Thursday, May 26, 2005

Note to Self.....

The picture pretty much says it all. Do NOT leave dog training treats in your jeans pocket when you remove your jeans. Also, when you do remove your jeans, leave them out of reach of curious dog noses.

Lately I have taken to carrying dog treats and a clicker around with me at all times. We are trying to shape some of Arlo's behaviors to make him a more pleasant dog to live with. In other words, trying to break him of his habit of standing in the window barking at anything and everything that moves on the sidewalk or street. In just a little over a week, he is will now turn his head and look at me when I say "watch me". When he does this I click the clicker and he gets a treat. That stops the barking, even temporarily. We are making slow progress.

We're also following a new lifestyle with him, NILIF (Nothing In Life Is Free). It's making a difference. His surly teenage attitude is slowly changing and he's figuring out just who is REALLY the boss. He still has some serious issues with sitting and waiting until I open the door to let him out, especially if he's spied a squirrel running the back fence. And I don't think he will EVER stop his nasty coprophagia habit. He absolutely, positively resents having to wait until Sneakers has gone outside and done her business and then one of us has cleaned it up. None of the dog behavior information I've read has addressed how to solve that issue.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Well Debbie, it is certainly MUCH easier than maintaining a regular website.