Archive for October, 2009
When I brought my golden Labrador Olivia home from the humane society, I looked past her rambunctiousness and didn’t mind that she chewed up every object within reach. The fact is, puppies are prone to making mischief and the only way to rid them of the habit is through scrupulous training. Chewing is a perfectly natural behavior in dogs; the trick is to convince the dog to chomp on dog chew toys rather than tennis shoes and electrical cords.
It didn’t take long to find out that Olivia was crazy about peanut butter. In order to distract her attention away from household valuables, I started smearing some peanut butter on her dog toys. I only did this if she stayed away from sneakers and books for the entire day. Eventually she pieced together that this was a form of positive reinforcement. Good behavior led to peanut butter, at least in her mind, and from there the training process was simple.
I moved to Denver a few months ago with my Siberian husky Sasha. Knowing that I would be driving my old, beat-up compact car through the Rocky Mountains, I decided to go easy on the engine and pack light. Armed with little more than a full complement of clothes, an antique record player, some LPs, an air mattress and the promise of a new career, I pulled into the Mile High City.
The job turned out even better than I had imagined, but a few things went awry within the first few nights. My air mattress popped about three days in, so I was left sleeping on a pile of blankets until I could track down a bed. Every morning I would head off to work, jealous of Sasha and her orthopedic dog bed. It’s pretty sad when a canine is sleeping in comfort and luxury while her master settles for the floor.