it seems i have inadvertently trained atlas to connect the act of me whispering his name with the idea that there is something exciting nearby that he needs to find. whenever i whisper-say “atlas,” he acts as if i’ve just told him there’s a squirrel or kitty nearby and his ears perk up and his eyes fill with excitement and he begins looking all around for it.

i suspect this could be a problem in the case of an event during which i might want to whisper and have him pay attention to me. say, in the event of a home break-in, or a starring role in a movie, or a game of hide-and-seek.