Feeding Rituals and Funny Moments

In fact, I was downloading photos thinking I had the whole story and was laughing at River's face in one of the photos. I called her but she didn't show up. When I got up to see what she was doing, I saw this sight - two sets of ears in my little kitchen that overlooks the living room (it used to be the Minister's pulpit in this old, renovated church, so is up on a stage!) - -

- - and I HAD to quickly grab the memory card from my computer to take a few more pictures. The dogs were saying "This story is not finished until we get our cookies!"

Ever since River was a puppy, she has been rewarded with a cookie for finishing her dinner because she is often a picky eater. It is now part of the household culture, and tonight I laughed because clearly Caden is in on it. I took this picture tonight. You can see that she is very serious about this step in the feeding process. She just finishes eating, and heads over for the next phase.

The above photo is a flashback to Caden's predecessor, Thorn (top left), Shaman, River, Ted and Jet in my old kitchen (in Thunder Bay). Funny how dogs pass on traditions too! This photo was taken in November, 2007, a month before Thorn died from Cancer.

And by the way, Jet and Ted eat in crates, but I always "deliver" cookies to them too, guilted into it by their glares as the others chew joyfully.

So here is where our story really begins. On the weekend at the herding lesson with Scott Glen, people were mentioning chicken hearts and gizzards as great additions to kibble. I picked some up today and lightly heated them. The dogs gathered around, so I took out a heart and offered it to Caden. He had no idea what to make of it! He gingerly carried it to the rug and studied it from several angles.

Shaman couldn't stand it! He might be 11 years old, but he has never been a shrinking violet. He decided he would simply walk in and take it.


This shows how sweet natured Caden is. His face was all wrinkled as he watched Shaman eat it. Often Caden "muzzle licks" Shaman, crouching down and licking Shaman's face. Shaman has always been a "top dog" - very sure of himself. He has his ups and downs now with age and because of cancerous lesions that cause him trouble from time to time, so I love to see him have these moments -- he is my "bad boy." Below it is like Caden is saying "wow, my hero!"


On to feeding. Every night I feed the dogs in the exact same order. Ted (because he can't wait); Jet (because her crate is beside Ted's); River; Shaman and finally Caden. I used to feed Caden first but now that he is a year old, we are using feeding time for a bit of training.

We work on Platz! That is what "we Schutzhund trainers" say instead of "down." Caden always hits the floor very quickly tail wagging. I don't say "stay" because telling him to Platz means stay put until you get another command. It is very similar to telling my Border Collies to "Lie Down" - you don't say stay. Lie Down means lie down! (Please refer to my post last weekend where I swore this lesson about lie down has finally sunk in...) At least, at this stage in our practice it means lie down, but I digress...


By the way, this is the photo that made me crack up - look at River's face! I think she is laughing... (see the very bottom of this post for my evidence...)

This is funny too - Caden's eyes are closed. I don't know if he is pretending there are no chicken hearts in there, or if it means he likes it! In the photo below, he does look a little doubtful from how he is carrying his ears. Usually I add ground beef to their food (half cooked) so I guess this was something different!

The other thing we work on when he is lying down is "quiet..." Because Caden is verrrrry vocal. He used to lie down and bark at me. I have to have patience and wait him out, so that he doesn't get what he wants until he is quiet. Now he knows and he waits eagerly. I always make him wait for a moment, and then put his dish down - trying very hard not to have a pattern or give him any cues.



I thought that was the end of the story but of course, I forgot cookie-time. Caden backed up for the second photo to look at the camera.


And Shaman doesn't miss cookie time either. I love River's ear at attention in the foreground!

You'll have to trust me that Jet and Ted got their cookies too!

PS

River's "laughing" face...