Product Review: Benny Bully's dog treats

I was approached by a rep at Benny Bully's dog treats to do a review of their products. Single (or limited) ingredient freeze dried treats? Check. Made in the USA and/or Canada? Check. I was excited enough for both Elka and I (she can't read packages, obviously. She just wants you to hand over the beef liver)!

We received the Liver Chops and the Liver Plus (in banana) and we could not have been happier with them.

(picture from Benny Bully's site. Photobucket is being unkind to me)

Springtime? Is that you? Come closer so I can see.

We had two (!) days in a row that were sunny and warm. Maybe we're over the hump?

Of course, I was at work for one of these days. But the next, Elka and I went on a nice long jaunt to soak in the sun.

Reward Calmness

I was at the park today with Elka on the long line, when I saw a person approaching with her dog.  It was a yellow lab puppy, I'm not sure how old, but twenty to thirty ish pounds. They were all over the path as they approached, so I put Elka on her regular short leash to wait them out. The puppy was on a retractable leash, and I heard the mechanism squeal as he pulled out more length, even though it was "locked". Elka put herself in a down, and I stood on the long leash (still attached to her harness). She seemed less than happy with the puppy antics, and since the woman didn't seem to have full control, either due to puppy exuberance or lack of interest in doing so, I didn't think they ought to "say hello".

Command Clinic: Look at That

All right, all right. "Look at that" isn't really a command. I've heard it described as a game, which I suppose is sort of it.

"Look at that" is something you may have heard of if you're interested in clicker training and positive methods of training. It's in the book Control Unleashed, by Leslie McDevitt. It's sort of what I've done when working with Elka in respect to other dogs. At absolute perfection, I want her to just be able to ignore other dogs. At worst, I want her to be able to be calm around them. Lofty goals, right? Shoot for the stars!

A small rant.....

On our walk, Elka and I saw a person standing in the middle of the sidewalk up the block from us, talking to another person. There was a chihuahua on a retractable leash, that squared off and stared as we approached. Person 2 went back to their house (and I noticed they were holding a small dog as well). Person 1 (with chihuahua on retractable leash) turned and saw us. Her dog exploded in lunging, snarling, and barking, staring at Elka, eyes hard, ears forward. Elka looked at the dog, and looked at me. I gave her a treat. Person 1 crossed the street with her dog, still lunging and snarling, for which I am grateful. However, she did not lock the retractable leash, so she ended up on the sidewalk across the street from us, with her dog barking and snarling in the middle of the street. Elka looked at the dog, and looked at me. I gave her a treat. The woman didn't call her dog to her, but said in kind of a breezy voice "oh, now, come on, don't do that." Elka looked at the dog, and looked at me. I gave her a treat.

If our roles had been reversed, I don't doubt that the woman would have been quite upset with me. If my Doberman acted like that, barking and snarling and lunging, people would call the police. People would yell at me, and feel justified in their suspicion or hatred of Dobermans. I don't hate chihuahuas; I just hate that we encounter so many small dogs who don't appear trained in any way, and whose owners, purposefully or no, encourage these horrible behaviors.

Size should  not matter in dog behavior. Dogs should be polite, and trained, and managed. Dog owners should be conscientious. I don't care how big your dog is; if you're on the sidewalk or at the park, and your dog poops, pick it up and put it in the garbage. Don't bag it and throw the bag into the woods. Don't just leave it there. Take responsibility. These kind of behaviors make it so hard for dog owners to get allowances in towns. There are no off leash areas in my town, and few businesses that allow dogs.