2 Arlo Stories

Story 1.  This morning Arlo and I are returning from our walk, and he stops to sniff some leaves.  He's a little too interested, so I ask him to "leave it," but not before he gets a big old mouthful of whatever is so interesting.  So I ask him to "drop it," and of course he chews faster because whatever he has must be a real treat.  As a last resort, I put my hands in his mouth and pull out...

CAT POOP!

I was wearing gloves, so at least it didn't get on my hands.  If someone ever makes dog treats out of cat poop, that person will be a millionaire.

Story 2.  Here's a cautionary training tale, along the lines of being careful about what you wish for.  I always admire people who can spot the potential in some quirky behavior that their dog already offers and turn that behavior into a trick that shows off their dog's personality.  I did something like that when I taught Katie "show me your toes."  One of Arlo's funny behaviors is that after he eats, he carries his dish around.  So, I thought, why not put that on cue?  We could call it "dinner time," or "do you want some more?" or maybe even "Oliver Twist." :)  So last night we did a little training--very basic, just rewarding him for looking at the dish.  After a few minutes, Katie decided she wanted to join in and then Arlo lost focus.  So we stopped, and I put the dish back in the stand that holds his food and water dishes.  Shortly thereafter, I watch as Arlo picks up his dish--not his empty food bowl that we've been playing with, but his water dish, which is full--and, well, you can probably figure out what happened after that...