# So how smart is your golden?



## Ranger

Hahaha, it's amazing how fast they pick up on the things they want to! Ranger knows when I shake his collar that he's supposed to put his head through it...it took him two times to learn it and it doesn't matter where I hold his collar or shake it, he comes running to find it! I think he's proud to be able to put his collar on "all by himself".


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## Jamm

Joeys so so smart  He knows when its walk time, dinner time, potty time, 'get your ball' 'go get it' and 'bring it here' He also knows that the fridge makes the ice that he loves to chew and whenever i go to fill up my cup he sits under neath it hoping one will fall! He also knows whenever the cupboard opens yummy goddies are to follow!


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## hotel4dogs

Toby is my smartest one by far, even though he's not the most "titled". He will come and get you and gently lead you by the hand (or elbow if you're sitting down) to whatever it is he wants. He will indicate with his nose if he wants a treat, to go out, a toy, etc. He uses his feet a lot, for example, he is the only one who figured out how to hook his foot around the rung of our gate and tug it open. Can open his crate that way, too. He's a communicator and a problem solver, so to me, he's awful smart.
Tito is the most trainable, even though Toby is smarter. He learns everything in just 2 or 3 tries (hence the advanced obedience titles, even though that was not my original intention with him). Tito is the most easy going, and the most willing to please, so sometimes he can appear to be the smartest one but he's really not.
Tiny, well, she's a smart pants in a different way. She is manipulative. She always manages to get the boys (or us) to do what she wants. Female wiles.
So they're each smart....in different ways....but then aren't ALL goldens smart??


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## SylviaB

If I go into the bathroom to put on lipstick, Tundra heads to his crate, opens the door and goes in cause he knows I'm heading out. He also heads to my bathroom in the evening when he figures it's time for me to take a bath! And of course, he knows which cabinet has his goodies in it.


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## Jamm

SylviaB said:


> If I go into the bathroom to put on lipstick, Tundra heads to his crate, opens the door and goes in cause he knows I'm heading out. He also heads to my bathroom in the evening when he figures it's time for me to take a bath! And of course, he knows which cabinet has his goodies in it.


Wow! Thats impressive!


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## FinnTastic

Wow!!! Toby is a genius.


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## GoldenSail

Scout will bring me her leash if she wants to go for a walk. If she wants to go visit the neighbor's dog she will grab the leash in her mouth and very determinedly pull toward that house. She was taught how to turn on/off light switches and will do so to wake me up in the morning. I have been teaching her to tug open the fridge and she will now do it to get my attention or just for fun.


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## Elisabeth Kazup

We keep Penny's collar hanging on a door knob. She wears it only when away from home. If we get ready to leave and forget her collar, she's won't be at the door. She sits by the door knob and when we come to see where she is, she'll touch the collar with her nose. "Mom, you know I'm not allowed in the car without my I.D. collar".


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## dc_glidden

Maggie knows a lot for not having her since a pup.

She can High -5, High-10, Wait with a treat on her snout for long periods. Play dead, bow, sit stay, stand stay, finish, knows how to ring a set of bells we put up near the back door for Jasper to lets us know she needs out.

She knows when we say, " Take the leash maggie" and she grabs our tandem leash and walks proudly with it lol.

At the park, she will sit and wait for us to open the gate with or without the leash.

She picked up a lot from Jasper since he was already trained.

I would of loved to have had her from a pup on, either way, very happy regardless.


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## kwiland

Winnie knows each of his toys by name. If I ask him to get his bird, or duck, or ball, or any toy, he knows the name and will bring it.

Winnie is also smart enough to question authority. He can, and will, do anything for food. Otherwise, he likes to negotiate. He definitely thinks about "what's in it for me?". I'm so very glad that he is not smart enough to figure out how to open the trash cans! Each trash cans, including the ones in the bathrooms, have to have the lids that require you to step on a lever to open. Otherwise, an open trash can is an all you can eat doggie buffet. So far, the trash cans with lids have thwarted him. He's 8, so I'm hoping he won't ever figure this one out! He's very smart, but luckily not a genius. 

I remember a breeder, whom I respect, saying that the average person should have an unintelligent dog. It's the smart ones who know how to get into trouble!


