Red and Rover by Brian Basset for June 20, 2021

The magic word

Molly could be a quarter mile away at the creek with the neighboring kids, and I could open the fridge and pull out cheese. Boom, there she was. I could think “cheese” really hard. Boom, there she was. Dangest thing I’ve ever experienced. A cheese psychic.

My cats are like that , hard to find unless I open their bag of cat treats or they hear the can opener in the kitchen in hopes of some tuna water.

Rover, Rover, dear Rover, where are you? Come, come! Treat is the helping hand!!

Some people only seem respond when mealtime is announced, too.

Well, why didn’t you say so, Red?!

Know your pet.

That brief moment, that feels like eternity, when you don’t know where your quadra ped pal is. Worst feeling ever!

Works every time! Even Tigger, my cat, comes at the mere mention…

For me it’s “ Dinner.”

Awwww.

Like me with ice cream…

Works every time.

Works every time! I get my Lizzie in from the backyard the same way!

A treat will do it

It’s all about priorities!

I was getting scared that it might be a long running story about him truly being lost

Exactly like my cat!

Not very well trained – I only need to open the cabinet door where I keep the Beggin’ Strips; no words necessary.

My dog was trained as a hunter and knew no words when I got her as an adult. I can say all the food words in front of her and get zero response unless it’s the right time for a meal or a snack. But if I pick up a box of treats and shake it, I suspect she would come running asap. However, she is never, ever allowed loose outside, and I have no fence. Luckily she doesn’t try to run out the door when it’s opened. She is actually trained and certified as a therapy dog, and that wasn’t easy to do without words, but we did it. Hand signals, body language, that sort of thing. We are a great team. She responds well to Alexa saying “time for treat” at 7p, but I had to respond to the voice first, and dog picked up on my cue of getting up and getting the treat. I think it’s the beep that actually does the job.

It’s like a dog who goes a period of time without play. They don’t tend to get it back and will look at you like you are nuts if you try to play with the dog after they don’t get any play.

Humans can be so hard to train.

That works with my cats, too.

As a kid, I called for my cat to come downstairs for her dinner. When she didn’t respond to her name, I added, “Chicken!” That did it. But for some reason, it never worked again. Maybe the chicken didn’t taste so good that time.

Well, that did the trick.

Oh, this is SO original!! Can you say Three Stooges?!

Open a bag near the dogs! It could be any bag!

What? Rover isn’t wagging his tail?