Melissa and Doug's Basset Hound is part of our dog-training strategies

The Basset Hound just Wants to be Friends

Who is that strange dog over yonder by the neighbor’s mailbox? Let’s go chase it away – we really don’t trust its looks and it’s sneaky hiding behind that mailbox. Mom, you take care of it, I’ll just stay here and watch.  

The idea behind using realistic-looking stuffed animals for dog training was offered by our dog’s behaviorist. It’s supposed to accustom Cooper to other dogs and unsettling situations. Most people buy stuffed animals for children but I heartily recommend a few for a special class of nervous fur children – anxious dogs. 

A lonely dog snoozes day-in and day-out in the large dog carrier hidden in an out-of-the way room, it’s a dog that requires no play time, food, scooping after or walks but oddly beckons to everyone who passes – please play with me. This dog was not bought for a child, nor an adult who was missing a dog, but to help condition our rescue dog Cooper’s fears of strange dogs. It was selected for realism, and every time I pass it the plush Melissa and Doug Basset Hound startles me, as well as Cooper who always conducts a double-check sniff.