(updated below)
The stranger kindly consents to give Sadie a little piece of salmon jerky. I place the goodie in his hand expecting him immediately to offer it to her.
But, no!
As soon as the fish hits his palm it dawns on him that he’s now in possession of something valuable; he has something that somebody else, Sadie, wants; he has the power! He clenches his fist around the fish and draws it close to his chest, staring down at Sadie considering his price. He ain’t gonna hand over that jerky and get nothin’ in return. Not on your life. You betcha!
In an instant that tiny, little piece of salmon–my salmon, the salmon I gave to him to give to Sadie with no strings attached—becomes a political Kong.
Sadie now has to do something to please Mr. Tight Fist in order to eat the treat. “Come on sweetie, jump up onto the check-out counter here and give me a high-five!”
The guy just Blagoed my dog!
You remember what Rod Blagojevich, aka “Blago,” the ex-governor of Illinois said about President Obama’s vacant senate seat: “it’s a f–king valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing…” Evidently, the same goes for salmon jerky.
Just so you know, I intervened by tossing a banquet of venison, salmon, and lamb jerky bits to Sadie just for putting up with this guy, and together we split the store after she finished scarfing them up.
Actually, none of this would matter, really, except that Sadie is shy around strangers. And, when I ask them if they would give her a treat, after assessing that Sadie is comfortable enough to likely accept it (tail high, loose body, sniffing the stranger, targeting their hand or other body parts with her nose), I mean give her the treat! That’s right. Just give it away!
I should tell you that I am an avid believer in NILIF–nothing in life is free. Sadie works for all her goodies, food and life rewards alike, most of the time. But, in these instances I simply want Sadie to learn to expect great things from strange hands.
So please, don’t Blago my dog!
UPDATE
October 9, 2009. I’ve tripped over my tongue too many time saying Blagojevich. So I’m going with ‘Blago.’ It’s Rod Blajojevich’s nickname and it packs a better punch for my purposes. So I changed the title and the text accordingly.
I HATE that!!!! I love your take on it but I absolutely LOATHE when people decide that their criteria supercedes your own criteria for your own dog!!
What a great story! I’ll bet Mr. Tight Fisted was left dazed and confused when you threw a jackpot for Sadie and got her out of there.
I was in a pet supply store several months ago and there was a darling young girl with what I would guess was about a 10 week old puppy. She walked right up to me with her hand out stretched and asked “would you like to give my puppy a treat”? I almost wept with happiness that this child (under the age of 10 years old) had obviously been educated on how to socialize her puppy appropriately.
Sadie is so lucky to have you!!
I also *hate* when strangers won’t accept a friendly request not to encourage the dog to jump on them when they ask to pet your dog. One of my dogs is a certified Therapy Dog and another is in training and I’ve spent a lot of time conditioning them to sit to be pet and not to jump/paw people (they were adults when I got them, had to extinguish the jump), only to have about half the people we meet gush and goober and pat their chests for “hugs” even after I explain that the dogs are not to jump due to patients/elderly being frail. “Oh, that’s okay, I’m not frail!” seems to tbe the typical reply. No wonder most pet dogs have such nutty behavior, since they get such mixed messages from owners.
Frustrating.
Love your blog,
Wendy
Ha! Love the analogy. Thanks for the giggle.
Must point out, though, that I’ve been equally hassled by people who were mad that I did NOT ask their dog for something before handing over a treat. Maybe we need a secret phrase or handshake to better ID fellow “free treaters” in the wilds.
In these situations, I usually CUE some sort of thing like “say hello” so that people are less likely to ask her for something else. The other saving grace is that Lilly has a hard-wired, default SIT, so strangers are usually impressed enough with that to hand over the goods.
Great blog! I appreciated how you handled the situation and that gives me a good reference for students that find themselves in the same predicament.
What was that person trying to learn from your dog? Why did he feel the need to exert his power over her? It’s so sad.
Glad your girl got her yummies.
Are we really getting bent out of shape for someone not knowing how to deal with *your* dog? Whether it’s a training dog or a very particular need for “give the dog a treat,” this isn’t something you can fairly count on other people to know – or to act on even if you’ve told them, clearly, once. They probably have years, if not decades, of experience teaching them to deal with dogs a particular way. This example in particular, of demanding a trick from the dog – the person offered the dog stimulation and play with a reward at the end. That *is not* bad dog handling — usually.
And if these humans don’t know how to handle the peculiarities of your animal as well as you want them to, it’s not their fault. It’s your responsibility, and yours alone, to make sure humans interacting with your dog know the correct way to do so – or to keep that person away from your dog.
[…] Comments « And another thing… Please Don’t Blago My Dog! […]
I have a fearful dog, and just discovered your web site – great articles! I have nodded my head so many times in the last hour as I read your articles.
I wonder if there’s middle ground between you and Deadairis. Most people are probably thrilled to give your dog a treat, but would really get a kick out of seeing a dog “earn” it. It seems unfair to ask people to help you but expect them to know *why* you’re not asking the dog to perform. Before you hand over the treat, can you come up with a quick explanation of why you just want them to deliver the treat? I also liked the idea of the owner putting something impressive on cue so the dog does it automatically? Once people understand “why”, especially when you deliver it with a smile (or “you’d really be helping me by…”), I’m sure they’d be happy to comply. Plus, with the explanation, you’re passing along a nugget of *knowledge* (possible reply from helper: “Oh, I thought ALL dogs love EVERYONE they meet! I had no idea some dogs are so afraid!”). It could open up a discussion and provide you with an opportunity to gently explain better behaviour for humans around dogs.
Hello Jen,
I’m glad you’re enjoying my posts. Thank you.
Actually, I often explain to people that Sadie is shy and just accepting a treat from a stranger is “trick” enough. And, I don’t mind when people ask Sadie to “sit” for her treat, a common request and a behavior that is nearly automatic for her. What I objected to was an over-the-top demand delivered in a way that clearly intimidated Sadie (she backed away, tail tucked)–thus, my showering her with treats to encourage sniffing and eating, both stress-reducing behaviors, and to interrupt Blago Man. The good news is that most people don’t Blago my dog when they offer her treats. But, some people do overstep what seems to me to be acceptable bounds once they’ve wrapped their paw around a scrumptious cube of freeze dried liver.
I was smiling ear to ear while reading this post…Humans are a strange species, indeed. 😉 Thanks for a great read!
Thanks, Erica for visiting.