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## Golden_Lover

Charlie can speak "out" when he has to go potty...I swear it actually sounds like he is saying "out"! I'll video tape him sometime!
He pulls my socks off my feet and will bring me a blanket when I tell him it's bedtime. (he knows he gets a belly rub if he does).
He brings me my socks, shoes, and leash if he wants to go for a walk.
He knows exactly when it is 5 pm every day (dinner time) and will come nudge my arm and put his head on my lap.
He also knows the names of all of his toys and will bring them by name.
He is so smart sometimes he amazes me how quickly he picks up on things. The other day I was making frozen treat cubes for him and I had some extra bones so I stuck them in the bottom drawer. He smelled them and was able to get the drawer open! Well so much for hiding treats in there now. :bowl::doh:


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## janine

Both my guys know when it's 5:30 dinner time. The know the sound of the treat can...they can be on a different floor of the house and still hear it. They know when DH puts on certain shoes it's time for walk or if they see his work shoes they don't even get up. Chester knows when we walk by the tennis courts he just might find a ball...I really think he smells them he goes a little nuts. As smart as these two are how come they don't know mom and dad want to sleep in on Sundays?


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## Golden_Lover

janine said:


> As smart as these two are how come they don't know mom and dad want to sleep in on Sundays?


Ha ha oh they probably know, they just don't care! Don't you know it's a GOLDEN world?? :wavey:


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## pwrstrk02

we play hide and seek. it starts as bonding exercises and continues as games. 
both will go do their business on comand.
0600 and 1730 is their internal alarm clock for food.
male dog walks entire neighborhood with leash in mouth.
female stole my heart when she was a pup and i encouraged it ever since. she will get up on the couch, stand up next to me and fall backwards to lay in my arms like a baby.


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## wyldeflower

My first retriever was a rescue and he was really clever he could be sent to the kitchen for a chocolate bar he would go open the cupboard and bring it to you he could open any door in the house so the front door had to be kept locked at all times,He could also bring you a coloured object i put two different coloured purses down and say fetch the red one and the red one was fetched.
This puppy i have now is fairly bright if husband appears in certain clothes he goes fetches his lead and if i am going out he will go sit on the sofa knowing he isnt coming.And he can kiss i taught him to kiss as he is a puppy he was biting when he was teething so i kept saying you dont bite you kiss so now he puckers up his lips and kisses you he did it to a stranger the other week and i think she thought he was crazy..I shall teach him other things as time go on he likes to carry his lead when walking as well.
I think they are all very intelligent and easily trained my last one knew exactly what was going to happen next as he monitored my every move he was a pain for getting in cupboards looking for things as well you couldnt hide anything from him.


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## pride-and-joy

*Don't let them sandbag you!*

In the morning, when I start lacing up my combat boots (26 years in the AF)...both the Rott and newly adopted Golden horn in and start circling for the impending march - with dog cookies - to the laundry room, for their daily sequestering.


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## pride-and-joy

*Don't let them sandbag you!*

Delete...ooops....duplicate.


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## C's Mom

Smart enough to get me to adopt him even though I had absolutely no intentions of adopting a dog any time soon.


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## Walker

Jed's smart enough to have me wrapped around his paw. He's also smart enough to make a grown man (DH) crawl around on his hands and knees_ and_ make that same man do a weird version of the twist to match Jed's wagging tail/butt.


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## jackie_hubert

We hide the cat's kibble all over the house, usually high up so Cosmo can't get at it. Cosmo follows the cat all over the house hoping something will drop to the floor for him. The cat has learned to only look for his food when the dog is asleep. If a kibble falls to the ground, Cosmo jumps up from his sleep and runs over. Usually the cat has beaten him to it. Sometimes he makes it. It's funny to watch.


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## Loisiana

Conner is lovingly referred to as my dumb blonde. I think God cut him a little short when he was putting in the brains. Colby the Lhasa Apso is a genius. He can figure anything out. And he's smart enough to know that some of what I ask him to do is stupid and he chooses not to do it. I don't think it occurs to Conner very often not to do what I ask of him, he just goes along with what "mommy" wants.


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## Elisabeth Kazup

Not a golden but my son's cocker spaniel knows all her toys and still has her first toys. One night son told her "go find you green turtle". Daughter in law was knitting. Molly is looking all over the family room and kitchen but can't find it. DIL off handedly says to Molly "it's upstairs in the basket with the clean socks". Molly ran up the stairs and came back right away WITH the turtle!


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## Sheamus

So today Sheamus was outside and had just come in, I was working on the computer and he was at the door wanting to go out again, I was trying to ignore him but he wouldn't have it...he took my sneaker over and dropped it by my feet, I guess that was a hint..I want out!! he won me over...what a charmer.


