I would never consider myself a dog trainer by any means, but being such an avid fan of Dog Whisperer, I like to pretend that I’m qualified. I thought I had my work cut out when fostering Maple, a four month old puppy, untrained, fearful and permanently situated under my kitchen table. I couldn’t be more wrong! I picked Miss Maple up on January 8th and I quickly learned what the key motivator for her was… Food!
First things first – the dreaded collar:
Maple had no problem allowing me to put the collar on her; it was when the collar on her that the problem arose. You see, the second Maple would take a step while wearing it; she would fall to the ground and try to scratch it off! A series of many full speed jaunts and various flips followed in attempts to rid herself of this “dreadful thing” around her neck. Happily, after 4 days she finally gave in! One thing down, many more to go.
I figured as a border collie/husky cross, Maple surely had the brain capabilities – but did this sweet girl have the patience? Well, it turns out that patience can be bought in the form of treats – and Maple had patience for anything – as long as there was a treat involved. Within only a few short days (and a few treats later) Maple learned to sit! I am proud to say that this little princess now sits, shakes both paws and lies down on command (I guess I have a little Dog Whisperer in me after all). Our next barrier to work on: To get this girl a loving forever home – which we were successful at as well!
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