Our new dog Scarlett, the Australian shepherd we took in from a local law enforcement officer who didn't want to keep her in a crate in an apartment for 12 hours a day, has outsmarted herself. Put herself right in the doghouse. Figuratively.
When I come home from town, I give the dogs a treat. It's some form of leftover, often stale bread that has been swiped through meat juice. The current treat consists of week-old hot dog buns dredged in the pan from green beans cooked with bacon. The crusty treats sit on the kitchen counter on a paper plate, near the back door.
Scarlett finally learned to STAY HOME and not roam the countryside, waiting on other people's porches until they called or contacted Hick on Facebook to retrieve her. She is a spirited young thing, very flighty and bouncy and hyper. A rude shove to her shoulder taught her not to jump up and rebound from Val's belly. She has more or less been behaving herself for weeks now.
Friday, I had groceries in a box from Save A Lot. There were actually two boxes, but I fit most of it into one box when I got home. Carried it from garage to side porch, where I placed that box on a chair. I went to unlock the kitchen door and put my purse inside. The dogs know they don't get their treat until everything is carried in. Well. Jack knows. Copper Jack knows. My Dear Departed Juno used to know. Scarlett seemed to understand...
Upon carrying in the box, I dropped a bag of hot dog buns. The box inside, I went back around the corner to grab those buns. Scarlett has a habit of running into the house. Not far. Just to the kitchen table. When I tell her GET OUT, or GET BACK, she does. Backs up to the doghouse that used to belong to Juno, right outside the kitchen door, and waits for me to dole out the treats.
When I rounded the corner with my bag of buns, I saw Scarlett in the kitchen, JUMPING UP TO THE COUNTER AND GRABBING THE PLATE OF TREATS!!! It crashed down on her, scaring her, and she didn't get a chance to eat one before I bellowed, "SCARLETT!!! BAD DOG!!!" She pranced out of the house and past me, realizing her faux pas.
Here's the thing. Scarlett is too smart. She is a breed that has been developed to herd and protect, and solve her own problems. She knows where the treats are located, and can leap like a kangaroo, though not actually hailing from the land down under. She wanted her treat, didn't have patience to wait for it, and helped herself.
I'm not having it! I have a "persuader" at the ready, for the next time Scarlett dares set foot into the kitchen. No more allowing a few steps in and telling her to get out. Zero tolerance from now on. On the counter lies a catalog for whacking.
Not a catalog like the Sears Fall and Winter. It's an advertisement. My kids call it a magazine. Not a magazine like Vogue. A thin circular. Specifically, B.A. Mason, a footwear advertisement, from which I ordered The Pony's work shoes. I am not out to maim Scarlett, but only wish to get her attention. It's not like I'm going to roll it up to clobber her with a home-run swing from a Louisville Slugger. I aim to startle her by holding that B.A. Mason by the spine, and swatting her with the flappy pages, while shouting, "SCARLETT!!! NO!!!"
On Saturday, when I opened the door to go out, both dogs came running as usual. But Scarlett did not leap in front of me as if on springs. She trotted around, saw my face, and skulked. Turned around to wait for me to go to the side porch. Did not approach the door. She remembered her shaming!
When I got home, the dogs followed me to the kitchen door. Scarlett sidled around the garden window of the kitchen, biding her time, not trying to rush in when I opened the door. I had my B.A. Mason at the ready. But she did NOT step over the threshold. She waited beside Juno's doghouse until I tossed her crusty bun.
I think our little girl is a fast learner, though somewhat stubborn when she thinks she can get away with it.
I know what you mean about training young dogs. I now have a 5 month old puppy:) She won't be as big as Scarlett though.
ReplyDeleteScarlett is not as big as I thought she would be, but she's so springy and full of energy. My Dear Departed Juno, who I think was a border collie/lab mix, used to tear around the field at full speed, low to the ground, sometimes dragging Jack the red heeler/dachshund mix, who had clamped his mouth on her tail and wouldn't let go.
DeleteBut Juno was never so stealthy and jumpy at the same time. Scarlett prefers to trail behind me, and then will bounce and jump in front of me when I stop. Plus springing up on the side porch (and kitchen counter!)
from a flat-footed standstill. She takes some getting used-to! It's like she conserves her energy all day by walking around slowly, then lets it out all at once with the jumping.
Puppies are so sweet and loving and playful. That's when the bonds form. I'm guessing Scarlett might be about a year old. So we missed that time with her. Half of which she spent in a crate!
They are fast learners and will also respond to a sharp "no: with the palm of the hand out like a stop sign and will also learn sit and stay very quickly.
ReplyDeleteThat palm thing is what I use on the side porch when Scarlett tries to launch her front feet at my shoulders while keeping her rear feet on the porch. It has taken more attempts than necessary, but now she usually stops. I think it's more my voice than the palm, but I still use both.
DeleteI never had to even pick up the magazine at the door. I think Scarlett remembers her shaming after the toppled treats. Or maybe I just seem more like I mean business, when I tell her NO while I know that I have that "persuader" on the counter at the ready.
I had an out-of-town friend who was dating a friend in my town. She had two indoor dogs she never disciplined, little, short dogs. He hated the dogs because they did not mind him. I told him to take a sheet of newspaper, roll it up, and whack them, that the noise would cause them to listen. Well, two months later, he told me it worked. He took a broomstick, rolled newspaper around it, and secured it with rubber bands. He said the dogs ran and stayed under a chair when he came because he beat them with the newspaper like I said. I was horrified and told him he could go to jail and never do it again. Well, I have no idea what happened.
ReplyDeleteNow, I cringe when I hear about people whacking their dog with a Kleenex! Of course, no one can whack with a Kleenex, but you get the idea.
My border collie was so smart. Does your dog herd you?
OH MY GOSH! I'm hoping he did the original newspaper whacking like normal people have done since newspapers began. And then just rolled them up on the broom stick to wave around, and the dogs avoided the newspaper. Wishful thinking, maybe.
ReplyDeleteThat's what we have always used from when I was a kid. The local paper, consisting of 4 sheets of thin newsprint that left your hands filthy after reading it. The crackle is what shocks them. We don't get a newspaper here now. So all I had was the thin "magazine" advertisement.
Jack has poked his nose on my calf at times, but he's never really tried to herd me. He usually trots ahead, and looks over his shoulder to see if I am following. Juno used to try to herd me, poking her nose on the back of my thigh. Usually toward the kitchen door, when I was headed there anyway. Scarlett follows behind both Hick and me. She kind of steps on our feet. So much that we are both wary of being tripped by her. Maybe it's her nose on our heels. I don't turn around to look. She gets directly behind us. I'd rather see her ahead.
Scarlett will learn ... eventually. Bo is still learning to wait his turn when I am handing out treats. Hets too excited and will grab one of the treats meant for his siblings. I call out their names when I am giving a treat, it seems to help him restrain his greed!
ReplyDeleteJack has learned to gobble his treats, or grab them and run around the corner. Juno would try to steal his, so he's used to this solution. Juno was top dog, and he'd let her take it if confronted. Scarlett is not, but Jack has never nipped at her. He thinks of her as his sweetie, and she can get away with being pushy. Copper Jack knows better than to try anything. Jack would go after him, teeth gnashing!
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