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 ?
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 ?
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?