The Foils, Foibles, and Follies of MaraBella and Me

There seem to be two distinct types of obedience training.  Alpha Dog and Positive Reinforcement, otherwise known to me as treat training.  At Golden Grange Kennel, where all three of us go for lessons in obedience the philosophy is positive.   I have little morsels of tasty training treats that MaraBella can gobble up hardly breaking stride when we walk.  With her front clip harness on, the treat reinforcement and the occasional tug reminder to "leave it" or "lets go",  her pulling has decreased dramatically as we walk.  I keep a handful of treats in my pocket so I can quickly reward her good behavior.  Our  morning walk  is at a clip and we do about 2 miles.  I have lost 8 pounds since she arrived.  So I wasn't that upset when this happened.

Chewed right through the pocket, lining and seat.

I figure I have to take most of the responsibility for leaving those little morsels in a pocket that she was able to reach after stripping for the shower and hopping in, giving her just enough time to get  naughty.  After all, the pants were size 12 and falling off anyway.