*Stupid Pet Tricks*

[Suz]

You know that Windex commercial where the crows are tantalizing the homeowner and his sliding doors are so clean that he keeps running into them on his way outside to scare the birds off?

I can't help it. Something about that commercial makes me every time I see it.

I have a sliding glass door in my sun room. It's a steep step to the ground from there so years ago I had a short ramp made for The Fuzzbutt Girls.

My sweet Chelsea will be 14 in April. She has the heart and enthusiasm of a puppy and the hind knees of a 150 year old. Rather than walk up the ramp from the front, she always jumps up the side in order to get in the house.

Last week was rough on sweet Chelsea. One day we had freezing rain so she slid, all splayed out, down the ramp.

Then, to add insult to injury, the next day baby Chloe was yammering to come in. I had just walked up to the door to slide it open when sweet Chelsea, with all of the gusto she could muster, LEAPT up and CRASHED head-on with the glass.

OMG. Thank goodness she wasn't hurt!

The crows would have been so proud of me.

Your turn!

Suz

 

[Hound dog]

Once upon a time we taught 2 year old Betsy to "sit".

She's smart, and she did it well.

Then we taught Betsy to "sit pretty" (beg) by offering her a treat.

She's a very smart girl, and she did it very well.

Now........somewhere along the line.......Betsy has forgotten the original version of "sit". She only will "sit pretty". Which means she sits on her fanny like a person, back straight, and front paws to her chest.

Now she's a basset/lab mix.....looks like a lab stuck in a basset body. So you can imagine how "sitting pretty" looks.

She sits pretty for everything. If she wants your attention.......she will sit pretty. If she wants a treat, she sits pretty. If she wants to play, she sits pretty.

If I really work with her......the other commands she has learned will re-appear for that moment. But "sitting pretty" is the big winner for some reason.

Worries me as with bassets you're not supposed to teach them to beg as it's hard on their backs due to the length. But it's both adorable and funny to watch. She can sit like that for 10 mins or more waiting for you to see her.


Oh, and Bruce. The Dufus. He had convinced me he was no mouser. More interested in staying glued to my lap. Until Lucy the guinea pig joined the family recently. Good thing Nichole has her in a 20 gallon tank with a lid on a tall stand. A lid he can't get off. He's been "stalking" her since she arrived.

I went into Nichole's room the other day because I'd notice I hadn't seen him. There he was, parked in front of Lucy's cage, tail twitching. Next thing I know he leaps for all he's worth and WHAM! Like a cartoon cat he crashes right into the side of the glass.

 

[donna723]

Suz, I would have loved to see the sliding dog! Don't you wonder what was going through her mind as she was sliding down that ramp?

You must keep those sliding glass doors really clean if they can't tell if they're open or closed! I never have to worry about that. I have a glass storm door in my living room and another one in the utility room, and it's the dogs favorite place to keep up with what's going on outside. Both doors are constantly covered with nose prints and smears, about 18" off the floor! I clean them all the time but before I can even get the Windex put away, there are more nose prints! Never any doubt if the doors are open or closed!

 

[meowbunny]

Squeaks was incredibly well-mannered. First, you have to understand he was called Squeaks cause his bark is usually this squeaking noise. Kind of funny to have a big Old English with a squeaky voice. The only time I'd hear a full bark was when he thought his family was in danger.

Anyway, I'd trained him to not take a bite of food until I said, "okay" or it was in his dish. One time, a neighbor wanted to give him a treat. The man held out a cooked hamburger patty. Squeaks looked at that patty, looked at the door, back at the patty, back at the door. This went on a good five minutes. (I was inside watching.) Finally, he couldn't take it any more and ran full bore to the house, crashing right through the screen door. Didn't stop him for a second. He actually ran right to me and herded me with full voice barks outside (yes, through the ripped screen) to my neighbor. I was laughing so hard, I could barely get out "okay."

 

[Hound dog]

mb

OH, my!!! That was a great visual!

 

[Suz]

MB. It seems that Squeaks and Chelsea are both very goal oriented and not easily distracted from that goal.

Lisa, I lived down the street from a black lab/basset mix. They are so adorable- I can completely picture your Betsy in the "sit pretty" stance. Too cute about Bruce fixating on Lucy. It's a good thing she is protected! lol

Donna, I'm no Martha Stewart. It's just that Chelsea was looking up at me---higher than the "nose/slobber print line" of the glass.

Suz