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Good Morning and welcome to Mathematics 121:  Treat to Dog Correspondence

Please SIT and STAY!  First of all I'll take the roll.

Frankie, Ernie, Bertie, Maggie Mae, Max, Sweet William, Puddles..........
Puddles....?  Has anyone seen Puddles?
Wally, Sam, Sasha, Ruby, Lily, Benson....oh, you prefer Benny...Dougall, Floyd, Nola, Lass-C, Ben-G, Molly, Mona, Weenie, The Cute Kitten, Razzy, Kepsey, Darwin, Charon and Echo...Oh, here you are Puddles...  I think there's a seat up the back.  And you can wipe those Cheeto crumbs off your mouth...........That's better.

I'd also like to welcome those students who are taking this course through Distance Education, 'The School of the Air.'

This morning we are going to investigate the basic Principles of Treats.

If you'll open your booklets to page 1, we'll find the definition of a treat'.  (You won't need to take notes--and besides Roxy chewed up all the pencils.)       Mona, will you read, please?

"A treat is anything edible other than what is considered as  normal breakfast, lunch, or dinner in your environment."  (Phydeau, Caynighn and Barkley (2001) Dogs' Digest.  Vol. 3 p. 87)

Well read.  I will add here, that we are talking about human proffered edibles called  a legitimate treat.  Can anyone tell us what kinds of treats we are talking about here?

Bones...thank you Sweet William.  Carrots, beans, yes, Wally and Sam.  Puddles....Cheetos...yes.  Pigs' ears...well done, Floyd......Roo Chews....thanks, Bella.  Yes, Benny....ice cream, Max...yes, cookies.  Chicken, tube steaks...fish skins....all good ones well done The Cute Kitten, Razzy, Kepsey, Darwin, Charon, and Echo...Now, all of these make wonderful.....Yes, Sasha..peanut butter is also one....All of these....no Ruby, we're not listing them all, just getting the idea.  Okay, I will add cheese!

Look at the picture on the next page.

Frankie and Ernie are showing us an unusual treat....green peppers, or capsicum as it's called here.  They are also demonstrating the Advanced Skill of CLOSE PROXIMITY.  Well done, boys.

Here we have Wally

And..Sammy

showing us their treats of carrots and beans.  They are demonstrating the more usual SAFE DISTANCE technique to ensure they get their treats.

Boomer, however, is demonstrating the hover-and-eat-quickly- before-someone-takes-it skill in these pictures.

Now class, can anyone explain ways in which you can score a treat? 

Maggie Mae...good one...sad eyes is very effective.  And Mona, guilt is excellent.  Yes, Bertie....when you annoy someone enough.  Certainly Weenie...when you're sick.  Very good Lily....when you obey a silly command of some human,.....Doing tricks....good point, Nola.  And definitely Molly....just being cute.

Bertie is demonstrating the correct manner in which to accept a treat from a stranger after just being so darned handsome. If you take it gently enough, you may get another.

 *   *   *   *

Teamwork is also effective.  If one of you is more talented in certain areas he or she can get the treats coming.  For instance, in our pack, Bella goes outside and torments a frog.  SHE hates the screaming sound and bribes Bella indoors with a treat....and we all get one!

This is the main PRINCIPLE of HUMAN PROFFERED TREATS.  Frankie, will you please read?

'If one dogs gets a treat, all dogs get a treat.....or Each One Eats One.'
This can be expressed as:  na = nt; where n=number, a=animals, t=treats.(Thierrier & Colley (1999) Theory of Treats, p 87)

Think about that for a minute.  If one animal is on medication, learning a new skill, has sad eyes and is receiving a treat....the others are entitled to a treat, as well.

I know some of you only dogs are probably thinking this doesn't apply to you; but this can include cat siblings, visitors, play dates....turtles, birds, guinea pigs or.....Yes, Sweet William, Sarge does have crab siblings, but he does not have CRABS.  So you don't have to giggle.

Settle down everyone. 
 Being entitled to treats equally is a RIGHT; as with all rights there are RESPONSIBILITIES.

For Instance, it is your responsibiltiy to be where the treats are given out.  And it is your responsibility to hold on to the treat or guard it.  A dropped or unguarded treat falls into the Free Zone and can be claimed by anyone.  You have the right to the treat, but the responsibility to eat it.  However by using one of the ploys techniques mentioned earlier, such as sad eyes, you may get a replacement. (Weedug and Sheppard (1987) Politics of Treats p 187)

Here we have Susie...

 And Sidebites....

illustrating their rights and responsibilities.

Any questions so far?  Yes, Puddles?  You're absolutely right, a caught squirrel is a treat...good point.

Sometimes you can catch or find a treat (called illicit treats).  In these cases, the treats are not provided by a human and, therefore, belong to the finder.  It is recommended illicit treats be consumed quickly as in most cases there WILL be human INTERVENTION.  This also applies to food that falls off a table, is dropped or unguarded.  Again, the FINDER is the WINNER.  But as stated before, sad eyes or another technique can be employed to invoke the 'Each One Eats One' principle.

Our next picture shows Lass-C and Ben-G demonstrating the 'sit and wait' game some humans favour--especially when they have the camera.  

But it should be noted that Ben-G snaffled up the original 'I' while the treats were unguarded.  And deservedly ate his reward.  Lass-C, this would have been the perfect time to use the sad-eye or cute face technique to get an extra treat.

Dougall and Floyd are also illustrating the 'sit and wait' game, but unfortunately there is no chance of stealing purloining a treat.  

They have to wait for 'thumbs'.

Before we go out for Morning Tea (this is the Australian Campus.), I'd like to recap the basic principles of treats.

When one animal receives a treat, all animals are entitled to a treat.  This is the basic 1-2-1 treat to dog correspondence.

It is your responsibility to keep the treat.

'Found' treats belong to the one who found it.

Please take your booklets home to show your peeps so they fully understand the Principles of Treats.

You may go......and judging by the way Puddles was dragging her bag.  She must have a keg!

 And don't forget Sasha's Pizza Truck!