Wednesday, January 27, 2010

On Doggie Bribes...

With the passing of Fritz, our five o'clock Snacky Time tradition came to an end as having no further practical use. (I only started doing it because it made dispensing meds easier.) Also since I'm down to two relatively young dogs I'm suddenly having behavior issues I rarely had to deal with before, like running away. I've found a jerky-like substance cheap at the dollar store that both dogs like, and have taken to carrying some in my pockets so I can reward them like performing dolphins whenever they get something right.

Just to show that I've probably been anthropomorphizing the dogs far too much, I resisted taking this tack because it seemed rather demeaning to them. I know I'd resent that kind of treatment. The dogs' reaction, of course, has been "Demean us! Demean us!" And it's been getting good results.

I really do need to find more human friends.

3 comments:

The Grey Lady said...

Ah, don't feel bad about using treats to reward the puppies for doing things you want them to do. It is human nature, Women have been using this strategy, with varying degrees of success, with men since time began and they seem OK with it for the most part..

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, this man likes it very much when his woman uses her treats to reward my behavior. Demean me some more, please!

Joel said...

Well...yeah, of course that bribe works every time with guys. Duh.

I was, of course, referring specifically to jerky-like substances.