Hard Headed Little Dog

I’m not even sure the word I should use to describe Oscar. He is definitely hard headed. He’s definitely determined. He will not back down. I was telling Vince that sometimes I think he’s so smart but I think he’s just smarter than I am.

Our neighbor, who is probably a disciplinarian in all aspects of his life and I am not . . but his dog listens and minds and he never has to say anything twice to her. One day I said “I hope some day my dog will mind like yours does.” He told me to keep treats in my pocket, keep Oscar tethered to me and constantly say “Come” and as he comes, give him a treat. We did that and it’s worked great. But . . now I will say “Come”. He gets just close enough, stops and waits for me to stick my hand in my pocket. Once he knows there’s a treat, he will come but if there’s no treat, nope . . not coming.

We’ve been working on “Drop It” because he wants to bring every leaf and every stick inside. Now he’s learned . . when I say “Drop It” now, he will drop whatever he has in his mouth, but he will stand there waiting to see if he’s getting a treat. If there’s no treat, he picks up the leaf or stick and starts running with it again.

He is such a handful! But he’s so fun and he keeps us laughing. We needed him in our lives.

He tells us by rattling the gate when he has to go outside and he is 100% good about that. No accidents in the house except when I was in Branson he had one. I think Vince wasn’t use to listening for the gate to rattle but that wasn’t anyone’s fault. So long as we’re aware of what he’s doing and we listen for him to tell us he has to go out, he’s good. I can take about anything else he does so long as there’s no using the bathroom in the house.