Andrews Family

We’ve gotten into the habit of giving Red, our trusty Australian shepherd, a treat before we leave the house and leave her alone inside. We thought it would be a good routine to get into to help her get over any initial anxiety of getting left home alone. Apparently it worked, because we don’t think twice about leaving her for several hours anymore and when we get home she is usually sleeping in the back bedroom and comes staggering out after we’ve been home a while. But we’ve continued to give her a treat when we leave, so she likes to see us go.

We keep the milkbone box in the cupboard under the kitchen sink. You can even just open the cupboard and tell her to get a treat and she’ll grab one (or two) out the box so you don’t have to bend over. Apparently when we left for mass this morning I didn’t get the cupboard shut completely, because when we got home Jenny found the milkbone box in the middle of the kitchen. It was unharmed, but it was a little light. Apparently the temptation was too great even for Red.

The funny thing is that not only did she eat her fill of milkbones at the time, she also had the foresight to stash some around the house because I found her eating one this evening. It won’t be long before she starts teaching Livy all of her "tricks".