As Jasper Watches Lucy Train

Our dog, Jasper, was watching intently as Nadia took our puppy, Lucy, through some of her training exercises. 

Part of Jasper’s interest is based on the fact that he loves food.  When I say he loves food I mean there’s a strong possibility that he loves food even more than I do.  That’s a serious passion.  (We both are partial to pizza.)

As Nadia gave Lucy commands which she did not follow, Jasper responded properly.  He would “sit.”  He would “lay down.”  He would “stay.”  All the behaviors that Lucy would not perform, Jasper perfectly executed. 

And yet Lucy continued to get the treats while Jasper just watched, thinking, “She’s not even doing these things properly but she gets the treats, while I do all the tricks perfectly and get nothing.”

At one point a long string of drooling saliva hung from Jasper’s mouth almost reaching the floor.  I thought, “That string of drool is actually a pretty good trick, right there.”  (Try it.  It’s not that easy.)  So, I got a treat and gave it to Jasper.

He happily took the treat and ate it but he looked at me and shook his head as if to say, “Things have gotten very puzzling around this place.”

Lucy Hiding Under The Bed

Our new puppy, Lucy, is incredibly curious (I think she may have some cat in her).  Earlier tonight, during her exploration, she crawled under our bed.  This was a little bit of a problem because there are lots of boxes of stuff under the bed, so, I couldn’t even see her.  But I knew she was under there because I could hear her scratching and chewing on things.

I called her numerous times to get her to come out from under the bed but she is still working on the concept of responding when she is called.  She will come, sometimes, when she is called but other times she completely disregards this command as if she can’t even hear it.

“Is it possible she is stuck under there?” I wondered.  “How long will she hang out under the bed?”

I was concerned because I don’t even know what is under the bed.  I’m pretty sure the last time some of those boxes were opened was just prior to the Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.  I didn’t know if what she was chewing on was dangerous in any way.

So, I grabbed some of her treats and I put one under the bed.  When Lucy retrieved the treat she was still under the bed but now she was in a spot that was visible to me.

I put another treat under the bed.  This time it was a bit closer to me.

Sure enough, Lucy came closer and ate that treat.

I continued placing treats in front of Lucy but closer and closer to myself.  And she continued to move closer and closer as she retrieved the treats.

Finally, she didn’t even realize it but she was no longer under the bed.

I picked her up and said, “Aha!  I’ve got you.”  And she licked my face as if this were a fun game we had been planning to play for days.

“Why don’t you come when I call you?”  I asked her. 

She just smiled and—I have a feeling—thought this: “How am I going to train you to provide all kinds of new, fun and interesting ways to give me treats if I do that?”