Monday, October 22, 2007

Celebrations

Do you do something special for your dog when he/she does something especially good? Or for a birthday or such?

I started thinking about this when I reviewed the post I wrote yesterday about Teddy finishing his RN title. The caption to his picture there (it's a photo of him that doesn't have a thing to do with Rally but it's one I really like) said "give me a cookie" but in truth he got not only several handfuls of treats after we came out of the ring at the show but also got a double cheeseburger on the way home. That's our tradition - on the way home from a show the dogs get a burger if they did well.

Now, I totally understand that this has nothing to do with being a training reward - the dog doesn't associate the burger with whatever they did some time before back at the show site. It's just our way of celebrating. And you have to understand - for a Great Dane, a plain double cheeseburger is just a little snack. Not something big enough or rich enough to upset the dog's stomach!

For their birthdays, I usually bake them some treats. When I have an elderly dog, I make more of a fuss over birthdays and try to make it a special day. Maybe not so many special treats since an older dog's digestion may not handle it well, but we'll take a fun trip to Petsmart or some other place they enjoy.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Barb!

Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!

I got Zoey from a less than reputable breeder and learned my lesson about buying a dog the hard way (my own fault.) We've spent lots on her vet bills and her temperament isn't anything to write home about. Still love her to death though!

Now my Diesey pup came from a reputable breeder in Canada. My breeder / mentor friend lives in Wisconsin (which is where I live) and that is where his pedigree originated (meaning his mother was bred by my mentor and sold to the breeder in Canada, and thus how I came to get Diesel from Canada.) He was a show dog, but hated !HATED! showing, so he is retired.

I can give you more specifics offline if you're interested!

(you can email me at mandi @ watershipdanes.net - take out the spaces!)

I think I've seen you post over on Dolittler?