Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Toys

There is an enormous variety of toys available to keep our doggies amused.  You can choose from simple balls to psychologically analyzed and carefully engineered objects that are meant to be educational while keeping the dog busy for hours. The cost of these amazing things, some of which even run on batteries, with lights, sounds, action, and remote controllers, are as expensive as any educational toy you might buy for your children.  I suppose that the expense might be considered worthwhile, if they save the new sofa from becoming a pile of shredded rags…

However, my puppies are not very impressed with these things.  For them, the greatest toys are some twigs or branches they have stripped off the hedge in the garden, a big empty plastic soft drink bottle, which also makes a lovely noise when they chew on it and bat it around the yard,  an empty cardboard toilet roll which can be shredded into tiny pieces (and boy, how much more fun it is if it is a full toilet roll!).  And they are very amused by watching me pick up the pieces afterwards.  That can keep them happy for a long time, especially when they try to help.

These fancy toys that run around beeping and flashing lights and crashing into the wall are amusing for a few minutes.  But I have never really seen a dog that was interested in it for much longer – seen it, inspected it, let’s go on to something more fun that I can get my teeth into…

I haven’t found that the expensive toys are stronger or last longer than the simple things. Actually, they don’t seem to last very long at all, when a determined dog gets to work on them.  The puppies manage to take apart all the supposedly dog proof squeaky rubbery little bears, hedgehogs, and rubber chickens.  Who ever decided that these things will be of particular appeal to a dog? The thing that is of interest is the squeak they make, not what they look like. Come on, do you really think that a rubber chicken looks like a real chicken to your dog?

One of Habibi’s favorite toys is a medium sized rubber ball.  It was actually the inner part of a Kong sort of toy that was covered with supposedly indestructible canvasy  material with fringes to make it more interesting.  Within a few minutes, he stripped all the material off and shredded it.  The ball, however, is really tough – despite his most serious efforts, it remains whole and undamaged.  What Habibi really likes is that it has a squeaker inside, so as he chews on it, it squeaks.  He loves that!  He loves it so much that, at times, he feels a strong necessity to go and get it and start to squeak it when he is feeling bored – which includes the middle of the night, when there is no action going on around the house.

We all know that mothers are very geared to particular sounds, and can sleep through a bomb, but wake up immediately at a tiny whimper from one of the children.  I also have well developed selective hearing – for instance, years ago when I was working with horses, I woke up and knew something was happening because it was too quiet – and sure enough, when I went out to look, one of the horses had his foot caught in the fence and the others were all standing there silently watching him.  What is unfortunate is that this squeaky ball has the exact sound of a crying puppy.  Even though I KNOW there are no puppies around, my immediate response to hearing the ball is to leap up and look for the puppy in distress – not at all appreciated when this happens in the middle of the night.

Habibi has discovered that squeaking his ball gets a response – action!  How cool!  And he has also learned that it is a good idea to hide it somewhere so that I can’t find it when he is not playing with it, and I won’t be able to put it somewhere unreachable.

I don’t find it necessary to buy all these expensive toys for my pack.  I have found that a simple piece of rope or rag is great fun, and especially when I am on the other end holding it and wrestling with them.  Dogs don’t care if they have the most costly toys on the block.  They do care about who is having fun with them, even when it is with simple things.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Training

We all really believe that we have trained our dogs.

Habibi has decided that whenever I eat something, he also deserves to get a tidbit.  He can hear me opening the refrigerator or putting something in the micro from the midst of a deep sleep anywhere in the house.  He presents himself in front of me, eyes shining, face smiling, tail wagging eagerly.  If I am so unintelligent as to ignore him, he will run over to the refrigerator (where his favorite treats, sausage pieces, are kept), sit in front of it with his nose pointing to the door, and look back at me to be sure I am paying attention.  He may also nudge the door with his nose, if I am being particularly obtuse.  If I really try to ignore him – “Really, Habibi, you don’t need to get something every time!”, he will sit in front of me with an expression of, “Really!  How many times do I have to show you?”.  I ask him, “What?  What do you want?” He looks at me with compassion – “I know you are not very intelligent and have trouble learning things,” before going back and pointing again at the refrigerator door.  How can I refuse?

