get the look. Maybe it’s a white dog with patches thing? I think the “repentant” one was pretty good though and would get pets at least. Luna gives me all sorts of looks, but I have a hard time capturing them because she often will just start barking at me. Great job!
Anna
http://www.akginspiration.com
Poor Stevie. Tell her she needs to “soften” her eyes a little. Look at how good Chick is at it. But Stevie’s eyes are bright and wide open. It just doesn’t convey the helplessness and desperation to create the perfect “look.”
oh stevie. i think what she’s missing is chick’s furrowed brow. even lollie could have used a little more of it! maybe it comes with age?
Love seeing the two of them so close to each other!! I couldn’t resist any of those looks – they’d be getting snacks often!
Lollie did get the look down pat. But no one is better than it’s creator, Chick!
It’s great to see them laying on the same bed together! Soon, they’ll be giving each other “the look”!
Chick is totally the Mr. Miyagi to Stevie’s Danielson. Maybe a few more sessions of “wax on, wax off” and Stevie will understand what Chick wanted her to learn all along….
And she is trying so hard. I love how she’s incorporating her ears and trying to get them droopy too. Chick has gotten so great at his foster bro duties.
Yeah, it cracks me up. She has such whippet ears; they don’t do droopy at all. But oh, how she tries! Once I caught her posing with one of them flipped all the way forward and down like Chick’s and I almost didn’t recognizer her!
Also, next to his foster sis, Chick almost looks like a lab with those big floppy ears 🙂
I am in awe of your ability to capture these shots. I know it’s what you “do,” but still…
You should put out a photo-essay book!
The looks is a very important lesson!
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
Haha! Don’t feel bad Stevie, our Penny hasn’t figured out “the Look” either. You’ll get it eventually, though… who better to learn from than the master himself?
LOL what adorable attempts on Stevie’s part. And Chick of course looks as handsome as ever. I hope they were both rewarded with lots of treats!
Haha, I love that Stevie can’t look pathetic even if she tries! Chick seems to be a champion at the pathetic stare…I have one of those, too.
NaNaNaNaNa NaNaNaNaNaNa NaNuhNaNaNa NaNaNaNaNaNa Nuh NaNaNaNaNa! She’s got the look!
I will have that song stuck in my head for days, this is your fault.
don’t hate, you know you love roxette.
Clearly Stevie realizes that she doesn’t NEED the look. Her inherent cuteness will get her all the goodies she needs without resorting to blatant pleading. Chick, on the other hand, is shameless. (As are both my girls….. However, when our miniature poodle was still alive, she had Stevie’s approach – you’re going to give it to me, so why should I bother making faces?!? Heehee.)
-Dr. Liz
Chick is a pro, wow! I don’t know how you ever get any food into your own mouths with him around. I’d probably end up just passing him the whole plate. He’s got that desperate/starved look down! I can’t even look at the photo without crumbling.
Shiva is a lot like Stevie in this way too. She isn’t very good at looking sad. In order to get what she wants she has a much different approach. The simultaneous head-tilt-tip-of-the-tail-wag approach. She doesn’t look pathetic, just so adorable that I have to reward her in hopes she’ll keep it up. Stevie may want to try this in the future. I posted a video of it she can use for reference: http://rescuedinsanity.com/2011/05/20/begging-allowed/
These dogs, they are amazing trainers.
Your look means business
Benny & Lily
Stevie needs to watch “America’s Next Top Model” and learn how to smize like Tyra!
Jacob is a champion with The Look. He had it perfected before he came to me and has used it shamelessly ever since. However, I was already tuned in to the Look by Boo Boo the pittie and can resist it’s force field (usually). Great pics as always!
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Oh, that’s awesome! We are very familiar with The Look here, too, but darned if Stevie doesn’t raise it to a new level of cuteness!
Havi has mastered The Look as well! Sir Chick is such a good teacher!
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