dog journal

[norg]

ok, here's a stupid question.

positive reinforcement, clicker training, and a great many methods of training a dog make use of treats as rewards for good behavior.

how the devil does that work when the dog doesn't take treats...

Comments

[murmbeetle]

well, if she likes hugs & praise, you can try to dole that out in regulated units. i don't know. never had a dog, but our bird seem to be encouraged by praise.

[dorrie6]

If your dog likes toys, you can reward with a toy. The best thing, though would be to find a treat the dog will like. For a very finicky dog, you might try bits of cheese or meat.

[norg]

i forgot to mention that. for whatever reason, i've yet to find a toy that she will be interested in. tennis balls, ropes, plushies, bones, all have failed to capture her interest.

i picked up some beef sticks last week and she'll sometimes eat them, but most of the time just looks away and isn't interested. it's about 25% interest / 75% won't bother. i'll definitely try some cheese though. thanks for the idea. (:

i want to believe that there is some degree of "still getting used to the new digs" thing and that as time goes by she'll starting being more dog-like. nothing would delight me more than to see her happily gnawing away at a bone of some kind...

[dorrie6]

I would recommend trying some different kinds of meat too--like buy some chicken and chop it into tiny cubes and cook 'em up. Lucy eats anything, but we took classes with dogs who were picky about their treats, and real meat was generally the trick. Something soft and good that you'd be willing to eat yourself. :)

ps: I've been meaning to say that I'm so pleased you're posting about your dog! :)

[norg]

it never even occurred to me to try and just get some meat and cook it up and see how she does. i'll have to give that a shot too. i've got some cheese in the fridge that i don't want to go bad and waste so i'm going to try that tonight when we go out for the elimination round.

just out of curiosity, what have you been feeding lucy? is it dry food all the way, a mix of dry and wet, or wet all the way?

posting about my doggy is a way for me to make sure i don't forget all of the experiences that happen in being a new dog owner, not to mention the experiences of this specific doggy. if only i knew what paul knows about photoshopping... (: i'm going to be taking more pictures of her than i can shake a stick at but want them to look good hehee

and you have no idea how much i dearly value input from folks who are also dog owners. it doesn't matter what i've watched or how many books and online resources i've read, there are going to be so many things that i just don't know...

[jparagons]

positive reinforcement. every time she takes a treat, reward her with a treat of some sort.

[kylejcrb]

Then norg'll just get stuck in a mobius strip.

[jparagons]

Well that's the best kind of strip so what are you complaining for? Geez.

[k8to]

George stripping is the best kind.

[prozacnation]

Watch what kind of meat you give them and if they start the "I only want people food" scenario.

During the summer of 94 (when Indy was around 8 months old) we took him to obedience school. They told us to cook up hot dogs as rewards as they are easy to swallow and they shouldn't choke on them.

Once he got the whiff of hot dogs, he stopped eating for three days until we had to spoon feed (yes with a spoon) him. Worst advice an obedience school could give, but then we live in buffalo where it's not a town, it's a punishment.

But chicken is a good alternative as a reward. It's also good if you need a dog food substitute as we had to do with the dog food recall. He had chicken, beef and rice during that time.

Our other dog Captain (we had him from May 1980 until Oct 1 1993) would eat anything. It was amazing. No matter what type of meat or other fruits and veggies he got, he never strayed away from his dog food.

Foods that are dangerous to dogs

[prozacnation]

# Pear pips, the kernels of plums, peaches and apricots, apple core pips (contain cyanogenic glycosides resulting in cyanide posioning)

# Potato peelings and green looking potatoes

# Rhubarb leaves

# Mouldy/spoiled foods

# Alcohol

# Yeast dough

# Coffee grounds, beans & tea (caffeine)

# Hops (used in home brewing)

# Tomato leaves & stems (green parts)

# Broccoli (in large amounts)

# Raisins and grapes

# Cigarettes, tobacco, cigars

----------------------

Along with chocolate (that's a given) and onions and garlic and macadamia nuts.

http://www.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cls=2&cat=1939

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1939&articleid=1030

plants that are dangerous to dogs

[dacro]

Mushrooms, ivy and holly too - stuff we have all over the place.

Re: plants that are dangerous to dogs

[prozacnation]

I freaked one time we had wild mushrooms next to our porch.

Re: plants that are dangerous to dogs

[dacro]

heh. Yeah, I'm always jumping on them before my dog can spot them. heh. My backyard is a cold rain forest - mushroom heaven. :D