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Location: East Midlands, UK
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 8,775
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I hope you're not comparing my beloved Hal to rats, Tassle !!
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Its a primary reinforcer and was often used with lab rats during experiments "
A Love Rat maybe !! Like Hewitt !! Lol !!
I personally just do not buy into the "reward" thing, I really don't. We'll have to meet up some time and I will show you Tai, how happy he is just to please me for no better reason than because he WANTS to ! His pat on the head, or a Good Dog, is praise enough ... honest injun !!
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And.....I wish I still had the rose tinted glasses - but I am off to see someone with a ex herding BC who has just bitten a jogger, sadly this is not the first case like this I will have dealt with. I think the glasses broke a long time ago "
I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but one of my pet hates are those horrid smug bloody THIN joggers, striding out on their perfectly formed muscly legs doing something that I was NEVER built for, even in my thin days (well padded on the upper half of my body if you get my drift !). Such is my jealousy, that I would positively HEAP titbits on the naughty BC and do everything I could to encourage his herding tendencies when presented with a fit jogger !!
However, joking apart, that is very bad advice, and not at all fair on the dog. Having been chased by a fair few farm collies in my time on horseback, and having had to cope with trying to control a maddened and bolting horse, it is not at all funny. I've been bitten too by more than one collie in my time, and my gosh they do nip hard.
As far as my reward system goes, I am always consistent ! The reason being goes back to Hal. Because he was always so damned disobedient, except for the last year of his life, it always came as such a lovely surprise when he was obedient !! Tai is a Hal look-alike, so when we took him on after Hal's untimely death, I nearly fainted every time with one word from me, he obeyed !! It still amazes me, and makes my chest swell with pride ! So you see, when I say I pat him on the head, I am being very economical with the truth for fear of boring everyone ! It goes something like this :
"Good boy Tai Tai, Good boy !! You are Nikki's Very Good Boy ! Oh yes you are !!" All the while the dog is being ruffled on the ears and his ribcage, something he loves. OH says I'll make the dog as daft as myself, but although Hal would never have tolerated such treatment, Tai adores it. This is his praise, his reward, he needs no more.
Should the day dawn when this isn't enough, then I will need to think again, but for now he is so happy to be with us, I think that is enough reward in itself. It has to be borne in mind too Tassle, that he is a rescue dog, not because he was being cruelly treated, not at all, but his previous owner could not give him the life he needed because he had to go out to work and Tai could not stand being left Home Alone. Now, to Tai it could be that all the reward he needs is to continue to live with us for the rest of his days being spoiled rotten, two long walks at least twice a day, regular bike rides, fantastic food and a lovely house and countryside to live in !