For a time (what was I thinking?!) Maddie got a small treat reward when she came in from using the backyard facilities. It didn’t take long before she was asking to be let out and no sooner out the door than asking to be let back in for the treat.
She didn’t get a treat for that. So she learned to go out the door, count to 12 or whatever, then ask to be let back in. You always had to be on your toes with Maddie.
After she had me trained that when she went to the back door I would stand up (because I'm thinking I need to let her into the yard to do her business), she built on this behavior. She’d go to the back door, I’d stand up, then she’d dance and prance over to the counter where the treat jar was kept. She’d look from me to the treat jar, from me to the treat jar, hoping I would be bright enough to catch her drift. Her communication skills were excellent.
Maddie had an amazing memory when it came to somewhere she had encountered something she wanted to eat. Weeks after I had pulled her away from a dead squirrel or piece of dog poop on a walk, we’d happen onto that same stretch of sidewalk again and her pace would quicken as she recalled what was coming up. I, of course, had long since forgotten about what had been there.
No comments:
Post a Comment