Trick for Treat

When we were growing up we had the best (small) dog in the world. She was actually a gift to Mom from Dad and she soon became the 6th member of the Frantz family. For some reason I took on the task of teaching her tricks. I learned soon enough the difficulty of teaching a new dog old tricks! After hours of attending my classes our malti-poo, Cubbie, eventually learned the basics and "sit", "speak" & "shake" became regular vocabulary in our household. We knew we had a smart dog in our midst.
Often we would let her out and leave the door cracked so she could push it open to come back inside. The problem we found with this is by the time she'd come back in, we'd be settled back on the couch and would fight over who had to get up and close the door. Then one day the question hit me: I wonder if you can teach a middle-age dog new tricks? This is when Cubbie enrolled in my new class "Useful Dog Tricks 101." Naturally she passed with flying colors, and to this day when she prances inside and hears one of us say "Cubbie, SHUT THE DOOR," she will turn around, throw her paws up at the door and jump forward! It usually slams by the 2nd try and she is rewarded with our praise. Growing up with a little dog this smart (not to mention strong) is nice - especially when you want to impress your friends.

Now that I'm all grown up with a husband and a dog of my own, I am learning even more about training (they're both fast learners.) We adopted our 5 year old Weimaraner, Harley, a year and a half ago from some really nice people who also obviously know the benefits of useful dog tricks. Harley is the most well-trained dog I've ever met, and Josh and I are constantly amazed at how smart he is. He has mastered all the basics and is excelling in his intermediate classes. One of his first lessons involved wiping his feet before coming inside the house. No, he hasn't learned how to do this himself (yet.) As the sliding glass door is opened for him to come back inside, he first sits and raises one paw to be wiped off with a towel. The other paw comes up next, and then as he stands up, one back foot slowly comes off the ground followed by the other. It takes a little time on our part, but it helps keep the floors clean. However, it's not near as good as his pooping trick. We have a huge, grassy back yard which is pretty much Harley's Kingdom. He keeps the squirrels in their trees and the lizard population is definitely kept to a minimum. The back part of the yard is lined with several trees against the vine-covered fence creating the only shady area. This area is known as "Harley's Bathroom." I want to hug the person who taught him this, but he will ONLY poop in the bushes!! We have yet to find a "Harley patty" in the grass and he seems to keep it this way on purpose. I don't know if he's modest, polite or just really smart. The same thing happens when I take him for a walk outside at work (he comes with me to the store every day.) He sniffs around until he finds that perfect spot (in the bushes of course) and then backs it up as far as possible to do his business. The funny thing is, he's so big, and sometimes the bush is smaller than him, and when he squats he is actually "hovering" over it. Then a nice pile remains on top of some poor little bush for people to laugh at as they walk by. So I guess that's useful too...no one will step in it for sure.
I know it doesn't compare to Jinxsy Cat's genius ability to flush, but I kinda wouldn't want Harley's "big pile o' business" in my toilet anyway.
Josh has requested for Harley's next class to be: "Find Daddy's Car Keys"