I'm down in Brown County IN, but went to college in South Bend, where I would go to MI on the weekends to legally drink beer, and for more than a decade lived in MI (between Detroit and Flint).
I never trained any of my puppies with food as a reward. Just "Good Boy" etc. But I have learned, walking dogs at shelters in MX, that "treats" are a nice shortcut -- something they understand -- a way to communicate. The best book I've read about raising puppies is "The Art of Raising a Puppy", by the New Skete Monks (I've been to a few Trappist Monasteries). Hey, if you can't trust a Trappist Monk (or an Amish fellow), who can you trust ?
Tim, just saw your reply now. I totally agree on The Monks of New Skete. Read the book you mentioned and watched their videos. Further, I, too am an ND grad, which may have been obvious from naming our first dog Domer.
Nice story, Tim. I have some overlap. Our first dog, Domer, a black lab “looking” mutt that genetically tested as golden retriever, killed and ate everything that entered our small yard in Illinois. Rabbits, a carrier pigeon (I had to return the plastic wring they wear by mailing it on a pencil!) and of course a large possum she unceremoniously threw down when I was shouting at her to leave it alone. I put her inside and went in search of a shovel and garbage bag only to return and find…where did it go? My own introduction to “playing possum”
Our current dog, Mia, a 50% bull terrier, 50% Alaskan Malamute scores high on the “wolfiness factor” per the genetic test. She is easily the most willful dog I have ever encountered. I can engage in mental combat on the daily walk as she protests every time I try a direction she objects to and we enter staring contest mode, or I can cowardly carry a bag of treats and take advantage of her level 10 foodie status to keep her moving. I choose the latter. We are the third owner that I am aware of. I too can state, “can you say separation anxiety?”
Thanks for fostering. I now reside in Indiana as well. The Michigan border is a mile away. Are you anywhere nearby?
I'm down in Brown County IN, but went to college in South Bend, where I would go to MI on the weekends to legally drink beer, and for more than a decade lived in MI (between Detroit and Flint).
I never trained any of my puppies with food as a reward. Just "Good Boy" etc. But I have learned, walking dogs at shelters in MX, that "treats" are a nice shortcut -- something they understand -- a way to communicate. The best book I've read about raising puppies is "The Art of Raising a Puppy", by the New Skete Monks (I've been to a few Trappist Monasteries). Hey, if you can't trust a Trappist Monk (or an Amish fellow), who can you trust ?
Tim, just saw your reply now. I totally agree on The Monks of New Skete. Read the book you mentioned and watched their videos. Further, I, too am an ND grad, which may have been obvious from naming our first dog Domer.
Nice story, Tim. I have some overlap. Our first dog, Domer, a black lab “looking” mutt that genetically tested as golden retriever, killed and ate everything that entered our small yard in Illinois. Rabbits, a carrier pigeon (I had to return the plastic wring they wear by mailing it on a pencil!) and of course a large possum she unceremoniously threw down when I was shouting at her to leave it alone. I put her inside and went in search of a shovel and garbage bag only to return and find…where did it go? My own introduction to “playing possum”
Our current dog, Mia, a 50% bull terrier, 50% Alaskan Malamute scores high on the “wolfiness factor” per the genetic test. She is easily the most willful dog I have ever encountered. I can engage in mental combat on the daily walk as she protests every time I try a direction she objects to and we enter staring contest mode, or I can cowardly carry a bag of treats and take advantage of her level 10 foodie status to keep her moving. I choose the latter. We are the third owner that I am aware of. I too can state, “can you say separation anxiety?”
Thanks for fostering. I now reside in Indiana as well. The Michigan border is a mile away. Are you anywhere nearby?