I have no evidence that this has any part in this behavior shift, but I bought my friend's baby a Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Soothe and Glow Seahorse for Christmas, and I fell in love with it. It plays the most soothing music and sea "bubbling" sounds and its belly lights up. Ok, so my favorite part is the music. I could've used this thing last night when I was trying to fall asleep but couldn't.
I decided to see what would happen if I showed it to the dogs. I expected them to go nuts and want to rip it out of my hands, but they were seriously mesmerized! Like, I've never seen them like this, mesmerized.
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| I've been told this thing is like "baby crack", but I never expected this. |
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| Mine? |
I added it to my Amazon wish list. No, I'm not kidding.
Speaking of Pippi, I've decided all her adorable jumping on me and scratching and bruising me has got to stop. I understand that she's a puppy, but dude! I decided to follow Kara's example and try Squirt Bottle Training (yes, I made up that very technical term). I know it's a controversial topic, but my findings are this: IT WORKS. I got the squirt bottles yesterday and Pippi only had to be squirted once for jumping and once for getting on the counter. She didn't do it again. All we had to do after that was pick up the spray bottle and she sat down instead.
And now, in case that put a bee in your bonnet, another cute dog picture for you. This is my friend's dog the day I was at her house for my birthday.
Notice all the rawhides beside her bed. She kept going to her toy basket and getting one and then laying down, and then after a while she'd get up and get another. Proof dogs have a sense of humor.
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| ...as do baby Halloween costume makers. |
This weekend I'm getting back on track with a long run, because, as Kara reminded me, "half marathons don't run themselves". Cripes.
Have you tried any controversial pet training techniques?
Do you have friends who make you feel guilty when you slack on working out?
How are those rawhides not completely consumed? We give bungee one and she has it finished in like 15 minutes.
ReplyDeleteI want to try that thing on Bungee.
Baby crack toy for the dog. I would totally try! I have 3 and they all require very, very different forms of discipline. It's taken forever to figure them all out - one only responds to very, very positive reinforcement while that method doesn't work on the other two!
ReplyDeleteHow DARE you squirt your poor innocent dog with WATER??? I'm sorry, I only do positive reinforcement training where I come from.
ReplyDeleteHaha, bitches be crazy.
That seahorse is amazing. And totally puts me to sleep before my kid.
ReplyDeleteMy cats still cringe if we touch a squirt bottle. :)
I know some people that need to be squirted in the face with a water bottle haha
ReplyDeleteSquirt bottle works! That's how Sal got a lot of his puppy trained out of him. Nothing else worked, and if a squirt of water is all it takes, well, water is just fine. Petsmart recommended it in their training class, and Mason still has all her bones by her bed!
ReplyDeleteForget the spray bottle- PETA would probably be all over you for domesticating a wild animal. Dogs need to have the freedom to roam the streets. Our aversive technique is a loud, firm "no" or sometimes a little little tap on the nose (i.e. when she tried to table-surf/counter-surf as we call it). Friends of ours use some coffee bins in a stainless steel travel mug. They shake it at him if he's barking, and the pup doesn't like the noise so he stops. Soon after taking a behavior theory class in undergrad, I tried to assist my parents with their new puppy's obnoxious nonstop barking with the "bark breaker" which emits a loud beep when the dog barks. Unfortunately, my mom got annoyed by the beep, and would turn it off -- so it was not consistently giving feedback to the dog, and so it didn't work (yet some how the nonstop shrill tiny dog bark was less annoying??). The dog is now 9, so it's hopeless.
ReplyDeleteI'm not exactly sure why that is controversial, since I'm pretty sure water doesn't hurt dogs, but it definitely confirms my suspicion that my in-laws technique of threatening the dog with the stick while screaming at her is F-ed up. The only friend I have who gives me guilt trips about working out is Kara :)
ReplyDeleteNot sure about controversial techniques since I'm pretty sure everything could be viewed that way depending on who you ask (hello PETA people). Sasha was a terror to train but Lucky was pretty easy. He just wants attention so as soon as learned he would get ignored for doing something bad that was that.
ReplyDeleteFor reals on Mandy's kid and the seahorse. We play it twice and she's out like a light. The only problem is the water noises make me have to pee. I think I might go ahead and get the seahorse now so that I can try to lull the dogs in to behaving. Although, the squirt bottle does make Delilah cringe as soon as I grab it. Rufus, on the other hand, ignores it and continues destroying things.
ReplyDelete