Habibi has trained me well….

He has also trained me to move over when he wants to get up next to me on the sofa.  He comes over, and gently shoves his nose under the blanket against my leg until I move to make room for him.  If I ignore him, he will simply get up and sit on my legs until I move them.  There are, after all, various training methods…

If it is time to go outside to play, he will come over and stand staring at me, tail wagging, and may also walk back an forth a few times in the direction of the door.  If I still insist on ignoring him, he will bring a toy over and drop it in my lap.  “Okay, “ I may say, “if you want to play, here we go!” and throw it for him.  Habibi looks at me with pity, and then may go over to get the toy and drop it in my lap again.  “Please pay attention,” he says, “The house is not the place for playing, we have to go OUT for that!”  Eventually, I realize what I am supposed to do, and go to open the door.

He has had a hard time training me about the meaning of barks.  Obviously I should understand that different barks mean different things – there is a bark telling me that the neighbors are out there messing with the garbage cans, there is a bark for a cat passing by the gate, another one to tell me that the other dogs are busy with something that it is important for him to check out, and a bark that says, “This is serious! Something important is happening, and you had better come and take a look!”  I am getting better at understanding, but I am sure that sometimes Habibi is close to losing patience with my learning disabilities.

I guess, to Habibi, I am reasonably well trained, but a bit stupid…

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Value

I am fed up with the people who inquire about puppies or dogs and then tell me, “Oh no, I would never pay money for a DOG!”

My dogs are priceless.  There is no way that I could set a value on them.  How can you calculate the value of a friend and companion, someone who always greets me with joy when I come home, that is always ready to go anywhere with me no matter what time it is or how the weather may be.  Someone who never complains that I haven’t been paying enough attention, or that I don’t provide a high enough standard of living.  Someone who makes me laugh, even when I was not in a laughing mood. And who listens to every word that I say without ever a bad word.

My puppies are no less precious to me, but, to my sorrow, I can’t keep them all, some of them have to go to new homes.

I am not, however, selling puppies.  I am selling the enormous amount of care, learning, and judgement involved in deciding who are to be the parents of the litter. I am selling the health examinations, genetic tests, and temperament tests to be sure that the parents are the best I can possibly find.  I am selling the top quality food and other care the mother has received all her life to put her in optimum condition for having these puppies, the special room I built so that bitches could have their puppies comfortably in the house, close to me but with enough privacy to be able to remain calm and raise happy placid puppies. I am selling all the devoted care the puppies get from the day they are born, the premium food when they start to eat, the exams to make sure they are completely healthy and strong, the vaccinations to keep them that way, the microchip so that they will never get lost, the petrol it costs when I start driving them around in the car to introduce them to new people, places, and experiences when they are old enough, so that they will easily fit into their new homes without stress and will understand that the world out there is a fun place with wonderful and exciting things happening, and many friendly people that like to pet little dogs. 

Whenever a puppy leaves here, it leaves a hole in my heart.  I watch every puppy as it grows and develops to the age when it can leave it’s mother for a  new home with the feeling that, maybe, this one should stay here.  I know that life here is the best but I can’t keep them all, and it is satisfying to have the right people come for each particular puppy, where I feel confident that they will be loved and cared for and bring happiness and companionship and live a long life together.  But I still miss each one when it goes, and the money I get is far from a fair exchange.

How can I believe that someone who is not willing to pay for the privilege of having one of these priceless puppies will then be willing to spend what is necessary to give it the best possible life – the best food, veterinary care, and living conditions – which do not come for free.

I do not wish these people ill.  I hope that their cheap dog will live a long and happy life and bring them much joy.  But I believe that you get the value that you paid for, and that you have to pay for value.  My dogs have value that is beyond anything that could be calculated in money, but to enjoy that value, I pay what is necessary to ensure that quality.  What you pay me for one of my puppies is infinitely less than the true value of the puppy, but it certainly helps to make sure that you get the value that will make the next fifteen or so years of companionship a joy.