Neko
the clever dog who knows how to barter
The CleverPet team is super excited about meeting the clever dogs that will get to play all day while their owners work. In the last week of our Kickstarter campaign, we’ve profiled a few of the dogs that have convinced their owners to pledge. For our first profile, Dani was kind enough to introduce us to Neko, the Gordon Setter.
Name: “Neko” Netherwood ‘Love Cat of Marakesh
Age: 2.5 years
Breed: Gordon Setter
Favorite game: Tug-of-war
Meet Neko
She is my constant companion and best friend.
Neko has been training since she was 12 weeks old to be a therapy dog and learn some of the tasks necessary to be a psychological service dog. She is an AKC Canine Good Citizen and we plan to continue through the AKC obedience trials to get some letters after her name.
I’m a mental health counselor and Neko and I work together 2 weekends a month treating veterans and their families in my small private practice. Neko is our office dog, greets my clients at the door, and occasionally attends therapy sessions when my clients invite her to do so. Because of Neko’s training and work, she has also gone on many vacations with me and has been to Mexico twice.
She loves camping, hiking, and all outdoor activities (especially if there are birds she can stalk).
What does Neko do when you’re not home?
She sits on her couch (yes, her couch) and watches the world go by.
There are birds and squirrels in the trees out front, but generally I think she’s fairly bored and I feel bad for leaving her.
One day each week she has a dog walker, another day she goes to daycare, every other day I come home at lunch to let her out, but it’s not enough…
What are you hoping to get out of the CleverPet?
I am hoping that my incredibly smart, food-motivated dog will get enjoyment and some fulfillment out of the games.
I don’t like thinking about what she does while I’m at work all day because I’m sure she’s bored and I don’t want that for her.
She works so hard for me and is so earnest and sweet — she deserves to have a little fun and mental stimulation even when I’m not there for her.
How clever is Neko?
I use only positive reinforcement training in my work with Neko. One of the big things within that training is that you never take anything from your puppy without giving them a reward for giving it up.
For example, if puppy-Neko was chewing my shoe instead of yelling at her, I would offer her a small piece of cheese or hotdog…she would drop the shoe, I’d tell her she’s a “good dog” and give her the treat.
Well, clever Neko figured this out, so what does she do now? When I have a beer (it’s usually involving beer, but could be anything she really, really wants), she’ll bring me something. At first it might be a chewed up stuffed toy or something not particularly valuable to her.
The clever part is: she will keep bringing more and more toys of increasing value to try to trade me for the beer! There are some days where I will end up with her entire toy collection at my feet (usually the last thing she brings is a ball or a marrow bone with some marrow still inside), and if I don’t give her beer she will stare at me longingly with her head in my lap, not understanding why she can’t find something I want!
Gordon Setters are not generally known for their intelligence, but for her to translate that trade and try to use it to her advantage — that’s impressive to me!
CleverPet is a learning console that engages and teaches your dog. We are super excited about meeting the clever dogs that will get to play all day while their owners work. Our Clever Dogs collection features profiles of the lucky dogs that will be some of the first to receive CleverPets.
Many thanks to Dani for sharing about Neko! All of the photos of Neko you see here are Dani’s and she kindly gave us permission to use them.
