The freezing weather is getting to me. I am not much of a beach girl, but the thought of a tropical get-away sounds more appealing with each wind chill warning and snow advisory.
The brown dawgs don’t seem to mind the weather like I do. They go out and sniff the snow or smell the air, and sometimes mess around rather than doing their “business”. I would much rather they take care of things so we can head back inside the warm house.
Thunder isn’t terrible. He can usually sense that I would rather not be outside too long and does his thing and comes right back. Truth be told, I think hanging out in the cold isn’t as appealing to him as it was in his younger days.
Freighter is a good boy and runs right out and does his business without messing around too much. That is not entirely true. He gets off course munching snow, but if I call him he comes.
And then there is Storm.
Storm has always been independent. She is independent and she can have selective hearing. “Oh is that you calling me to come in? I couldn’t hear you because I was busy sniffing and I haven’t gone yet. I just need more time. Be with you soon.”
Her whole doggie life we have worked on her getting her business done and then coming in when called. She will get the concept for a couple of weeks and then poof it is gone and we work on it all over again. I can’t tell you how many times she has had to relearn “do business” and “come when called”.
When the weather is OK Storm’s messing around is not too irritating. But when it is raining or freezing, it can make me nuts. She wanders around the yard sniffing every square inch looking for any sign of a critter and then wanders some more before finding the perfect spot to go. It can be maddening. “Just go already Storm. Just go!”
This winter for some reason I started taking a few treats outside with me when I let the dogs out. I usually let Thunder and Storm out together. Thunder does his thing right away and comes right back and we wait together for Storm. I started giving Thunder a little treat when he came back, (the Sojos baked treats I reviewed a couple of weeks ago work great). Of course Storm gets wind of treats and high-tails it over. But she has not taken care of business so I tell her: “no treats until potty”. Dutifully she marches out and does her thing and runs back. She is then rewarded with a treat and we are back in the house in no time. In fact we are out barely enough time for me to get cold.
So now I use both the treats and Thunder against her. Whichever dog gets back first gets the first treat. It’s an official race so Storm moves along quickly. She hasn’t beat Thunder to get the first treat yet but maybe someday she will.
Now why didn’t I think of this scheme years ago?
This is the Thursday Barks and Bytes Blog Hop hosted by Heart Like A Dog and 2 Brown Dawgs.
Nellie is like that too, dottle around. Glory plain doesn’t want to come in she just sits there, gambler will come running in. I have to shake the treat jar to get them in.
Hi Y’all!
First, my Human got to see the retrievers, thanks so much for tellin’ her.
Second, when the weather is nasty, which it can be, even here in the relatively warm southeast, I always beat my Human back to the door.
I take care of business pretty quickly. Although sometimes I have to run a few wind sprints to get the system movin’, especially in the morning early. I’ll be 9 next month and I still get a treat as soon as I finish and return to her.
Y’all come on by,
Hawk aka BrownDog
I always have a treat in my pocket. I would turn into a snowman till easy comes in … when it rains, he goes out and waits under a pine till it stopps… or till i pick him up with an umbrella :o)
We do our business on walks. Bailie and I enjoy the super cold walks, but we are fast moving and love to race and run along with Mom on a short below zero walk. Katie, on the other paw, takes her sweet time because she is slow these days, but when it is really cold and Mom starts to freeze, she seems to want to stay out even longer and not do her business. It is frustrating for Mom. Can’t bring treats along as it is too cold to take the gloves off and find a treat in a pocket.
LOL treats unfortunately never work here if there are squirrels about. Have a tremendous Thursday.
Best wishes Molly
Good plan. Luckily I don’t have to combat the weather too often and I must say our dog door is a lifesaver.
Phoebe’s most irritating ploy is to sit at the door and whine like her bladder is bursting. When we take her out, all she actually wants to do is play in the snow.
LOL that is Storm too! Must be a girl thing.
That’s a great idea! Daisy doesn’t like any extreme temps, but at least she’ll go out during these frigid days, do her business, and then she pulls to get right back in. But on extremely hot – and especially humid – summer days, as soon as we open the door and she feels that blast of heat, she plops down in the open doorway and refuses to go out at all. I’ll take her winter behavior any day!
Perhaps, when Strom is 11 plus, she will give this up! Ask Macha, yes, it has taken this long and now we have a new Miss Independent, “Erynn, what’s Mommy got?” Flies to the door.
A little pawsitive reenforcement goes a long way! I go and do my business right away cause I’ve come to associate it with treats, too! That said, I hate the cold and wet as much as you do. Sometime I refuse to even go out to the bathroom if it is snowing or raining! *wags* – Gilligan from WagsAhoy.com
Brilliant. Maybe I need to start doing this too. It’s not so much the ‘doing their business’ as it’s the eating what we shouldn’t. 😀
Sampson is a picky pottier. i can’t tell you how many times he will look like he’s going to go while on a walk, but then think he sees or hears something and stops. It is frustrating. The good thing in I can leave him outside and he will go and then I can go back out and pick it up. This works now because they only have a small potty area, I have no idea how it will work when the snow is gone. 🙁
You’re brilliant! Chewy does the same thing and it drives me NUTS. I use Jones’ taffies and jerkies and whisper TREAT, and he comes running.
Zoe does the same thing and it drives me insane!! I’m so glad I’m not alone! She has even learned to “fake pee” she will squat but not pee if I tell her “go potty”.
Oh man she better not tell Storm that one!
Sounds just like Callie! Especially the selective hearing! But, this cold snap we’re having is really bothering her so I’m trying to be a little more patient. It’s tough trying to squat when your hip is bothering you. But, her independent spirit is part of why I love her so much.
We are constantly having to think of ways to outsmart our dogs, aren’t we? Good job in coming up with a plan that worked. We’re lucky to have a fenced in yard so we don’t always have to go out with the dogs. We’ve had to call Sheba in many times though, because with the fur on her side mostly shaved off I worry about it being too cold for her! Cricket isn’t really liking the extreme cold this year, so she comes in pretty quickly and so does Luke.
Good thinking Mom sounds like you have things moving faster in this freezing COLD. Unfortunately Aspen wants to stay out and play so we’re not making it back so quickly 🙁
Pretty tricky! I’ve noticed that Sophie doesn’t like staying out in the cold much anymore in spite of her heavy coat.
Well as you know, my huskies just LOVE the snow, but lately the weather has been so cold that it hurts their paws, so they are not too happy at the moment!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
There are some days where I get extremely frustrated waiting on Laika… I know she has to go, yet she needs to do as Storm does and track every little single thing she picks up. It only bothers me when it’s freezing or raining, luckily it’s usually not too bad. Even if Laika will only be competing with herself I’m going to try the trick idea – the way to her heart is also through her stomach.