Our dog trainer taught us that “leave it” was one of the most important commands you could teach a dog, that way if they ever got something in their mouth that could make them ill, the dog would know to ditch it right away. Buster has a pretty good grasp of “leave it” because (as our trainer taught us to), we reward him immediately and we reward him well for remembering the command. Tonight, however, Buster held this banana in his mouth FOREVER after being given the “leave it” command. I seriously think he needed the extra time to weigh the merits between banana and hot dog slice.
He eventually did ditch the banana.
corianne
Well, bananas ARE full of vitamins and minerals, especially potassium. Not to mention the fiber. Hot dogs are full of things that aren’t polite to talk about. Maybe Buster was being health conscious.
Hev
Bananas are wonderful for dogs. We give ours dried bananas (homemade so no surgar on them) instead of bones most of the time. We still give dental bones for help with teeth, but they love the bananas more.
8ntfrogn
My dogs love bananas, I would still be waiting for the “leave it” to work.
Smartypants
Yes…now they’ll know to use bananas for the reward next time!
Anna
My chihuahua LOVES bananas. If I am eating one she sits beside me with laser eyes threatening to kill me in my sleep if I forget to give her the last bite.
Dana
My Walker hound can be chased away with a banana, even if it hasn’t been unpeeled yet. Kryptonite for Max! So this really cracks me up because he won’t even go near one, let along hang on to it for so long. 🙂