The Special Little Prince Treats

Typhoon has trained Hu-Dad to an ultimate level now which includes the special Little Prince treats delivered for royal reasons.

Typhoon doing his best Little Prince pose.

Typhoon doing his best Little Prince pose.

Many moons ago, Hu-Dad was attempting to train Natasha on bathroom etiquette. Someone suggested that he hang bells on the patio door so that she could ring the bell when she needed to go outside. As part of the training routine, Hu-Dad would scratch Natasha’s ears and praise her when she rung the bell.Natasha, being smarter than the average Hu-Dad, figured out quickly that all she needed to do was ring the bell and she immediately received ear scratches. Going outside was strictly optional since the ear scratches came with a simple ringing.

Natasha, being smarter than the average Hu-Dad, figured out quickly that all she needed to do was ring the bell and she immediately received ear scratches. She would ring the bell, Hu-Dad would promptly arrive, scratch her ears and open the door. Sometimes she would go out and sometimes not, but either way she got what she wanted – ear scratches. Going outside was strictly optional since the ear scratches came with a simple ringing.

The Queen was my mentor.

The Queen was my mentor.

So fast forward to present day. Typhoon has a habit of totally ignoring Hu-Dad’s calls to come in, so Hu-Dad began offering a treat to Typhoon when he would come inside when called. Terrific plan, except Typhoon learned from the Queen, and so he expects a treat to come inside regardless of whether he has been called or not. The routine lately has been Typhoon banging on the door (he doesn’t scratch), Hu-Dad opens the door, and Typhoon waits just outside the door until the treat is offered.

Fair enough, Hu-Dad thought until . . . Typhoon went to the door and asked to be let out. Hu-Dad opened the door, Typhoon stepped outside, Hu-Dad closed the door.

You see this coming, don’t you?

Typhoon immediately turned around and banged on the door – fully expecting a treat to re-enter the house he had left a millisecond before. After all, banging on the door equaled treat and Hu-Dad had become an automatic treat dispenser.

Aren't those the rules?

Aren’t those the rules?

14 Comments

  1. Mom 'n Ebby on June 27, 2017 at 3:44 am

    Mom sez: ALL these posts just go to show that MOST dogs of any breed can be smarter than the average “hu-Person”! I know our “Miss Ebby” certainly falls into this category!

  2. Sylv on June 22, 2017 at 8:34 am

    Our oldest girl was trained to ring the bell to go outside. She caught on very quickly, and would often ring the bells just to get attention. The funniest moment was when she was outside, ran in the (open) patio door, through the kitchen, into the mud room, rang the bell, back into the kitchen, and just stood there grinning at us!

  3. All Things Collie on June 21, 2017 at 10:56 pm

    I love hearing stories of canine cleverness! It’s awesome to see just how smart our dogs are!

  4. Lindsey Spivey on June 21, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    So familiar. My youngest I taught to give a kiss (nose to nose) for a treat. Whenever her big brother saw this he expected a treat too. So I finally decided he should learn to give a kiss for a treat instead of getting them “for free”. So of course he quickly learned to give a kiss. However, his translation is “whenever I want I treat I go find Mom and try to give her a kiss”. If I just bend over for some reason, the next thing I know he is in my face giving me a kiss. I created a monster, lol.

  5. Laura on June 21, 2017 at 5:52 pm

    Huskies aren’t the only breed to outsmart their humans. We have a greyhound, who’s also a therapy dog, and my husband now tells people she she permits us to live in her house as long as we follow the rules! She bosses him around constantly — clearly, she’s trained him to be a good obedient servant. It’s quite hilarious!

  6. Ritakc on June 21, 2017 at 3:23 pm

    Oh this sounds so familiar. Our 4-pack has us trained very well!!

  7. Juno's mom on June 21, 2017 at 12:56 pm

    It’s so funny how they manipulate us. We make it complicated, they simplify. (Was thinkin’ the same thing as Zoe about the extra calories for Ty.)

  8. The Ao4 on June 21, 2017 at 10:41 am

    Ha roo roo roo! Good one, Typhoon!
    Yours sincerely,
    Margaret Thatcher

  9. Lisa on June 21, 2017 at 10:32 am

    Huskies outsmart humans, part 4927!
    My mom also has a husky and lives a few hours away, so we visit periodically and the cousins get to hang out. She also does the door-bells thing, and her husky will ring them to be let out. If we don’t come fast enough, my dog will come stare at us then look back towards her dog. He doesn’t use the bells himself (he relies on Meaningful Looks) but clearly knows what it means and that we should Do Something to help his little cousin.
    Another story with the same dog – when mom was training her as a puppy, she’d give her a treat when she peed outside. Of course, Tessa very quickly learned to go outside and squat and get a treat. After a few days of very-frequent pee breaks, mom realized that the dog wasn’t actually going pee most of those times, she’d just outsmarted the training.

  10. KJ Pierson on June 21, 2017 at 8:13 am

    rofl. Leena does the same thing. If you’re eating, holding food, or if she thinks there are treats nearby she runs up…looks at you with her big eyes, and plops her butt down in her best pose.

    Why? Because she learned in training that sitting meant she got treats. Never mind that it was only done a few times at the start. You did it once….you give me treats all the time RIGHT NOW.

  11. Koda Hazel And Sue Verschneider on June 21, 2017 at 7:06 am

    Must follow the rules of the game and hu-dad needs to follow them as well. Right TyTy you handsome little prince!!????????????

  12. Lori on June 21, 2017 at 6:51 am

    Pavlov’s dog…. Typhoon’s human ????❤️

  13. Zoe on June 21, 2017 at 6:15 am

    In that moment when you realize they are smarter than you are…. don’t worry hu-dad., We’ve all been there

    Hey maybe the extra treats are helping with weight gain!!

  14. Hokie Pack on June 21, 2017 at 6:10 am

    Love the regal pose a Prince he is! The Queen lives on!

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