ShellyF Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 I thought you guys might like to know a rather odd but funny development in our house with our 5.5 month old pup Merlin. A while back we bought him a squeaky toy pig. We thought he would like it as he likes his squeaky blue bear and even has little conversations with it haha! Anyway, he was very wary of this pig and would give it a wide berth. We left it on the floor for a few days and thought he would come to like it but he never did. One day he was chewing the threads under a chair and as an experiment I moved the pig under the chair. He left the threads and hasn’t tried to chew them since (even though the pig is no longer there and he is happy to go under the chair). Well we repeated this for other things and it worked so well we named the pig the Behaviour Pig. Please bear in mind our pup is not shaking or whining or distressed. He just defers to the pig. We then started saying ‘Piggy says no’ when We caught him doing something he shouldn’t and just moved (without sweaking it) the pig into position. The pig never gets put near his food or water or crate. It’s worked so well that we have two pigs now! And we’re just at the stage where if we say ‘Piggy says no’, he will often stop his misbehaving - even if the pig isn’t there! Today we had two visitors. One is allergic to dogs and one is recovering from an op. They wanted to stroke Merlin but couldn’t cope with him getting too close. Our visitors sat on the sofa and each had a piggy on their lap. Merlin cautiously moved toward them for a stroke but was very gentle. We are actually training him to be like this even without the pigs in place but we used the pigs because we couldn’t risk any accidental enthusiasm from Merlin and they so wanted to stroke him. It worked like a treat. We are careful not to overdo it because Merlin needs to behave without the pigs but as an aid for us to help identify areas in the house that Merlin needs to be wary of, it works well. This is piggy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Fan Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Great example of paying close attention to your pup and not being afraid to try something a little different to effectively communicate with him. Pretty funny stuff too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted September 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smalahundur Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 I agree with Merlin. That is one scary pig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandy1961 Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 I also agree, that is a scary looking pig. With our Harry who is 18 weeks old, we only have to pick up the car keys and he is a good as gold. Harry does not like car journeys, but is very, very, slowly improving, he now just lays down and dribbles constantly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jami74 Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 That is great! We don't have anything like piggy but I love reading your posts because it seems so many of the things you describe Merlin do, our boy does too. Chewing the threads under the sofa and chairs! We had that behaviour too I didn't even know there were threads under our furniture until we got a puppy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted September 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Lol - it’s a whole different world under chairs and in the depths of sofas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brihop Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Eureka!! I wondered why my 5 month old, Dudley, keeps putting his head under my chair. Now I know. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Ack! I wouldn't want to get near that pig either! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 That pig looks like the stuff of nightmares! I'd love to see a picture of the bear that's similar but he has such a different reaction to. The whole story is too funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Great story! I also think that is a scary pig - sort of like the scary clown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted September 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 @GentleLake - this is Blue Bear. This is the only toy that Merlin has conversations with - like little groans. He doesn’t chew this toy. That was done by another dog. Our previous dog (who Merlin never knew) inherited this toy and also liked to have conversations with it. And as a baby our daughter had a blue bear on an mobile over her crib and she used to gurgle to her blue bear. All pretty spooky haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Not as scary looking as the pig. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 I LOLed about Piggy for at least a couple minutes. I know I'll be chuckling to myself for the rest of the day, maybe even through the weekend. (Note to self ~ self-restraint will be necessary when interviewing new client!) 'Piggy Says No', I swear to God, belongs on a bumper sticker. Sooooo many uses! Ruth & Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted September 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 I know eh! Piggy has even had to take a turn at sitting on the toilet lid ö Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted September 28, 2018 Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Shelly F, you're killing me here. I had JUST calmed down into near-normal adulthood, which is as close as I get. And then you had to plant the image of Piggy on a toilet lid in my brain. Ruth & Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted September 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2018 Teeheehee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted September 29, 2018 Report Share Posted September 29, 2018 that is one scary pig, I think he has shown a lot of sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted September 29, 2018 Report Share Posted September 29, 2018 the piggy on the toilet lid? make a bumper sticker that says "Piggy Says No"? BWAAAaa-ha-ha-ha!!! This is my laugh for the day. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted September 29, 2018 Report Share Posted September 29, 2018 ^^^ Always trying to please and delight. Thank you for your support. And now, Piggy On A Toilet Seat seems to be a permanent resident of my brain. Ruth & GIbbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted September 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 7 hours ago, urge to herd said: ^^^ Always trying to please and delight. Thank you for your support. And now, Piggy On A Toilet Seat seems to be a permanent resident of my brain. Ruth & GIbbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D'Elle Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 On 9/29/2018 at 10:32 AM, urge to herd said: ^^^ Always trying to please and delight. Thank you for your support. And now, Piggy On A Toilet Seat seems to be a permanent resident of my brain. Ruth & GIbbs As "Piggy says No" will be a resident of mine. I think I actually want the bumper sticker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted September 30, 2018 Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 1 hour ago, D'Elle said: As "Piggy says No" will be a resident of mine. I think I actually want the bumper sticker. If someone prints a 'Piggy Says No' I'll buy at least one. Might be able to persuade others to join me. Ruth on her own, as Gibbs refuses to participate in this foolishness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted September 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2018 Be careful though. These things multiply when you’re not looking! we don’t want Merlin getting used to them so they are stashed in a drawer - ready to deploy when needed haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 1, 2018 Report Share Posted October 1, 2018 OMG, I'm not going to be able to visit the BC boards for a while. The image of 4 yellow Piggy butts on a shelf started me up all over again. Ruth & Gibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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