Zoe's Tricks

last updated: 7/2/99

This is the point where I say something that every dog owner has said at some point or another--

"My dog is the smartest dog ever!"

Of course, Zoe really is.

Here's the various things I've taught her or am trying to teach her. (OK, Jim helped a little.)

Trick

Level of Accuracy

Comments

The Basics:

Sit 10 Picture-perfect. She'll even pop back up from a down to a sit on command.
Lie Down 10 Sometimes she'll lie down front feet first, which is kinda cute. Or maybe only to a mom.
Shake/Other Hand 10 I think Zoe tends to be left-pawed. She knows to offer her other paw on command, though.
Go to Bed 9 Sometimes she can't figure out whether we mean her crate, her bed, the human bed, or what. She always goes somewhere, though.
Roll Over 5 She is always pretty reluctant to try this. Bad Zoe. It might be due to her hip condition, though.
Come 8 This is the 'mandatory' version. She's very good at it, except in completely unconfined areas.
Upstairs/Downstairs 8 If there are stairs around, she's pretty much ready to climb them regardless.
Up 8 This is the up-on-hind-legs kind of up. She's getting better at it, but her balance pretty much sucks.
Hop Up 10 This version means "get on the human bed", which she's never reluctant to do.
Heel 7 Much better than it was, but she's pretty inattentive. However I have trained her to do the cool-looking thing where if we're facing one another and I tell her to heel, she walks around my right side and sits at my left. *beam*
Speak 8 Jim taught her this one! She's oddly hesitant to really let go and bark the first time you try it on her, though. She's not much of a barker, and tends to associate barking with defense. She has to psych herself up.
Quiet (Sshhh) 1; 10 She's learning this along with "Speak". She seems to grasp the general concept. The "1" rating refers to when she hears a strange noise or sees a strange person--she's not very good at listening to us tell her to shut up if she thinks there's a danger about. But she will certainly remain quiet in any other situation.

The Slightly Unusual:

Where's Jim? 8 I think she knows who "Jim" refers to, but she tends to get puzzled in a big group of people and look at all sorts of other folks too.
Where's Lauren? 7 Same as above, but I think "Jim" is more easily recognized by her ears.
Where's the Hedgehog? 9 Favorite (demolished) toy, kept on top of bookshelf. She has been indoctrinated to the point that when you ask her where anything that she wants is, she'll look on top of the bookshelf. Even if there's not a bookshelf, or if the bookshelf is in another room. In Zoe's world, there's an endless supply of bookshelves containing too many fascinating things to be counted. It must be fun to be a dog.
Where's the Pole? 7 No, we're not training her to sniff out Eastern Europeans. Zoe's most recent position is that of office dog at Tycho Networks. I taught this to her in about five seconds one afternoon while I was visiting the office. Pointed out a ceiling-to-floor pole, told Zoe what it was, and then asked her where it was. She raced over, reared up, and scratched at it. Ok, this isn't the best trick for the life of the office paint job, but damn it's fun.
Take It to Jim/Lauren 7 Takes it, but won't give it up.
Get the (Kong/Bone/Ring/Gum Toy) 7 Knows "ring" and "kong" well, others less so.
Get the Basketball 0 She recognizes the word "basketball" perfectly well, but has never yet retrieved it due to her refusal to believe that she won't, someday, manage to get the basketball into her mouth.
Gimme Kiss 10 Not sure if she recognizes the command or just the presentation of a human face to be slurped. Yum.
Jump! 7 She's been able to jump over a rope on command for several months, only occasionally attempting to run around it instead. But recently, we've purchased a hula hoop. She's being pretty good about jumping through it so far, but not very careful about trailing her limbs.
Bow/Say Hi 9 Oftentimes when Zoe arises from a not-infrequent nap, she takes a mighty stretch by putting her front feet out and bowing back on her back legs. So I said to myself, Self, how hard could it be to associate a command with that? Answer: not too hard. "Bow" sounded too much like "Down" and kinda gave away what was coming, so we're now saying "Say Hi!" It amuses me, what can I say.

The Rather Esoteric:

Hide n Seek 10 Will hunt through house on command until she finds the hider. But for some reason, insists on looking for us on the shelves every time. Haven't hidden there yet.
Find the Egg 10 A new Easter trick! She hunted for Easter eggs throughout the living room and found almost every one without help. At first we thought she was finding them by sight alone (which I'd think connotes more intelligence), but she did seem to be using her nose at some points to sniff them out. But she was definitely using her sight as well. These were plastic eggs filled with dog treats and regular dyed eggs quickly substituted for treats upon discovery. I guess I'm most proud of how *very* quickly Zoe caught on what she was supposed to do.
Put It Away 7 Puts a toy into a laundry basket.
Ring on Bottle 9 Puts a rubber ring onto the neck of a wine bottle. I'd been trying to teach her this off and on for a few months now--the difficulty was that the ring I'm using isn't that much bigger than the neck of the wine bottle. Zoe had to use a lot of coordination and real effort to learn to place the ring *carefully* onto the bottle. She finally got it down and is really good at it now. The best part is that she realizes when she doesn't get it right and picks it up and tries again without being told.
Balloon! 7 This one made my jaw drop when I saw it for the first time. Somehow, Jim taught Zoe the basic concept of keeping a balloon up in the air. Zoe LEAPS into the air, about 3-4 feet off the ground, and pokes her nose into the balloon, sending it flying upwards. Then she waits a few seconds and LEAPS up again. It's pretty awe-inspiring. She can't always keep it going for too long (she ends up poking it sideways instead of straight up) but it's awfully neat to see when she keeps it up for a while.
I'm thinking this one should get her on Letterman's Stupid Pet Tricks.

