Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Different Tricks, Different Treats

I bought a bag of puperoni the other day at obedience class because I was running late and completely forgot everything (including the clicker, which I now cannot find for the life of me). We were mildly rebuked for not practicing enough (my fault, because I would much rather work on "stupid tricks") so I've been making an effort to do stays and fronts more at home. And since I have the 'roni, might as well use it, right?

Gastby loves it. It stinks, which I'm sure helps this nose-on-feet, and tears up into tinier pieces than the kibble anyway so one stick goes pretty far. I read somewhere that size is pretty immaterial to the dog, since it's about the flavor. I've been calling him away from the window when he gets barking at something and I can actually get him away! Only when he knows I have a treat though. Fading rewards continues to kick my butt.

Other things we've tried are cheese (cheddar block and Kraft American singles), which he likes but doesn't love and Oscar Meyer sliced ham which seemed to work but made his stool runny (and stinky!) and was a pain to carry around. I'm going to try nuked-to-a-crisp hot dogs next, I think. He's on grain-free kibble (to which I suspect he might have allergies, we'll find out Friday at the vet) and in an ideal world a raw diet for treats, but I'll take what's cheap and gets results. I put more thought into what the dog eats than I do.

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