Washburn was trained initially with kibbles and with bits of treats as rewards for good behaviours when he was a pup, but as he grows and gets set in our routine, there's really no need for treats anymore. And yet, every time I go to Petsmart the lovely lady at the cash asks if she can give him a treat.
I reply politely, "No, thanks for the offer though." But truthfully I feel that he hasn't earned it. And without earning that reward, he'll learn nothing from the experience.
I didn't even think of it until it happened, but when I was at the cottage with friends and the other dog owner asked if he could give Wash a treat, I said, "Yeah, just make him earn it."
Then the other person proceeded to ask Wash to 'sit', then gave him a WHOLE dog treat. The WHOLE dog treat was what I wasn't prepared for. People often accept 'sit' as enough to warrant a reward; I don't. But when Wash gets a treat, he gets a corner of the treat. One regular sized treat can last months in our house.
After realizing my mistake, I informed the other owner that Wash normally gets a little piece of the treat, not the whole thing. We laughed it off and enjoyed the rest of our day.
The next day he asked if he would give Wash another treat, (2 treats in 2 days? Wash was in heaven) and since we were on vacation I agreed (silly me). The other dog owner remembered our conversation the day before, had Washburn `sit`, broke the treat in half and gave Wash half the treat.
That was still FAR too much in my opinion, but I couldn't help but laugh. The other dog owner was trying, and frankly, we have different rules and expectations of our dogs and ourselves as owners.
But I will never again forget to tell anyone giving treats to my dog to give him a teeny tiny piece if he earns it.
-Brandolyn
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