Back to Zoe!

Trick	Level of Accuracy	Comments
The Basics:
Sit	10	Picture-perfect. She'll even pop back up from a down to a sit on command.
Lie Down	10	Sometimes she'll lie down front feet first, which is kinda cute. Or maybe only to a mom.
Shake/Other Hand	10	I think Zoe tends to be left-pawed. She knows to offer her other paw on command, though.
Go to Bed	9	Sometimes she can't figure out whether we mean her crate, her bed, the human bed, or what. She always goes somewhere, though.
Roll Over	5	She is always pretty reluctant to try this. Bad Zoe. It might be due to her hip condition, though.
Come	8	This is the 'mandatory' version. She's very good at it, except in completely unconfined areas.
Upstairs/Downstairs	8	If there are stairs around, she's pretty much ready to climb them regardless.
Up	8	This is the up-on-hind-legs kind of up. She's getting better at it, but her balance pretty much sucks.
Hop Up	10	This version means "get on the human bed", which she's never reluctant to do.
Heel	7	Much better than it was, but she's pretty inattentive. However I have trained her to do the cool-looking thing where if we're facing one another and I tell her to heel, she walks around my right side and sits at my left. beam
Speak	8	Jim taught her this one! She's oddly hesitant to really let go and bark the first time you try it on her, though. She's not much of a barker, and tends to associate barking with defense. She has to psych herself up.
Quiet (Sshhh)	1; 10	She's learning this along with "Speak". She seems to grasp the general concept. The "1" rating refers to when she hears a strange noise or sees a strange person--she's not very good at listening to us tell her to shut up if she thinks there's a danger about. But she will certainly remain quiet in any other situation.
The Slightly Unusual:
Where's Jim?	8	I think she knows who "Jim" refers to, but she tends to get puzzled in a big group of people and look at all sorts of other folks too.
Where's Lauren?	7	Same as above, but I think "Jim" is more easily recognized by her ears.
Where's the Hedgehog?	9	Favorite (demolished) toy, kept on top of bookshelf. She has been indoctrinated to the point that when you ask her where anything that she wants is, she'll look on top of the bookshelf. Even if there's not a bookshelf, or if the bookshelf is in another room. In Zoe's world, there's an endless supply of bookshelves containing too many fascinating things to be counted. It must be fun to be a dog.
Where's the Pole?	7	No, we're not training her to sniff out Eastern Europeans. Zoe's most recent position is that of office dog at Tycho Networks. I taught this to her in about five seconds one afternoon while I was visiting the office. Pointed out a ceiling-to-floor pole, told Zoe what it was, and then asked her where it was. She raced over, reared up, and scratched at it. Ok, this isn't the best trick for the life of the office paint job, but damn it's fun.
Take It to Jim/Lauren	7	Takes it, but won't give it up.
Get the (Kong/Bone/Ring/Gum Toy)	7	Knows "ring" and "kong" well, others less so.
Get the Basketball	0	She recognizes the word "basketball" perfectly well, but has never yet retrieved it due to her refusal to believe that she won't, someday, manage to get the basketball into her mouth.
Gimme Kiss	10	Not sure if she recognizes the command or just the presentation of a human face to be slurped. Yum.
Jump!	7	She's been able to jump over a rope on command for several months, only occasionally attempting to run around it instead. But recently, we've purchased a hula hoop. She's being pretty good about jumping through it so far, but not very careful about trailing her limbs.
Bow/Say Hi	9	Oftentimes when Zoe arises from a not-infrequent nap, she takes a mighty stretch by putting her front feet out and bowing back on her back legs. So I said to myself, Self, how hard could it be to associate a command with that? Answer: not too hard. "Bow" sounded too much like "Down" and kinda gave away what was coming, so we're now saying "Say Hi!" It amuses me, what can I say.
The Rather Esoteric:
Hide n Seek	10	Will hunt through house on command until she finds the hider. But for some reason, insists on looking for us on the shelves every time. Haven't hidden there yet.
Find the Egg	10	A new Easter trick! She hunted for Easter eggs throughout the living room and found almost every one without help. At first we thought she was finding them by sight alone (which I'd think connotes more intelligence), but she did seem to be using her nose at some points to sniff them out. But she was definitely using her sight as well. These were plastic eggs filled with dog treats and regular dyed eggs quickly substituted for treats upon discovery. I guess I'm most proud of how very quickly Zoe caught on what she was supposed to do.
Put It Away	7	Puts a toy into a laundry basket.
Ring on Bottle	9	Puts a rubber ring onto the neck of a wine bottle. I'd been trying to teach her this off and on for a few months now--the difficulty was that the ring I'm using isn't that much bigger than the neck of the wine bottle. Zoe had to use a lot of coordination and real effort to learn to place the ring carefully onto the bottle. She finally got it down and is really good at it now. The best part is that she realizes when she doesn't get it right and picks it up and tries again without being told.
Balloon!	7	This one made my jaw drop when I saw it for the first time. Somehow, Jim taught Zoe the basic concept of keeping a balloon up in the air. Zoe LEAPS into the air, about 3-4 feet off the ground, and pokes her nose into the balloon, sending it flying upwards. Then she waits a few seconds and LEAPS up again. It's pretty awe-inspiring. She can't always keep it going for too long (she ends up poking it sideways instead of straight up) but it's awfully neat to see when she keeps it up for a while. I'm thinking this one should get her on Letterman's Stupid Pet Tricks.