Monday, February 8, 2021

LESS TREATS

 I have used the dogs kibble food as treats for a long time and now they expect them for everything. I need to get them to not look for the treats so much. Even Skye who is 11 weeks is into the treats. Amazing how fast she has become a member of the pack.  When they come up early morning to have coffee with me, they immediately look for the treats. They have become too focused on the treats and not on settling down and just spending time with me. All my dogs are very food oriented and sometimes that is good but at other times it takes over and that is not good. I am going to cut them back to no treats in the morning. For now I use one small handful that I scatter and they love looking for it. For this week each morning I will cut back even more and eventually they will not look for them and just be content to be in the kitchen with me. I have done this to them and really need to retrain them to not expect a treat every morning. They get worked up and it takes awhile for them to settle down. So my goal for the end of month is to have dogs that join me for my morning coffee, who come up quietly and find their spot and lie down. I know Skye will not be able to do that yet. She has too much energy and curiosity about every thing. But she has not been getting the treats for very long and it may be easier for her to forget about them. It is amazing how fast a puppy learns.So I trained my dogs for a bad habit so I need to be very thoughtful on how I train. Retraining is not so easy. It can be done. I can't give in to their eyes or their pleading for treats. It is so hard to ignore the look on their faces, and Shelties really do know how to make you feel bad.

Everyone take care and be safe. Covid is not gone yet and we have to be respectful of everyone. 

All for now!!




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