Training Sammy

Big slurps to readers who visited lately!

• New Hyde Park, NY (your dog nickname shall be Heidi!)
• Utica, NY (Fluffy-kins)
  
• Foresthill, CA (Lucky)
• Flushing, Michigan (Mickey)
• Sonora, CA (Grandma!!)

It has not been easy, teaching Sammy who is the Alpha Dog here. He is always trying to challenge my authority.

This morning, he kept trying to get on the couch while I was there. It took all my will to make him get down. He would hang off the very end of the couch and watch me and pant. Cheeky.

So I got out the big guns. A ginormous rawhide chew bone that belongs to me. Mine, mine, mine. I chewed that thing while Sammy was forced to hang around.

That was supposed to teach him, except then! Big She interfered. Can you believe it? She gave Sammy a little chew bone of his own. Said she felt sorry for him.

She did not understand there was a very important lesson being taught here!

He promptly ran outside with the bone. I had to follow him and chase him, trying to take that thing away. Finally I did. Peace again.

And then you know what? More interfering! Big She did some complicated thing I couldn't follow, with the Doors. Before I knew it, Sammy was Outside with his chew bone, and I was Inside. Watching closely. But what could I do?

These humans! They don't know that they've set us back days in our training regimen.