Isla with her new "Mom" and "Dad", Sally and Daniel, at a sidewalk cafe, not in Paris (or Santiago) but it does start with a "P" - Pennsylvania, the Poconos, in Pennsylvania! The ambiance is the same I'm very sure. Charming, sophisticated, urbane. Probably jazz is playing in the background.
Isn't this just perfect. "Our" Icelandics end up in the very best places and they adapt to them. I want to visit all of them.
When I first started training years ago, my instructors used a can filled with nuts and bolts or coins to discourage certain behaviors. They told me to shake the can or throw the can in the direction of the puppy to stop inappropriate behaviors. I did that for years whenever I got a new puppy.
Then along came the CGC (Canine Good Citizen) test from the AKC (American Kennel Club).
As part of that test puppies may be judged on their reaction to loud noises. Some CGC evaluators use a can filled with coins or pieces of metal to make a racket. They are looking to see if the puppy is afraid of noises like thunder, fireworks, cars backfiring, etc. If you have been using a noisemaker can to distract or discourage behaviors, your puppy may react negatively to the rattle. (The rattling can as a deterrent could also predispose them to reacting negatively to other loud noises they could hear in your home or neighborhood like firecrackers, thunder, etc. So it may be counter productive to use the rattle to change your puppy's behavior. Does that make sense?) During the CGC test your puppy could respond to the evaluator's noise making with some trepidation and that could have an affect on your score.
Speaking of firecrackers: - many dogs react negatively to fireworks around the Fourth of July. It wouldn't be so bad but in my neighborhood that celebrating can go on for days both before and after the Fourth. So, I've found it smart to precondition my puppies. I expose them to loud noises and reward them for tolerating it with treats. A loud noise like a pot and a pan banged together, or a can filled with pennies or nuts and bolts gets a treat immediately afterward. Start with soft bangs and build them up. Soon they will react positively to loud noises - that's a good thing - as Martha might say.
A healthy, well adjusted puppy/dog will be curious about its environment. It will lean forward tentatively when it is exposed to a new experience, a new object, to new situations, noises, dogs, people, cats, other animals, etc. That kind of anxious curiosity should be encouraged. Tell the puppy/dog that everything is OK and reward its curiosity with a treat and some praise. The more new things you can expose your puppy to, the better it will react to other new experiences. Be sure to always praise it for its innate curiosity. If you react negatively to something, your dog will pick up on that and do the same.
Perhaps I've overdone this at my home. When we have a strong thunderstorm here with lots of lightning and thunder, my dogs all race to go outside. They LOVE storms. Firecrackers do not bother them. I have encouraged them to accept, even like, loud noises.
About three for four times a year the neighbors that live east of my home have loud family parties that last until the middle of the night. They are happy parties and the neighbors are close to my age. (i.e. - they are old.) I put my earplugs in and I and my dogs all fall asleep. The music, firecrackers, loud talking, etc. does not disturb us and we remain friendly with the neighbors. In turn, I hope, my neighbors do not mind too much when my dogs bark at the helicopters or hawks that have the temerity to fly over our property.
Icelandics bark at hawk-like objects to protect the new-born lambs from aerial predators. My dogs do not bark at geese. They are as big as hawks but pose no threat and they instinctively know that.
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