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Feb. 17th, 2006 11:02 amMaybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but our middle-aged dog is proving amenable.
We've always thought that Spirit the Dog was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
golden_c_turtle used to refer to Spirit as "one of God's simple creatures". He certainly wasn't particularly teachable in his feckless youth. "Sit" was about the extent of it, and "sit" was usually achieved only after a lot of butt-pushing.
Five years as part of our human family, though, have proven Spirit the Dog to be very observant. He's become highly attuned to our language and habits. For example: If Dad leaves the house early, Mom will eventually put The Boy in the car to go to The Place Where All The Kids Wave To Me. If Mom puts on lawyer clothes before she puts The Boy in the car, I'm shit out of luck. If Mom puts on comfy clothes, though, it means she's coming home before she goes to work, so she'll let me ride in the car to The Place WATKWTM with my head out the window. Even though the difference between lawyer clothes and comfy clothes is sometimes indistinguishable to the human eye, Spirit the Dog's eye is unerring. He always knows when to go nuts by the front door and when to give it up and go back to sleep in the kid's bed.
And yes, with the aid of yummy beef sticks, the dog is learning new tricks.choirboypuppy recently taught him "down", which the dog does with such alacrity that he looks like he's taken military training. There is an audible thump! as the dog's belly hits the floor. Today I taught him "off!", which might be the most difficult command for an ever-hungry mutt to obey when faced with beef stick. He's a trooper, though. Spirit here, beef stick there on the floor, and he didn't move until he was verbally released. All in ten minutes' work.
I'm proud of my younger furry son.
We've always thought that Spirit the Dog was not the brightest bulb in the chandelier.
golden_c_turtle used to refer to Spirit as "one of God's simple creatures". He certainly wasn't particularly teachable in his feckless youth. "Sit" was about the extent of it, and "sit" was usually achieved only after a lot of butt-pushing.Five years as part of our human family, though, have proven Spirit the Dog to be very observant. He's become highly attuned to our language and habits. For example: If Dad leaves the house early, Mom will eventually put The Boy in the car to go to The Place Where All The Kids Wave To Me. If Mom puts on lawyer clothes before she puts The Boy in the car, I'm shit out of luck. If Mom puts on comfy clothes, though, it means she's coming home before she goes to work, so she'll let me ride in the car to The Place WATKWTM with my head out the window. Even though the difference between lawyer clothes and comfy clothes is sometimes indistinguishable to the human eye, Spirit the Dog's eye is unerring. He always knows when to go nuts by the front door and when to give it up and go back to sleep in the kid's bed.
And yes, with the aid of yummy beef sticks, the dog is learning new tricks.
choirboypuppy recently taught him "down", which the dog does with such alacrity that he looks like he's taken military training. There is an audible thump! as the dog's belly hits the floor. Today I taught him "off!", which might be the most difficult command for an ever-hungry mutt to obey when faced with beef stick. He's a trooper, though. Spirit here, beef stick there on the floor, and he didn't move until he was verbally released. All in ten minutes' work.I'm proud of my younger furry son.
