Furry Fridays: The Domestic Geek

Brought to you by Steph and Becky!
Here's Brittany from The Domestic Geek with her fur love Buddy!

I'm Brittany from The Domestic Geek blog, I'm here for Furry Fridays to talk about my dog Buddy! I met Buddy almost 5 years ago, he greeted me at the door of his owner’s house. Then I met his owner, and we ended up dating and eventually getting married. I tell everyone I married him for the dog, who I met first! Buddy is a yellow lab (but he has features of a chocolate lab like the brown nose). His favorite things in the world are hunting and rawhides, although he had to retire from hunting this year, we still take him for nice hikes and of course rides! 

Posing with a fake pheasant.

I have never met another dog like him, he is the most loyal friend and so well behaved. My family members have smaller dogs, and they are always harassing Buddy. Even though he’s 4 times the size of them he will let them take toys and treats away from him, if they playfully go after him he either just lets them or tries to walk away. He is a little pushover when it comes to other dogs.

Downward Facing Dog?

 My husband trained him for hunting, and he is so well trained. My favorite trick is when we’re playing fetch in the backyard if you tell him to stay then throw the ball he will sit and stare at where you threw the ball until he has permission to grab it. You can see the determination in his eyes to go get that ball, but he doesn’t go against your command. He listens so well, we like to sit on our front porch at night when the weather is nice, and he comes out there with us. He knows he’s not allowed past the top step unless he gets permission. So he’ll watch other dogs and squirrels from his perch at the top of the step.

Swimming!

A matter of fact, one time this year I was a bad dog mom. My daughter was a newborn, so in order to get Buddy to not bark to greet guests we would open the door so he could greet them quietly from the front porch. Well, at one point we let him out and apparently we forgot to bring him back in. It was 45 minutes later that I looked out the porch and saw Buddy just hanging out on the top step looking at passing by dogs going for walks. I felt so bad, but I blame the new mom delirium. I’m pretty sure he would have barked to come in if he wasn’t enjoying himself so much. 

Playing with my daughter

My one training tip with dogs is, when you’re training them never reward them with treats! You have to reward a dog with love and attention. Scratch their ears, get down on the floor and play with them, or some other interaction if they did something good. This makes the greatest bond between you and your dog.

 

It’s the best positive reinforcement because it will always be there, you’ll always be able to pet your dog, but will you always have a treat on hand? They also appreciate it more and they won’t get unnecessarily fat (although we do still give him treats, just not based on behavior).

Brittany blogs at The Domestic Geek // Facebook // Twitter

Do you love your pet and want to be featured on Furry Fridays? Send your story of pet love, up to 5 pictures, tip about choosing a pet, how to rescue an animal or pet care tip and a link to your website/blog/etsy/twitter/facebook/etc.

Email your stuff to nericcio(at)centurylink(dot)net or bisforbeckystets(at)gmail(dot)com subject line: Furry Fridays.