Because Teyman cannot be left alone with the new puppy, Leo, we have taken to allowing Brownie and Leo free run of the backyard, while Teyman who is older, stays longer indoors and gets walked on a leash in our front yard. Sword and I take turns walking Teyman, and Bow seems to accept that I get to take an early morning walk with Teyman before I serve breakfast to him in the pens.
This morning, while on my walk with Teyman, I stopped to pick some blackberries by the fence to the pasture, and I served them to Bow along with his usual bunch of grapes. Bow asked for the grapes first, but I got distracted, and started to give him the blackberries, instead. He stared at me and did not budge, making no move to take the blackberries from me. "Oh. Right. You said grapes." So I went back and got the grapes. He finished the grapes, asked for the blackberries, finished the blackberries, and then asked for "just milk."
Normally, at this point he would have asked for cereal. There was a bowl and spoon on his table, all in readiness for that. But since he asked for just milk, I took the spoon away and poured milk into the bowl. He drank a little, then handed me the bowl that was still full of milk. "Thank you," he spelled. "Give me a blanket."
The "thank you" was surprising. He does say it sometimes, but it's only on rare occasions. I'm not one of those parents who insist on "thank you" and "please" all the time. So when he does say "thank you", he must really mean it.
He then asked for a blanket and started playing with it. It's only a small remnant of blanket that is left of the one he got for Christmas, but he's happy with it.
It's nice that he knows when he is full, and it's a good development that he no longer makes a mess with excess food. If he doesn't want to finish, he just gives the remainder back.
Showing posts with label saying thank you. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saying thank you. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
A Visitor for Bow: Friendship and Sharing
Yesterday Bow had a special visitor. Linda, the daughter of our computer consultant, Tracey, had a day off from school, and she came by with her dad just to see Bow. She was shy at first, but Bow did his best to show her his friendly side. He knew in advance that she was coming, and he was on his best behavior.
Bow can be quite intimidating when he chooses to be, flinging himself at the pen doors and displaying his strength to anyone who doubts it. But with Linda, who is eight going on nine, just like him, Bow was friendly, jumping up and down and trying to engage her in a two way interaction. He restrained himself admirably and did not start showing off his strength until she was more comfortable in his presence.
"Does he ever laugh?" Linda asked.
"Yes, he does, but he does it without using his voice." I demonstrated by doing a voiceless "ha, ha, ha", which is more like panting, and less like talking. As soon as I started, Bow joined in with his voiceless "ha, ha, ha", just to demonstrate. Then I tickled him, and he laughed louder, and this time for real. It's hard to tickle a chimpanzee, because they are all muscle. You have to apply a lot more force than with a human. But the laughter is the same, only without vibrating the vocal cords.
When Linda felt really secure with Bow, she let him have some cherry/lime soda that she had brought in a styrofoam cup. Though Tracey and Linda could not go in with us, they could share the soda with Bow through a straw that fit into the holes in the grid. Bow finished the drink, but there were still a cherry and a slice of lime deep within the styrofoam cup. To get those, I would have to bring the cup into the pen for Bow.
"How about you thank Linda for the soda," I suggested to Bow.
He spelled: "No," in Hebrew.
"I think you should," I insisted.
Bow switched to English. "T-H-A-N," he spelled, but there was a huge pause at this point.
"K-Y-O-U," Linda suggested.
Bow spelled: "K-S", opting for the shorter version.
He ate the cherry rather quickly, but the lime piece took a lot longer to consume. First he sucked all the juice out of it, slowly, puckering his lips at the sourness. Then he ate all the pulpy part. And after that, he kept chewing on the peel as if it were the greatest of delicacies.
"You make that look so good, Bow," Tracey said, "that after I get home I'm going to get me some, too, and try it."
No sooner had Tracey said this, then out came the lime peel from Bow's mouth, what was left of it, and Bow tried to stuff it into a hole in the grid so Tracey could have some. And they say chimpanzees don't like to share!
"No, no, that's okay," said Tracey, who didn't really want to share Bow's treasure. But Bow kept trying for a very long time to get that slice through the grid.
Bow can be quite intimidating when he chooses to be, flinging himself at the pen doors and displaying his strength to anyone who doubts it. But with Linda, who is eight going on nine, just like him, Bow was friendly, jumping up and down and trying to engage her in a two way interaction. He restrained himself admirably and did not start showing off his strength until she was more comfortable in his presence.
"Does he ever laugh?" Linda asked.
"Yes, he does, but he does it without using his voice." I demonstrated by doing a voiceless "ha, ha, ha", which is more like panting, and less like talking. As soon as I started, Bow joined in with his voiceless "ha, ha, ha", just to demonstrate. Then I tickled him, and he laughed louder, and this time for real. It's hard to tickle a chimpanzee, because they are all muscle. You have to apply a lot more force than with a human. But the laughter is the same, only without vibrating the vocal cords.
When Linda felt really secure with Bow, she let him have some cherry/lime soda that she had brought in a styrofoam cup. Though Tracey and Linda could not go in with us, they could share the soda with Bow through a straw that fit into the holes in the grid. Bow finished the drink, but there were still a cherry and a slice of lime deep within the styrofoam cup. To get those, I would have to bring the cup into the pen for Bow.
"How about you thank Linda for the soda," I suggested to Bow.
He spelled: "No," in Hebrew.
"I think you should," I insisted.
Bow switched to English. "T-H-A-N," he spelled, but there was a huge pause at this point.
"K-Y-O-U," Linda suggested.
Bow spelled: "K-S", opting for the shorter version.
He ate the cherry rather quickly, but the lime piece took a lot longer to consume. First he sucked all the juice out of it, slowly, puckering his lips at the sourness. Then he ate all the pulpy part. And after that, he kept chewing on the peel as if it were the greatest of delicacies.
"You make that look so good, Bow," Tracey said, "that after I get home I'm going to get me some, too, and try it."
No sooner had Tracey said this, then out came the lime peel from Bow's mouth, what was left of it, and Bow tried to stuff it into a hole in the grid so Tracey could have some. And they say chimpanzees don't like to share!
"No, no, that's okay," said Tracey, who didn't really want to share Bow's treasure. But Bow kept trying for a very long time to get that slice through the grid.
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