Aristotle is thinking of setting up training courses in negotiation skills for dogs. He’s got it down to a fine art and wonders if other dogs might benefit from his experience. He says the key to a good negotiation is not to want the thing you are negotiating for too much, or at least not to show how much you want it. For most of us, therein lies the problem. He has learnt that when offered a treat to do something he doesn’t have to say yes. For me, I want the food so much I don’t even think there might be an alternative. That is not the case for Aristotle. Our Mistress wanted him to go into his crate (or hutch as she calls it) while the Tesco’s shopping arrived. Ari’s response was to ask to see the treat that was being offered. When our Mistress showed him three measly pieces of our normal food he looked at her, put his head on side and said ‘You’ve got to be able to do better than that.’ He then turned on his heal and started walking away from the room. It worked, she immediately tried a bone biscuit from the Wainwright’s bag. I admired his nerve. I’d have been worried the offer would have been taken off the table, but he was prepared to walk away unless the offer was improved and improved it was! Our Mistress is going to have to up her game if she is going to outsmart ‘wonder dog’, either that or buy more appetising treats all the time!
I had a blood test yesterday and I was very brave. This is worth making a note of since I used to panic at the sight of the needle and would always cry when it actually came anywhere near me. Yesterday, ok so I cowered and tried to hide, but I didn’t cry at all. I think I might be getting the hang of it.
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