Thursday, February 13, 2014

FRUSTRATION COOKIES


So I've been playing this new game with my human. It's called Frustration Cookies. AKA, maybe-if you-give-me-a-cookie-I-will-X. Except X isn't really X. It's stuff like not eating poop in the bushes or actually listening when she screams PUUUUGGGG at me from halfway across the park. 

My favorite Frustration Cookie game is refusing to go downstairs when it's time to go out. The rules are pretty simple: when it's time to go for a walk, I just stand at the top of the stairs and stare at my human. She grabs the keys, I stare. Leashes, more staring. 

If my human's in a good mood, she'll kinda laugh and call it a Puglet Stand-off. The rest of the time, it's more like come down the damn stairs already. I've noticed the longer I stare, the less she laughs. I'm pretty sure this is the first step to scoring frustration cookies from a human.

So far, I haven't scored any cookies. But I have trained my human to come back inside after she leaves by running down the stairs as soon as she closes the door. It's pretty funny and I can definitely sense some frustration. Besides, it kinda makes me feel like I'm winning. Even without the cookies.

16 comments:

Beatrix's Mom said...

Hey Puglet

I tried that, and mostly it works. There are times I get Frustration Treats (like when I've magically found something that shouldn't have been anywhere I can get at it, like toilet paper, pens, paperclips, toilet paper [i LOVE toilet paper]).

But when I avoid my mom or ignore because I don't want to do something, she just shrugs and says, "fine, bye". And then walks away. Which always makes me run after her. What if she leaves me?!

Good luck!
Bisous
Beatrix

Anonymous said...

Pug, you are such a good person trainer. I'm sure if you try a little longer you will train her to give you cookies whenever you want.

Maggie and Lucy the Pugs in Dallas said...

OMG Pug!! We do the same thing! I was laughing so hard at what you were saying, then realized that Lucy and I do this same stuff to our human! I wonder if all pugs do this? I do know I can stare my human down for a long time...but she can stare a long time too so sometimes I give in just to make her feel like she won but she really didn't.

Guy Noir said...

dear puglet, we were very happy to see you and dutch are back again. Momma had stopped checking, but she saw an old bookmark and stopped by and shd got to read whole bunches about you all! I hope 2014 is a very good year for you and that you and your Momma will stay healthy so you can visit with us all!

That said, I get confusion treats all the time. I have 4 humans and they get mixed up and don't know how many or when I got treats. Works great!

Your friend, Guy Noir

Unknown said...

Oh Pug, the thought of cookies. I don’t understand how the game will win cookies, but I say keep on with anything that will score cookies. Please let us all know if this game works. Here at my house we are short on cookies, gravy, toast with butter, all the usual treats and there is talk of the awful word <<>
My humans went away for 2 weeks. You know how hard it is to be without thumbs. I missed them tons, and I missed reading about your adventures. While my humans were away my brother and I got to hang with our recycled friends Vinny and Otis, and that was cool. The best thing about the humans taking a vacation without us is that Vinny and Otis get to have their food dishes full all the time. Yes, you read that right, there is food at cassia de Vinny all the time. Our humans have notched that me and my brother got tubey during their vacation. I don’t know if they see how totally tubey they have become after eating Italian food everyday for two weeks, but they said that it is time for us all to cut back. You know how tough that is. I want to recommend to you a wonderful treat that dosen’t make you tubey. It is Turkey Spam. It has way waaaay less calories that Spam, or even Spam lite, and tastes like bacon when humans slice it thin and brown it in a pan. There is no mess cooking this, so maybe you could get your human cook you some. It is also delicious just from the can unbrowned. My human gets it from Walmat. In Spokane, were we live, it is the only store that sells the nontubey turkey variety of Spam which tastes the best.
Your pal
Levi

Rachel's Thoughts said...

Hahaha, that pug...

Noodles said...

I am pretty sure this is a PUG kinda thing. I do the same thing. And then when my humans come up the stairs to get me - I dash down the hall OR run past them down the stairs.
But-I-NEVER-Get-Any-COOKIES for doing so.
Good luck with this, Pug.
Love Noodles

TriHardChris said...

Dude...Dash here. I do the same thing. Keep at it. It works. For me, I don't want to go back inside...my human says INSIDE in all different ways, after a while she uses HBO words with it...

I have gotten so many treats...

dash...Bouncer and Chaos's little brother in fort lauderdale

Anonymous said...

Puglet, this is too hilarious! Made my day :D

Anonymous said...

What is it with you super stubborn pugs?! :-) love, Megan F & Lola Pug

Vinny said...

Puglet, you are a stinker! It does sound like a fun game though....

Pug Power,
Vinny (and Mercy and Izzy)

Meredith LeBlanc said...

Now Puglet. This is just not very nice. You may think it's fun, but it's not for us humans.

Good thing you're so cute...

♥♥♥
Meredith & Scarlet

Unknown said...

Amanda, you might want to have Puglet's hearing checked. We all know how pugs HATE to be on the other side of a closed door, so, after having to refinish the bottom of a couple of doors, I trained Lucy to get to the door by the time I count to three. (Just like I used to do with my son, "Oooone, twoooo...three!") If she didn't make it, door shut for about 30 seconds before I let Miss Frantic inside. Worked like a charm. About a month ago I thought she was being extra obstinate and she got shut in the garage THREE times in one week. If we were outside, I'd call and call and she'd just stare at me. Yelled at her for two weeks, wondering why she was being such a pill! Then she had to go to the vet (for ANOTHER UTI) and the vet said she had a double ear infection-no clue on our part because she hadn't been scratching her ears and they weren't red. After learning that I finally figured out she couldn't hear me, or practically anything! I waited until she was asleep in the other room then opened the cabinet where we keep the treats-sure enough, Pen came running and Lucy slept on. The good news is some of her hearing is back since she's been on meds but we still have to clap our hands to get her attention if she's on the other end of the yard. And thank goodness we trained her with hand signals or we'd not be able to communicate with her at all!

Anonymous said...

Pug...my mom said she feels her pain as I am the king of the pug stand off during walks! I have never tired at the start though.....my brother Baxter does that. We like to spread out our stand offs so mom doesn't have a melt down (hehe).
-Walt

Augustus said...

I don't know if you are ever going to get a cookie for that! I try all the time to stay in my bed when all the other dogs go out potty and all it ever gets me is booted out the door. No cookies, no leashes, no keys. Of course once I'm in the back yard I like to reverse the stand off and refuse to come in, that's especially funny around midnight. I may or may not hide in bushes.

Karen said...

oh, so that behavior really is a pug thing, I thought it was just my Toby. He really wants to go for a walk but has it have it his way!