Doggie Parenting: 101 tips and tricks on loving and living with dogs
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Calm silence means 'I want more!'
By Victoria Rose, Nanny 911 For Dogs
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| When Jetta wants a refill of her treat ball she sits calmly in silence until her request is answered. |
ONE morning a neighbor came over while I was feeding Jetta. She eats her meals from her kibble ball, which is really a treat-dispensing toy called Tricky Treats. I pour some of her kibble into it, then she rolls it from one end of my apartment to the other. The kibble rattles around inside as she rolls it around, and it falls out a piece or two at a time, making mealtime last a long, long time.
Since Jetta is at risk for bloat, I am careful to reduce bloat risk as much as possible. Eating too fast is one of the risks. Eating from the kibble ball takes a good 20-30 minutes. I don’t load all the food at once. I put some in, she rolls it around, eating the food, then brings it to me for more, eats it, then brings it again for more.
Jetta is trained to do the same things I teach my students and their dogs. Among the behaviors that I teach are to stay out of the kitchen and not be pushy.
When she needs more kibble in her kibble ball, and I am at my desk working, she doesn’t come and push it at me - I will be looking at my screen, typing at the keyboard and will feel her presence. I look over and she is standing there, at a distance (giving me my personal space), holding the ball, wagging her tail, waiting for me to notice. I take it from her, fill it, toss it and she runs after it for more.
But if I am in the kitchen, where she is not allowed, she uses a different tactic to ask for more.
So the neighbor was over and we were in the kitchen talking. Sensing it was about time for Jetta to run out of kibble and want more, I paused to listen for the rattling sound of the ball rolling around. Total silence. I said “Jetta needs more food”.
We walked around to the other side of the partition to find Jetta lying on the floor, her kibble ball five feet away. My neighbor said, “Oh, she’s done”.
I said, “No - she wants more”.
She didn’t understand. Jetta was lying there, quiet and still, seeming to be resting and not interested in the kibble ball. But in actuality, she was asking me to put more in her treat ball.
In my lessons, we train dogs to sit or down and wait when they want something - not jump, bark, push, pace or invade personal space. And it HAS to be voluntary. It’s voluntary default behavior.
We don’t MAKE dogs do this; we make them WANT to do it.
Jetta wanted more food, so she lay down, waiting. My neighbor became convinced of this when I asked Jetta if she wanted more and – full of life - she LEPT onto her kibble ball, rushed it over to me and sat, holding it, wagging her tail with great anticipation. She wanted more, but she was asking politely. Calm silence means, “I want more!” Good Dog Jetta!
Victoria Rose/Nanny 911 For Dogs offers in-home dog training/behavior modification in Oregon, USA, and by phone in the US. For more tips and advice, subscribe to her free 2700-plus subscriber Doggie Parenting 101 tips and tricks e-newsletter by visiting her website at: www.nanny911fordogs.com.
'Til next time- kiss the kids!
Victoria (Mom of Jetta WAC, CGC)
