Saturday 3rd September 2011 – Assertiveness training for dogs

I have checked the hedgehog house and so far we don’t have a hedgehog. The food is untouched. The squirrels haven’t found their feeder, despite the signposts and we have moved the ladybird house to the herb garden as they seem to like being there. There are plenty of birds eating the food that I am not being allowed to get to, so I can always watch them while jealously drooling over their food.

At the moment I am having no luck with food at all. The bird food has been cordoned off so that I can’t get to it. When I have my main food Megan seems to think she should get in on the act and comes charging after mine when she has finished hers. If I am still by the bowl she has a go at me, so I jump on the chair and cower. Then last night we were given a chew and as Shadow didn’t have one she launched herself at me. I was really very distressed. In the end none of us had chews and that wasn’t fair. Now I feel I have to ask permission before I eat anything. My Mistress says I should assert myself but to be honest I just wasn’t born that way. Do you think there are assertiveness training courses for dogs to go on? Humans can go on all sorts of courses like that. There really ought to be some for us dogs. I need to know how to get my point across without having to be too forceful. I don’t want to have to nip them or growl, I just want to be able to eat my food in peace and quiet. Is it really too much for a boy to ask? I can’t even set them up as a new line of business until someone teaches me what to do. Maybe I should get the girls to lead the classes and just make some money out of their abilities.

Alfie Dog with a little help from Rosemary J Kind alfie@alfiedog.me.uk

Alfie’s Diary – the Book is available at Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00583ZGSA