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## Pudden

The Pudden is VERY smart. She has a PhD in coprology from S.Hit University


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## Penson

Penny is very smart and equally manipulative. For example, if she sees me standing in front of the mirror in my bathroom putting on makeup she knows i'm going out and will immediately THROW herself onto the ground right in the doorway and literally start sighing. She looks so dejected and will sit there and pout the entire time I'm getting ready. If I call her or try to talk to her she just keeps staring strait ahead, not moving, acting like life is over and it isn't even worth it to respond anymore. If i call her like ten times in a row she'll finally oh-so-slowly roll her eyes over to look at me without moving her head at all. Talk about a guilt trip! Sheesh.


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## sadiegold

I am proudest of Sadie when its time to "get the paper" and we open the front door, she goes out front, finds the paper and brings it straight to us. 

She will only give it up for a treat but hey saves me from going outside in my pj's.


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## elly

MY golden is very smart and makes me very proud and safe. I have a rare condition and when my potassium falls he knows and if I am already weakened and losing conciousness he licks me frantically and roughly to keep bringing me round, sometimes its been enough for me to call for help or if its before, he warns me by licking and fussing relentlessly so that I take some potassium to prevent an attack.He hasnt been trained, he just started doing it from when he was a puppy and has increased in his ability to notice and notify. My clever boy


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## Nomes

my first golden Tasha, was a tad slow... : But Casey makes up for it! we're talking like learning stay in half an hour...like _really_ learning it well! blew me away!


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## Debles

Sasha not only does fetch, he throws it back!!! We play catch often. Sometimes he throws it and other times hits it with his nose and it rolls back!


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## My Big Kahuna

My little Kahuna is not even 12 weeks and I've only had him 2 and he's already almost completely potty trained (no accidents in a WEEK) BUT the coolest part is I hung up bells on the back door and I have taught him to nose them when he wants to go outside and he consistently does it!!!!!!!!!! I am just amazed by his intelligence!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I never in a million years expected him to pick up potty training, let alone the bells, so quickly!!!!!!! I love this thread and reading about everyone else's geniuses!!!


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## sharlin

The Pack is smart enough to know that I'm gonna feed 'em regardless of how much trouble they get into


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## Debles

Penny's Mom said:


> Not a golden but my son's cocker spaniel knows all her toys and still has her first toys. One night son told her "go find you green turtle". Daughter in law was knitting. Molly is looking all over the family room and kitchen but can't find it. DIL off handedly says to Molly "it's upstairs in the basket with the clean socks". Molly ran up the stairs and came back right away WITH the turtle!




Selka was just like this, Teresa!! You could tell him to fetch any toy no matter where it was and he would find it. I constantly had to tell him"Gunner left his dummy outside" and Selka would go get it. He knew so many words!!

When we'd walk , I'd say "Slow" and he'd slow down for me. I could write all day about how smart he was.


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## AlanK

sharlin said:


> The Pack is smart enough to know that I'm gonna feed 'em regardless of how much trouble they get into


Trouble.... get out here...Golden dogs never get into trouble......they are just misunderstood...LOL


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## Golden_Lover

*too smart for his own good*

Charlie loves going on walks, like most Goldens I'm sure, so much so that we have to spell it now. So I decided to get a backpack that I could weight down thinking maybe it would slow him down some. Instructions say you can weigh it down with 1/3 of the dogs body weight. For Charlie that would be 27 pounds, I thought that was a lot and he needed to work up to it (even though we walk 3-4 times a day and do about 3-4 miles a day).

So we started off slow with 3 pounds and worked up to 6. He hates it! When I say are you ready for a walk? He comes running into the room, wiggly butt and all! As soon as I say sit and pull out the back pack, he shakes his head no and turns and walks out of the room!

He will sit outside the door and watch me. If I put the pack down and pick up the regular leash he walks back to me ready to go. But the back pack comes back out and he runs away again. lol funny but frustrating too! 

So I continue to bribe him with food to wear it and hoping he will get used to it. But while he is wearing it he walks really really slowly and shakes constantly trying to get it off and once after he shook he actually scared himself and jumped sideways trying to figure out where the noise came from! 

So yes he is smart but at times I think he's lost his marbles! lol :bowl:


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## MycrazyGoldengang

When Elle comes back from her walk and the paws are muddy, she will stand still while i start to clean the 1st paw. Then i touch each leg and she will turn round for me to clean them.

