Today is over cast and the temperature is warming, now about 40 degrees. Its the kind of day where you can just feel Winter turning into Spring and the transition leaves everything grey. The remaining snow is more dirt than snow. The soon to be colors of Spring haven't erupted, leaving brown branches, brown ground and grey skies. We need Sun and color!
I've been asked where Beeker got his stunning winter vest. Goodwill of course! Children's sizes work best for him but as with most clothes, trial and error to fit. Max of course would never need one but smaller dogs in cold climates may.
We went for our "figure eight" walk today. This is the walk that we take in the neighborhood that both dogs know as the home walk. The one that we take when we need to walk, but don't want to think about where to go. We know it takes exactly 45 minutes. This is the walk where the dogs know the other dog homes and the smells are familiar. Sniff sniff, "you've got mail", kind of walk.We have modified figure eights that take only one or the other of the loops of the figure eight if we are in a hurry or its too cold. Just the kind of exercise and nose engagement we needed today. After yesterday's excitement we slept ALOT!
Today I want to write about dog treats. We use a variety of dog treats for Beeks and Max. They know that when ever Brad or I go to the refridgerator we might be giving out one of their favorite dog treats, ice. They will run to sit patiently waiting for a cube to crunch. I figure it is two treats in one. Cold water and hard crunch like a bone. Beeks can not get enough ice. I suppose it may be hard on their teeth (like it s said of people chewing ice) but how could it be harder than the bones they chew? The other refridgerator treat that they LOVE are carrots. They can hear the opening of the plastic container we use to keep them fresh. I swear Beeker can hear them rattle. When he sits and gets his carrot he goes to the safety of an out of the way rug. Max may be waiting for his own carrot, but Beeker thinks his treasure needs to be protected. carrots give them the crunch they love and also vitamins they need. Once in a while we also give them a chewable vitamin C. Not very often because too much could be toxic to their system.
As far as store purchased treats we usually buy cheap ones. The kind that you can buy in big containers for little cost. We also buy the smallest size and then try to break them in small pieces. Since we feed our dogs two times a day they really don't need much supplemental food. We always try to associate treats with a performance behavior.Something to engage their brains as well as their stomaches. Such as sitting, down, roll over (that's another story, to follow), or stay. Both dogs know they have to sit before they get any treat.
Another of my favorite treats, and one that I give sparingly is dog food. Our dogs are feed Canidae dog food (again another discussion). canidae makes a dog treat that is essentially the dog food in another form. It comes in small round flat circles, like treats. They have mint and protien ingredients. The dogs love these. I like that they are small and compact and I can carry them when we are traveling, and on walks. They are great for sharing and I like knowing that I am not confusing their digestive tracks like some dog treats will do when they have too much fat and sugar. Each circle has a letter imprinted on it and so theoretically you could teach your dog to spell with them too!
Recently, my mother was visiting and decided that she should teach each dog to "roll over". She used really good meat treats for this project to motivate the dogs. A number of times each day she worked with each dog (while she had the other dog in a stay, watching). She got Max to roll over quickly. He pretty much would go into his bicycling mode then flop over. He learned real quick and we were so excited to see such a big dog learn so fast. Beeker was an entire different story. There's a reason we call him"Sneeker Beeker". He finally learned to lay down, with a hip under him. This took a million treats (see I told you he was sneeky). Then he would follow the treat in her hand, his head and eyes moving around, then flip back so his paws were again under him and not over as she wanted him to be. Boy, does my mother have patience. She practiced and practiced, breaking the trick down into smaller and smaller parts. After about 5 million treats Beeker would do the trick correct once. Then she would stop the practice until later. Then work with him again. By the time she left, she had taught Beeks to flip over, and he was 10 million treats happier. They both were happy with the experience and Beeks wants the "fun" grandma to come back.
Anybody else have any good ideas for dog treats to share?
It is really hard to tell which treats Jesse James prefers because he eats every thing (including lettuce, tomatoes, and all fruit) with lightening speed. I do keep a jar of my homemade treats on the kitchen counter because I can make them very small and just the right size. But as far as everyday treats, we use the store brand little puppy bicsuits from Pet Smart.
ReplyDeleteI have some recipes for dog treats...one of the rehab docs brought them in. If they are here I'll get them for you or else when I go home.
ReplyDeleteBeeks will do anything for a treat including giving up a spot on the bed for a chance at an ice cube!
ReplyDeleteThe treats I prefer are the small ones that can be broken in two. I can work with Max and give him a ton without really giving him much of anything. And he thinks I'm the best for it!
The only problem with Max and treats is if he thinks you have one for him he drools live Pavlov's dog on steroids!
Did you know that Dogs can make their own Vitamin C? Since they are predators and don't get too much of it in their diet normally (unlike our fruit eating ancestors) this is pretty useful.
ReplyDelete