I once had a dog who could tell time. More reliable than the network news, her Lassie-like prancing back and forth between the food bowl and the cupboard where her food was kept always told us it was five o’clock. “Who’s hungry?” always brought barks and a fierce tail-wagging that enthusiastically rocked her hairy body.

Ivan Pavlov would have liked her. He studied spit. His initial experiments in Russia in the 1890’s were on the gastric functions of dogs; however, he soon noticed that his dogs didn’t need meat powder to salivate – they drooled whenever the lab technician who usually fed them walked in their kennel. This became more interesting and to Ivan and he soon developed theories still in use today about classical conditioning. Pavlov was a scientist until his dying day – literally. Alert until the end, he asked a student to record the scientific details of his dying moments.

How have you trained Ms. Jones? Does she salivate over slashed prices and No-No-No sales? Does she fully expect you to negotiate free delivery and product upgrades? Is she made before she walks in the door because she knows her questions aren’t going to be answered?

Or is she happy to see you because you’re her best friend in the whole world?