She actually lifts her back legs for me to wipe them.

When it comes to the belly completely different story, i have to chase her to get her to lay down for the dreaded belly rub.


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## StephB

I've never had a puppy before so I've been worried that I've been trying too hard with Harvey. He's 19 weeks now and I'd say he's pretty well trained - we went back to visit him mum and sister a couple of times and he seems to know a lot more commands than they do.

We have the basics down, sit, lay down, stand, give paw, kisses, roll over, come here, stay, leave. The look on his face is priceless with leave - I can put a treat on each paw and tell him to leave and he will look like it's painful to not eat them! He knows that as soon as we say "Go on then" he can eat them. 

My brother has been teaching him 'bang bang' when he comes over, where he pretends to shoot him and he drops dead and rolls over. Not sure what use that will be but it's funny to watch anyway. 

The last couple of weeks he has learned to open and close doors on command. I started with his crate door and now he's mastering the house doors. Only pushing them open, no handles or anything!

And as of yesterday we are trying to learn 'wipe feet' at the door when he comes in from the yard all muddy. He can wipe his front paws on the mat, but the back ones he needs a little help with.

I would say he's a pretty intelligent dog overall. He seems to know so much and picks things up very quickly! He also knows full well when he's being naughty (not that it tends to stop him from doing the naughty things! I keep finding him in my make up bag trying to steal my cotton wool balls!) He also knows he's not allowed upstairs, so when he does make a break for it and runs up there, I usually find him sat staring through the bannister bars as if he's waiting for me to catch him!


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## boomers_dawn

Boomer is so smart, when I go in the bathroom to get ready for bed at night, he comes in to get his teeth brushed. 

Gladys is so smart, she stays where she is so I have to go brush hers.

We have some Lab friends who are smart too: one time I dogsat and the the older one opened the latch door with her nose. I got mad, shut the door, told her to sit and wait, and she did it again and looked at me like "ha ha!". 
Another time, they got Boomer off the couch by squeaking a toy and getting him to play, after which she immediately dropped the toy and stole his spot on the couch.


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## ashleylp

Remy is smart, knew major commands at 8 weeks, etc. but is more manipulative than anything. He knows just how to push my buttons and then when I'm frustrated how to make me feel terrible for ever being frustrated with him. He's really very talented.... with his little tricks I know he impresses everyone. Most people think he's some brilliant puppy prodigy but I try to convince them that he is just a golden.. they are all smart!


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## newport

Lola plays with 4 and 5 toys at a time when she is playing by herself. She has a rubber frisbie and will make a sandwich out of it and pick up other toys with it and carry them around. The frisbie is Like a tool. I think that is pretty smart!


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## Elisabeth Kazup

Penny is smart enough to know that if she stands in front of the pantry door long enough, she will get a biscuit...even if it isn't biscuit time.


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## newport

Lolo knows the second I pull out the bag of carrots from the fridge- because she wants one...I can not get past her....same goes for the empty paper towel cardboard roll- I have to hide it and slip it into the recycle before she sees it- if it happens to hit the floor because I dropped it- Lola knows the sound and will be right there wanting to chew it up.


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## Aislinn

Sometimes I think Dakota is too smart. She loves to problem solve. Her favorite thing to do is open the gate and leave her yard to go back to see if her sister is out in her yard and to jump in the kiddie pool. Then she'll run back and sit at the door as if she never left. Unless her sister is out and then she forgets to watch the time and comes back when I call her. She run back, sit and grin up at me. Of course I'm watching her out the diningroom window the whole time as her sister's house and yard is in back of mine.

If I'm eating something she wants and I won't give it to her, ie my dinner, she'll run and try to find something she's not allowed to have, like someone's shoe in her mouth and sit down in front of me hoping I guess that I'll offer a trade, my dinner for her prize...


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## Jakemyboy

Man ---- reading how smart all of your Goldens are I am getting a little discouraged. Jake I think is smart....but the potty training thing is not really working out...and he wont get the "bells". He does know how to sit, down and speak. Which I thought was pretty good for being 12 weeks. We are starting to work on "stay" and "trade" (so I can start his RAW feeding). I want to teach him all those fun tricks...how soon after learning a new trick should I start on a new one?


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## Mssjnnfer

Mojo has everyone beat. He can count.

I once put five treats in my pocket. Only gave him four. 

He knew.


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## Goldens R Great

I love reading how smart everyone's goldens are! 

