Mr. Ed’s dog Miles is always looking for a chance to snack and since he’s a tall boy his head isn’t far from counter height making a “hit and run” easy for him. He once grabbed a banana and ate the whole thing, skin and all. So when I’m cooking dinner Miles likes to hang out around the kitchen hoping for the odd crumb to fall within his grasp. It kind of drives me nuts to have him under foot, in fact I won’t put up with it so taught him to “go to your place” and this is where he has to stay while I’m preparing a meal. The way I trained him was to back him up out of the kitchen and put him on a sit, right at the end of the island, then give him a dog cookie. As we worked on this I’d get a little further from Miles while he remained in his sit, and when he was successful he’d get another treat. Eventually he learned that “Where’s your place?” means he’d better scoot and sit as quickly as possible and he’s really pretty good at it, in fact he gets so excited he just leaps into his sit. From time to time I throw him a little tidbit so he’ll know it’s all worthwhile. His favorite t is a little piece of romaine, the crunchy part down at the bottom of the stem. Yum! Anyway, here’s Miles sitting as nice as you please, just hoping for the best:
What a good boy!!
Susan J. Edminster, Granite Falls Washington, April 28, 2009
The Four Dog Blog 