Hello, I have had dogs all my life since I was a baby. Most have been rescue dogs. Shnapsie, a miniature daschund, lived to be 17 years old, so she was the tiny big sister for Cochise, our black lab. Gosh, that dog had such a sense of humor! Also, when he was a puppy, I taught him hand signal commands, just for fun. Many years later, when he was 13, he went deaf. So I tried the the hand signals on him and lo and behold he remembered them! I am a very affectionate person, even with people (haha), and know that dogs need attention and should never be ignored. Like children. I enjoy their company, I don't ever hit them, and rarely even raise my voice. I trained my own dogs with affection as reward as much as I trained them with treats.