Bang!

I don't have a picture of this - yet - but Toby has learned the trick "Bang!" (aka, "Play Dead" for those who didn't know Mindy well). It's taken us a while to get him to pick up on it. He didn't like being "shoved" to lay on his side - he kept nipping at Craig when he was helping him. We were trying to teach it to him for Show-And-Tell at his puppy class, but he didn't get it in time...granted, we didn't try very hard to train him because time was an issue.

We gave up for a little while because we could tell he was getting frustrated. Then a few days later we were trainig with him again and I thought I'd try once again. I made the "gun" with my hand, said "BANG!" and waited...and waited...and waited. Toby sat there staring at me - staring at the "gun" - and then, ever so slowly, he rolled onto his side with his head down and his legs straight out! Craig and I both went crazy shouting "GOOD BOY!!", showering him with affection and giving him treats. You could tell he was really proud of himself. :)

He's not really confident with it just yet, but he's getting there. It's SO CUTE when he does it. We'll have to work on it more now that he knows what the command means. Sure, it takes him a while, and you can almost see the gears turning while he's thinking about what to do, but he did it! Not bad for a puppy who's not even 5 months old!! Way to go, Toby! :)