When we first got him we spent a lot of money on toys and treats that dogs are supposed to love only to find out that, in his mind, they were simply "unacceptable". He never gave us the specific criteria to follow when purchasing treats and toys so, as I said, we wasted a lot of money on stuff he didn't like.
How do we know he doesn't like them? First of all is the look he gives us…as if he's saying, "Really? I'm supposed to chew on this fake thing?"
Then he takes the toy (often a rawhide chew toy that all OTHER dogs seem to love) and runs around the house for awhile and comes back to us with no sign of the toy or treat.
After we'd had him for a few weeks I began to realize that I was finding dog treats dropped down into our heater vents, toys in my shoe in the back of the closet, rawhide sticks "buried" in the couch or under our pillows on the bed.When we gave him an unacceptable he'd spend an amusing few minutes running around the house at a fast clip looking "for a good place" to hide his non-treasure. If we interrupted the activity in any way he'd stop, look at us….and then start all over again. Often this "perfect hiding place" is in plain site but he still thinks no one can find it.
We've discovered a half-chewed rawhide in a grandson's back pack, one "hiding" in a corner of the bathroom behind the sink and on the bookshelf in the den. If we left the things alone we'd see him walk over every once in a while, stand and look at his hidden unacceptable, and then turn and walk away. Almost as if he was saying "Yep, it's still where I hid it and yep…I still don't like it."
My good friend, Sally, just came to visit for a few days. She left Port Washington with a friend and continued her vacation driving around Lake Michigan. When she got home a week later she called me. While unpacking her suitcase she found a gift from Fenway. You guessed it - Sally is now the proud owner of an unacceptable rawhide chew. Maybe she won't have to floss for a while.
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