Category: Fun Stuff ¤
  Author: Susan Fraser ¤
   Title: 101 Things To To With a Dog IN a Box ¤

Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1998 23:08:18 EST

Sez Andrea: 
<< **Susan, I remember that someone else had asked for "resting" c/t and I thought
of you but I had not kept any of those posts.  Maybe a recap of what you did with
Shammie might be enjoyed (please pretty please..... G) >>

Well, since you said pretty please... <g>

First, I took the Rx for crate rest to mean "lying down" rest. So I put a mattress
on the floor next to the crate and when Shammie was awake, I tried to be on the
mattress with her. She had already learned "down" so she got lots of c/t's for
just staying in a down. Now remember too that she was just 3 months old, so some
of these games might be too juvenile...

We played a lot of "mouse under here" where I put my hand under a towel and
scritched and moved it around by her front feet, and she would bat at it with her
front paws. Then I would put a sheet or towel over her, and tickle her. And I would
hide a treat or toy under a towel and she learned to nose under it. That progressed
to treats under empty cans, even sliding the cans around - "guess which can"?

I stuffed torn strips of an old sheet in a FisherPrice plastic ball with holes and
she would puuullllll the strips out. (Again, again, and again!! :)) I also would
leave a tail of a strip dangling thru the door in the crate, and she would pull it
in there, too. I let her shred a few pages of the newspaper every day (probably not
the best idea <g>).

And she got lots of ice cubes (beef, chicken, even fruit), carrots, broccoli, hooves,
real bones, and STUFFED Kongs (my husband said that HE was tempted to lick the
stuffing out a couple of times! LOL!), etc. Also drill holes in Nylabones and fill
with cheese, pate', etc.

As far as teaching with the clicker, she learned to put her paws over her nose
("Shame, shame!"), Hold (she's a retriever!), and touch her nose to the correct
one out of three toys in front of her when I said it's name.

And then there's the Fisher Price crib toy. We spent a LOT of time with the Farmer's
Pop-up Barn. When she pushed the round thing (with her nose) the chicken popped up.
She used a paw to slide a bar, and that popped up the cow. Also a dial for the farmer
and a lever for the sheep.

The chicken was her favorite, and self-rewarded, as it honked and popped up whether
she got a treat or not. (Now, it's a cute party trick for little kids, who get more
of a kick out of her getting it WRONG - I say "Where's the cow?", she bonks the
chicken, and they say "That's not the *cow*, Shammie, that's the *chicken*!!"
Over and over...:->)

I also taught her "speak" and "quiet". And we watched T.V. shows with animal sounds.
And she got brushed with one of those hand mits, and learned about brushing teeth.
Did I mention belly rubs and aroma therapy?

She had vet's permission to go out to potty on a leash. He never said she had to
come right back in....<g>. So we sat in the yard and tore up leaves and pine cones
and made cloud pictures pretty often, too. And there were the car rides in suckerdaddy's
arms...

Oh, and she had a stuffed bear almost as big as she was, that she took out a lot of
aggressions on. It's name was "Omega Bear". :) (We're on about the 5th generation
'Mega now...)

I'm sure there's more, but the bottom line is that this doesn't have to be such a
bummer for you *or* the dog. We both got frustrated, but really, having a dog lying
down and looking to you for entertainment is an incredible bonding experience. 

My biggest problem was keeping the OTHER dog from going nuts!!