mommy vs. daddy...

[Cat Denby]

so who is the "trainer" in your house? do you ever find that the other person sabotages your efforts? i love my husband, and he's the best with the dogs, like another puppy for them to play with, but as some of you know, cody is 10 months old and LOVES to steal shoes. which is a big improvement from when he was really little and used to like to attack feet and shoes and try to steal the shoes from off your feet... he doesn't attack feet anymore (well, occasionally on the beach or if you run too fast in tennis shoes, but that's another story...), but he still steals shoes. i've been trying to train him to "leave it" whenever he goes for a shoe, and it works 50% of the time, but if i'm not around to tell him to leave them alone, he'll still steal a shoe if he can find one, just to run around with (not to chew on, thank heaven). so every now and then, my husband will pull off one of his L.L. Bean slippers (the ones with all the fleece in them that look like they SHOULD be a dog toy) and just give it to cody to run around with. ARRRRRRR.... so i pulled out the squirt bottle and squirted my husband this morning rather than verbally scolding him. do you think it will work?

[Nikki lane]

Ha Ha this is brilliant ! Fingers crossed 'husband' realises his mistakes and learns from them. What are you going to use as a reward lol !
My pug Ledley is a huge fan of shoes, mostly mine, and will attatch himself to my trainer/slipper/high heel boot and ill have to attempt to walk with him stuck fast to it lol. When it gets too much ( i ignore his bad behaviour ) i loudly clap my hands, this tends to work better than NO as you can be sure when hes playful he gets selective hearing hahaha.
Thankfully like your pugs, mine doesnt chew them, he just loves them ...... the smell maybe............ lol..........

Your picture is just amazing hahahha ive shown it round my office ;)

[puglover22]

LOL they say a man can be trained in the same manner as a dog.....positive re-inforcement

[Cat Denby]

you're right, what will i use as positive reinforcement? i suppose if i want results, i probably can't say what i'll use to reward my hubby...

cody used to attack shoes when he was really little while they were still on your feet, and at first we just dragged him along with us, but thankfully he has stopped this. i'm starting to think that shoe stealing is a pug favorite, from all the replies i hear about puggy boys who nab them and run around with them like cody does. i don't really mind except when company comes, and then my visitors start chasing him around for their shoes (they also need to be squirted, since ignoring cody is the only way to get your shoe back). i'm still idealistic enough to believe i can get cody to ignore shoes. this is probably a fantasy, but i can dream, can't i?

and as you can see in the photo, my husband is just another one of the dogs, a big puppy. they love attacking him and licking him while he giggles. it's hysterical to see a 210 pound, 6 foot tall man taken down by two pugs. i love all three of my "puppies". no matter how silly they are....

[Pug Mom Claire]

Looks like your Pugs have your husband very well trained...my husband does what he calls "doggy school"...makes the dogs sit, lie down, roll over & jump through a small hula hoop...
...they all gather around him when he taps the treat can...
...my Pearl used to sit and stare at him till he would put them through their paces...all for treats, of course.
Always wondered who trained who, since HE would obey when they wanted to perform!

[Cat Denby]

@Pug Mom Claire - we both make them do tricks, and actually, daddy can make them dance, even in a synchronized little routine, which is too cute and very silly. my little old lady, cheyenne, only performs for treats, and will look at daddy with eyes that say "what's my motivation?" if he ask for tricks without treats. (they both listen to me better without food, but i guess that's because i'm meaner...) cody hasn't figured out yet when you do and don't have a treat in your fist - very handy! but generally, i think the humans around here are better trained than the pugs...

[Tinker's mom]

That's hysterical! The 2 legged one will be the hardest one to train!

[Cat Denby]

yeah, the two legged one is the only one that talks back. but he has learned to tilt his head like the pugs to try to get out of chores by being cute.

[Tinker's mom]

I have threatened to muzzle my husband but never Tinker! LOL!!!!!!!

[CountryPug]

I do most of the training, but have gotten in trouble from DH for feeding Toby at the table, but he is the one that lets him lick his ice cream stick.....so I guess it's the pot calling the kettle black