Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Back to School

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!



33 comments:

  1. Wow! What a great class on treats! :)

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  2. OMD!! That was the most pawsome class!! AND did you see how well be pawticipated even though we are distance ed learners!? Mom is just thrilled with us - thank you!!

    Wally & Sammy

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  3. Pawsome class! We learned so much! We will definitely try out some of the techniques mentioned to try to get more treats. You were so right, Lass-C should have followed thru with a sad eye puppy dog face to earn some bonus treats after Ben-G stole a treat that was unguarded! You are a gr-8 (great) teacher!

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  4. Hmmm... Very informative... Floyd might need to school the humans on the 1-2-1 principle... Why, just today I had a b-a-t-h, and got treats for... sort of complying... Floyd missed out... hmmm...

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  5. OMD that was so informative. I learned so much and thank you. I hope you liked the apple I brought you. Thanks for mentioning my pizza truck, I am off to work it and your order will be ready and we do have delivery, just call me on my paw held and I will run it right over.

    Loveys Sasha

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  6. Great class and we love the idea of dropped treats are in the free zone. Gives me permission to snatch then. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  7. Are sausages treats or part of a well balanced diet ?

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  8. What a stimulating class, and so very instructive. I have learned so much, and I just can't wait to get home and read up on all those fascinating sounding references...
    Toodle pip!
    Bertie (practising 'sad eyes', never up to now a strong point).

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  9. Oh thank dog squirrels is treats...mum tried to tells me they was banned in da US as treats. I knews it was hog wash.
    I is still not quite understandin dis waitin' fur treats though.

    Can I get a little help withs dis book bag, it's like really really heavy?

    Puddles

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  10. Great Class, treats are our speciality, but we did learn some new stuff and took notes to take home in our new back packs. The tea was something new, will get Mom to make us some during the winter in lieu (Dictionary Needed) of coffee. Never tried the team staring, thanks Dougall & Floyd for the demo!

    Your Furends
    Susie & Bites

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  11. So much information. I need to find a sibling to help me out in getting treats. But, I still think Sarge has crabs! I can excell in the world of treat manipulation now. Thanks for explaining every detail.
    Thanks for being a friend
    Sweet William The Scot

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  12. You can forget about Sasha's pizza truck. I found it, therefore it was mine. It was my responsibility to eat all the pizza. I didn't have to share-it was a "must be present to win" thing.

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  13. TEA.... We LOVE TEA... OH OK... back to the class...
    NOW THIS IS just a BRILLIANT Class!! EACH ONE EATS ONE!!! THAT is a SUPER SLOGAN. BRILLIANT I say!! I LOVE the SOUND of it.. EACH ONE EATS ONE. I gotta make SURE that mom and dad get this pawt DOWN PAT!!
    FABULOUS CLASS. LOVED EVERY BIT (or BITE) of it. You girrrrls are SUPER TEACHERS!!!
    THANK YOU!!!! And thanks to all who shared their pictures . VERY GOOD VISUAL AIDS.
    Pee S... thanks fur not making us take notes. I could NEVER have written everythingy down... Esp. since we didn't seem to have any PENCILS. hehehe

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  14. Very informative lesson, thank you, we took lots of notes!

    Wyatt and Stanzie

    P.S. Love your packs, Sarge really captured your passions!

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  15. Ha-ha! I wish we could take this class everyday!

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  16. What a great lesson. Nina is an only dog now, but we always abide by the each on eats one when we are a multiple dog household.

    Cindy

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  17. What a great, informative class! Also, carrots that are stuck into snowman's heads - are those illicit treats or are they in the "free zone"?

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  18. Wow, what a great class! Unfortunately, I do have the crabby girls and the jokes are almost constant. BOL at least I have a sense of humor about it, but the girls never think it's funny. They're ready to give a real pinch! BWAR HAR HAR Great treat info, but the mathmaticals are really hard. After a couple of tricks, I just sit there and eventually the peeps give in and treat me anyway...I'm totally patient for a snack. Thanks for the great info!
    Grr and Woof,
    Sarge, Super-Student

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  19. Our meanie Mom agrees with the rule that if one dog gets a treat, everyone gets one, BUT if someone can't have a treat because of sickness or an upcoming vet visit, then nobody can have one. We ask you, is that fair?
    Morgan, Sebastian and the Porties

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  20. We snuck in the back of the classroom and had a blast listening and learning, girls. We learned so much!

    Love ya lots,
    Mitch and Molly

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  21. I didnt sign up earlier but what a great class on treats. I think that I should go and get a treat right now!! Thanks for the info.

    wags
    Jazzi and Addi

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  22. We feel bad dat we wasn't able to take your class :( It sure looks like it was fun!

    Woofs and Licks,
    Maggie Mae and Max

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  23. Oh this was just pawsome, girls! I learned so much!
    Nola

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  24. Well this class has cured me of my fear of Math! You made it fun and easy to learn.
    Hugs and thanks for visiting our class too
    Madi and mom

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  25. I couldn't pay attention b/c I was too busy thinking of treats.

    I can't believe Puddles was late to your class too. She needs detention.

    Nora

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  26. So in the end, 1 + 1 = 3 right? Because 3 treats are way better than 2! Yup, that's my story. Thanks for the great lessons.

    Hugs,
    Lily Belle & Muffin

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  27. BOL, yes we are here and learned everything. What a fun day. Thanks guys!!
    Benny & Lily

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  28. I SO enjoyed this class through distance learning!

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  29. Shhhh...don't leak this out but we downloaded a free video of this from one of those torrent sites! Awesome!
    Can we formally enroll as distant learners?

    Wags, Ginger,Buddy n Shadow

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  30. What a fun class--I even learned something and it's hard to teach an old dog a new trick! Will you be offering this class next semester? I think Todd might like to enroll! :-)!!!!!

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  31. That was such a fun class girls!!! I was tardy comin' in, so I am late writin' this, sorry. I don't get detention, do I???

    Kisses,

    Ruby

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