Poochy Risk Assessment

I walked outside with a leg of chicken and noticed that my dachshund was following me intently. She goes gaga for the pollo. I decided to see how far she would follow me down the street with this piece of chicken in my hand. I walked halfway down the road and she was right behind me the entire time. I could hear her little dog nails scraping the dirt more rapidly as I picked up my pace. By the time I got to the end of the street, she became a bit more hesitant. I could see the dilemma I had created for her. She realized that I wasn't just taking a walk out on the driveway. I continued to walk on the cross street and then turned around and watched her cautiously take baby steps toward me and stop, then look at me in the eyes, then walk a bit more, and repeat. I gave her a little comfort and said "Come on, girl." She must have been reassured by this because she ran toward me and caught up with me, still looking for a bite of chicken. We got a good twenty feet further and then she stopped again. Her little brain was probably processing the pros and cons of this uncomfortable situation. On the one hand, she could continue on this wild chicken chase for many streets to come, or she could turn around before she was hopelessly lost and too far from home. I tested her more and rapidly walked further down the street. She turned around and ran home. The chicken wasn't worth the risk. My dog assessed the risks. I saw her do it and I laughed.

Sometimes I think I know exactly what I want and, like my dog, I chase after it without understanding the situation. When I get to a certain point I then wonder to myself, "How far do I need to go to get this proverbial bite of chicken and is worth it?"