What We're Reading Now..."101 Dog Tricks"

I was so thrilled when I found this book. Lucy loves to do tricks, or should I say that Lucy loves to entertain her humans? One of the first bonus tricks we learned after the basic "sit", "come", "lay down" was paw- and no one will ever convince me that Lucy doesn't love to give her "paw"- which probably stemmed from her humans reaction to her learning to give "paw", I think it's so darn precious and tend to get very excited about it every time she does it. Frankly, a book of 101 Dog Tricks was entirely too much fun to pass up.

The book came yesterday, and I couldn't wait to open it. But, then I'm that way about any book. I love to get a new book, and Amazon with their speedy 2 day shipping from Amazon Prime makes it almost instant gratification.

One of the coolest things about this book is that there isn't a lot of reading to do. It's pretty much a hands on guide to teaching your pup new tricks, and since Lucy's so smart, I'm sure this is going to be a breeze. So, I start flipping through, barely able to contain my excitement. (Why do I get so excited over books?)

With each trick, they give step by step instructions, along with a hand signal for teaching the dog the trick. They also give some troubleshooting advice- and boy oh boy, do we need that sometimes. (I'm convinced that has more to do with Lucy's Human needing a little extra guidance rather than an intelligence issue with the boxer!)

I keep flipping and stumble upon, "Sit Pretty/Beg", that should be an easy one. Lucy's always standing on her hind legs, we should definitely be able to accomplish this, and so I ear mark this page as one of the 1st tricks for Lucy and I to work on. The next one I come across holds tons of appeal, because I always put slippers on when I get home, but can never seem to find them. I wonder if Lucy will have an easier time? " Hey Lucy, fetch my slippers." That one is definitely ear marked. I consider " Carry my purse," but on further thought realize that is probably a giant disaster just waiting to happen. The combination of expensive leather handbags and teething puppies probably isn't a good one. That one will have to be saved for when Lucy gets a little older... But there's no better time than the present for "Tidy up your toys", and I'm sure Lucy's Daddy is going to love that one since he's always tripping over Lucy's toys. I've been looking for the perfect toy box for months, guess I'll have to get on the move with that purchase if we're going to teach her this trick!

I'm still laughing over "Bring me a beer from the fridge." While I have no problem imagining our little boxer getting into the fridge, it's hard for me to comprehend that Lucy would open the fridge door and walk away with only a beer. I'm not sure I want Lucy to know how to open the fridge. I can't keep the darn thing stocked as it is, having a boxer raiding it on a daily basis would definitely complicate things.

As I flip further into the book, I can't help but think that no one has ever tried any of these tricks with a boxer. "Jump into my arms" is clearly an exercise that can lead to nothing but a trip to the ER. (At least for Lucy's Human!) I'm looking at these pictures and imagining myself blogging from a full body cast. Doesn't that sound like fun?

There's even a chapter on teaching your dog to dance. That looks do-able and I should be able to walk away from that without getting injured!