Ms. News Goat

Tasty Treats for Demanding Dogs, by Gregg R. Gillespie

I wasn’t sure about this book from the get-go. I mean, where do these dogs get off demanding treats in the first place? A person who owns demanding dogs probably ought to be teaching them who’s in charge, not rewarding them with tasty treats. Perhaps he means something more along the lines of finicky…? Even then, my dogs and I probably aren’t the target audience. I grew up in small-town Texas, and most of the dogs I remember from my childhood were farm dogs at my grandparent’s. Farm dogs can’t afford to be finicky. So when I hear somebody talking about their little dog that will only eat < insert expensive food here >, I have a hard time with it.

My husband and I have two dogs, Bernie and Kelly. We got Bernie from the shelter just after we got married, so he’s about 6 years old now. He’s a mix of some sort—maybe Bernese Mountain Dog and something smaller. He’s a very smart dog—if a little shy—which makes him fun to teach tricks to. Some friends of ours mentioned how smart their Border Collies were—learning “High Five” on the second try. The next day I tried it with Bernie—sure enough, he picked it up on the second try too. Right now, we’re learning “Hide & Seek,” where I hide treats while he stays in the other room. Bernie’s a fun dog.

Kelly’s a whole different story. She’s a black lab that a friend from work saw trotting down the side of a busy road. Kelly loves attention and is always nudging people to rub her head. But she’s an alpha dog. She doesn’t like other dogs much—one trip to the dog park was one too many. And I’m not sure she quite understands we’re at the top of the pack. That’s something I’ve been wanting to work on with her. Of course, the other problem with Kelly is that she’s just dumb. She’s not nearly as much fun to train as Bernie, so we tend to avoid doing it.