treats on deck

After a few hours of me working on the computer with Eddie and Niko hanging out, Niko and I are going a bit stir crazy not having had our morning walk. This is the second time Eddie has hung in the house during the day for any period of time. The first time was immediately before his extended forest outing of the past three days. Today answers a few questions I've been working on.

This is also the first day Eddie has had treats offered to him on the deck. He initially turned his nose up at the barbecued buffalo burger which was OK by Niko who gladly munched his. Eddie was preoccupied with checking out the deck and the firewood pile, gate, and plywood leaned up against the wall etc. After refusing it from my hand, I placed some buffalo onto the deck and he nosed it to to say no thanks and proceeded with his more pressing intellectual endeavors regarding the deck, house and windows. He came back passing the treat I had placed and sat on the Bean bag bed beside Niko standing by the bed and facing me. Eddie accepted some buffalo and then some more. Apparently the bed was enough of a positive to make a treat OK. After running out of buffalo I feed some Peanuttier halves and then a bigger biscuit. Eddie took the biscuit and placed it on the ground beside the bed and then got back onto he bed. When no other treats were forth coming he went back and munched on the biscuit as Niko did the same with his. Apparently having to lower his head to eat a treat from the deck is more stressful, perhaps because having ones head lowered is a more vulnerable position with less sensory awareness of the surroundings. I then let Niko out the kitchen and went back on the deck to feed Niko through the gate. I saw some gears turning in Eddie's noggin when Niko came into view. Eddie would not a treat at the gate end of the deck but after I let Niko in and we returned to the front door end of the deck he gladly accepted more treats. I hesitate to let Eddie back out too soon. I want to relax enough to carry away a positive memory of the house. Kind of like making sure to take a antibiotics completely so as not reinforce the negative germs or in this case thoughts. Positive associations might take longer to form, just a meaner more resistant germs take longer to kill. I'm amazed that Niko has not yet been out to pee.