Blaming the dog for the broken lamp is funny until it’s a coworker instead of a dog.

Deflection starts as a joke because the target cannot be hurt by it. The move underneath is the same one you will reach for later when the target is a person with a job and a reputation, and by then it will feel practised rather than funny. Reflexes do not check who is standing in front of you before they fire.

Say the plain sentence next time something small breaks, even when nobody would ever have known. It takes three seconds and keeps the reflex in good condition. The dog version is harmless; what it trains is not.