Small, soft and smelly

Last night was the first evening of the new training session for the North Shore Dog Training Club. Since no one will take the job of registrar away from me, after the first class started I was standing around, waiting for my second bout of chaotic registration to begin.

I was watching the beginner dogs acting stunned about having to behave themselves and happened to catch some of the lecture from this session's instructor, Colleen. She was explaining that we use positive reinforcement - when the dog does what we want, Spot get a treat. Colleen said that the ideal treats are:

1. Small - so our dogs don't get fat
2. Soft - so our dogs don't have to stop to crunch them up and
3. Smelly - so our dogs really, really want them.

I'd never heard it put like that before - but it's really an excellent description. Later, when the second hour classes were about to start, Chris and her Weimeraner Emma came in. We were chatting for a bit and Emma seemed unusually interested in her treat pouch. It was filled with tiny shrimp! Chris is brilliant. Talk about the perfect 1,2,3 punch!