adventures in dog world (plus a snail update)
Category: Real Life

i learned a rly great method so im finally teaching my 7 yr old dog to come when called. hes...decent at it so far. id say hes at about a 70% success rate in just one session. i taught him the concept inside (basically i point at the floor in front of me, say "ollie come", and when he comes i grab his collar, praise & treat him, then let go and let him go back to his business) and then i took him to the backyard for the Real test. also ik, ive had this dog for 7 yrs and its p late for him to learn this extremely basic command. but i hav honestly had it with his signature Heeler Sass(tm) and ik hes a smart boy. 

theres a lot more distracting things outside, and he doesnt wear his collar often unless we're going out so that excited him too. the times where he failed to come when called, i walked over to him & grabbed his collar and (gently, but firmly!) guided him to the spot where i called him from. he got a bit cranky when i corrected him like this (there was some snarls and mouthiness, but he didnt bite. i still scolded him for tht) but after i was stern with him i treated him and let him go. i waited a bit and then called him again and he came straight to me so i gave him two treats, lots of pets and a smooch.

we're takin a break now but i hope to work some more in a couple hours. and now 2 the Second part of the blog: snails!

so i first got my snails...nearly 2 years ago. which is an average lifespan for milk snails. they were adults when i caught them and i have had more added to the gang, but a majority of them have sadly passed away. i think jethro is the only one still alive from the original crew. i caught 2 more milk snails yesterday and ive decided to name them hank & dean. theres a lot of weeds in the yard bc we havent mowed in a while, which is gr8 bc dandelion leaves & the other weird leafy plants that grow are some of my snails' favorite foods. which makes sense bc thats the stuff they eat in the wild. and ofc, cuttlebone for their shells. i bought some new ones (one for my bird, one for snails) so we're set for a while. anyway thts it for me and my pet adventures!! ill post an update on ollie once its been a while.