HI CIndy,

Cindy Haglund wrote in a message to Richard Webb:

CH>  Glad you noted my typo :) "Wouldn't: is what I meant. It's not that
CH> the dog is being 'bad' he's simply acting on instinct. To get the
CH> item awya from the dog, you have to think, rather than act on
CH> instinct which would be to get angry and you'd end up getting bit.
iF nothing else, I offer a trade.  Something she can have for the item she
can't. Also reinforces the (pick up dropped objects for mommy) thing.
SOMetimes she'll bring me a found object just in hopes of getting a trade
for a special treat. Dropped my braille stylus one day when sorting through
my belly bag and the darned thing's round, so it rolled, and it didn't
obunce as usual. she found it a day or so later and brought it to me.

Just glad my computer didn't go down while running a radio net . 
WOUld have been up proverbial estuary without means of propulsion without a
way to write .

 RW> Schatze could do that right now.  Just in the last few months I've
 RW> quit playing tug-of-war with her, because I"m no longer sure I could
 RW> win.  SHe does like a bulldog, the shaking the head back and forth,

CH> Yup. I dogsat a little English bulldog. He is a sweet tempered
CH> little dog. But I don't think he knows how strong he is. He'd bring
CH> me his toy to toss, and I'd get him to Drop it because if you grab
CH> it he'll want to play shake your arm off  ...

Stepdaughter had a little bulldog mix.  She was a sweet dispositioned
animal. THink you remember some of the stories of my unwanted menagerine
last summer. fOr awhile there it seemed I was unwillingly becoming a refuge
for unwanted neglected dogs. I started calling little bulldog mix
"chicken dog" because when she was a puppy she'd cluck like a
chicken when I picked up her to pet her. "CHicken dog" as
actually nobody's dog.  NEighbor fed her sort of, wife and I were on the
road too much and we had Schatze. THe lab mix that was part of the problem
last summer ended up dying of some disease or other, he was another stray
ended up in neighbor's custody. IT was about that time that if you recall
neighbor started communicating with me again and I was able to get a few
things through to him. WE ended up doing some spraying in tandem to control
fleas and other parasites, etc.

CHicken dog ended up some larger animal's dinner out in the woods one
night.  I was sitting at my desk when I heard her barking and giving chase
to something, then I heard her cry, and when going through the woods later
never found the body. THere are or were rumors of a bobcat or two in the
woods around there, and rumblings re: other large predators. I think if
there were they were displaced from other habitat when new housing
developments went in, and our landlord's place had readily available water
and lots of woodland. I noted my last year or so there no rabbits or other
small ground dwelling wildlife.

CH>  Can you take him to a dog park? There's more of them now than ever.
CH> Some better than others. I'm still investigating the Orlando area.
CH> My daughter takes her little poodle/shih tzu to a dog park near her.
CH> He has the best time ever . Several other dogs his size and breed to
CH> play with. The small dog area is separated from the large dog areas,
CH> and it's in a wooded area. Not too close to the main road.
I've got to investigate parks here in this little town.  wHEre we lived
before we were only about 15 miles from a nice dog park in the burbs of
Memphis.  THis is small town though, and haven't found a good park of any
kind yet. THis neighborhood's not real good for that either, dead end
street, housing fairly close together. Dead end street we live on joins a
busy highway.  Best we do is a 50 ft. tether in back yard and throw the
dumbbell, or from one end of the house to the other. Still investigating
good options where we can go with her for some good off leash run and play
time.

CH> On a walk one time somebody threw something out the window of their
CH> passing car. I look down and Patches had picked it up. A slice of
CH> pizza!!! I kid you not. I did take it away and he was fine by that.

 RW> BUddy was a pizza hound.  BOth my ROtts have enjoyed pizza as well. 
 RW> IN fact, as we speak mama's getting Schatze the leftover spaghetti
 RW> .

CH>  Dogs will eat just about anything the same way people will. They
CH> don't always know better, just like people. Do you know if there's
CH> any info on dog's tastebuds? I wonder ! Hmm. A google challenge !
CH>  

WOuld be interesting.  Can't do google here, but I'm sure somebody'll take
you up on that . we know taste is close kin to smell, and dogs
live by their noses.

Regards,
           Richard
--- timEd 1.10.y2k+