By: D. L. Brinkley
After spending over 20 years training horses and dogs it took one recent incident to boost my self-confidence level enough to grab the claim to fame title of "Worlds Best Trainer." It all started when one of the dogs rescued a furry black and white house slipper out of the laundry pile awaiting the next empty wash cycle. Several other dogs and puppies quickly spotted an opportunity to send Mom, (me) over the edge and in less than a minute the play was afoot. Now enter Mom to see a 3 way tug of war over her slipper and the play ratio* has just gone through the roof.
With one 9 week old Havanese pup, three 6 month old Havanese pups, a year old Havanese dog and a 3 month old German Shepherd puppy with breed confusion issues the poor house shoe did not stand a chance of surviving the original rescue from the wash pile. Therefore Mom/Trainer promptly yelled at all would be 911 team members to release the object of such keen interest. Most of the four-legged offenders totally ignored the order; one had the audacity to send an "up yours" look over her shoulder. It is so nice to have irrefutable proof of how well you've trained your animals and to know that they instantly obey every order.
The order did have the effect of causing all offendng dogs to take the play onto the couch. In less than a minute the house shoe was in serious danger of becoming a permanent dog toy and it became clear that if I planned a rescue attempt it would have to be very soon. Then it struck me, reverse psychology just might work on animals. After getting their attention, I quickly explained that their new toy happened to cost $100.00 and was guaranteed to be a favorite toy for any breed of dog or puppy. No sooner were these words uttered than the house shoe was promptly dropped on the couch and all offending tag team shoe players ignored said house shoe for over 5 minutes. They even went so far as to get off the couch and walk away in disgust. The fun had just gone out of that moment.
Naturally most pet owners, no matter the breed or species of animal knows that the more expensive the toy the less likely the pet will play with that item. I feel certain that this one event has now put me strongly in the running for "The World's Best Trainer" title or it proves beyond a doubt who rules this house.
*To find the play ratio of any item or toy simply use the following formula.
Play ratio - take item(s) add one or more dogs or puppies, multiply by a frantic human trying to retrieve said item(s) equals PLAY RATIO. No Algebra needed for this equation.