I was sitting on the couch one evening petting Rindy who was standing beside the couch. Finn lept up on the couch and on me, wanting to be petted too. Rindy turned around and grabbed a stuffed toy, and of course Finn jumped off to get the toy. Rindy came right back to get petted. Once again, Finn jumped up on the couch and on me, and Rindy again turned around and this time picked up a higher value item; an antler. Finn jumped off and grabbed it and Rindy came back for more petting. Finn stayed with the antler and Rindy got more loving. The interesting part is Rindy is not one to pick up toys very often so it was a surprise to see her do this. I thought she was a pretty smart little cookie to distract him away from me!


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## Goldens R Great

Jakemyboy said:


> Man ---- reading how smart all of your Goldens are I am getting a little discouraged. Jake I think is smart....but the potty training thing is not really working out...and he wont get the "bells". He does know how to sit, down and speak. Which I thought was pretty good for being 12 weeks. We are starting to work on "stay" and "trade" (so I can start his RAW feeding). I want to teach him all those fun tricks...how soon after learning a new trick should I start on a new one?


Oh gosh, don't get discouraged. It sounds like Jake is doing really well. At 12 weeks Finn was "getting" the potty training better, but the bell thing didn't work out at first. All he wanted to do was eat and destroy them! LOL! I don't have any real advice as to when to move on to a new trick. No need to hurry really! Just take your time, make it fun and use lots of tasty treats!


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## Skippy03

Skippy has a refined palate. He will only nibble on his own poops and not touch the ones that belong to the boxer he shares a yard with 

Jake sounds really smart too honestly Skippy wasn't totally housebroken until 3 months.


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## mygoldenboys

When it's time for Sam and Lola to come it, I knock on a window a couple times. And they come running for the door. They would also come running if I yelled there names but, why bother opening the door if I can just knock!!


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## MikaTallulah

I know Buddy is pretty smart but the Yorkies may be smarter. He works for his cookie while they just do sit and still get the same cookie.


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## sterregold

I have some who are what I call "evil smart."

Little Bonnie can open the gate between the dog yard and the main yard--have to keep a snap on the gate latch to keep her in. Her mother Breeze can let herself out of vari-kennels.

Now, Breeze's brains are also rather useful. She can mark a triple amd do a 200+ yard blind. So sometimes the evil-smart ones come in handy.


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## porchpotty

Snow White knows how to open our gate (the bar). When I take her outside on her first few days of walk, she immediately became familiar of where our house is.


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## Dexter12

Dex is amazing to teach things to, you have to sort of force him to do an action a couple times and then he tries to do it on his own! When we first got him for example, the porch was a little difficult because he was small so I sort of lifted him up the fist couple times and then he wanted to do it on his own and every time we got to the porch he would for the most part he'd try to do it on his own and if he couldn't he'd look up at me and I'd help him and eventually he got it. It was the same with getting in and out of the car, every time I'd open the door, he'd run up to the car and started trying to get in or out on his own and eventually I'd help him out. He's still working on it but he's much more confident about jumping in and out of the car. 

My favorite story is when I started walking him, I needed to give him a treat as an incentive to walk and I was teaching him the "come" command. Whenever he would stop or get distracted, I would walk forward give his leash a small tug and say "come!" and if he was choosing not to ignore me he would do so and get a treat. By two and half months he pretty good at "come" and he seemed pretty bored so he started a scam on me. We would walk a couple steps, then he would stop, lay down and get me to do the command so he could pretend to be going 'ho hum' and get a treat. It was the second time he did it that I caught on, I took another three steps and then again he lay down so I'd say "come!" and give him a treat. You could tell he was just being cheeky with the not so convincing pathetic pleading look in his eye that I was just being scammed for treats, I'm pretty sure that he was.


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## Gwen_Dandridge

*Tennis racket*

Our previous golden, Amber, went to work with my husband every day. He would use a tennis racket to hit balls to her at certain times during the day.

One day there was an event out where she usually played and my husband had to go out there with a number of the deans and such.

A Swedish post-doc named Doris was sitting in the office with Amber. Amber brought over her tennis ball and did the polite golden thing by dropping it next to Doris and letting it bounce. Doris 'explained' that they couldn't go out and play. Amber laid back down and ten minutes later tried again, same routine, same answer.

Finally, Amber went and picked up the tennis racket and brought it to Doris. She figured that this person must not understand 'her part.'

I thought that was very, very clever.


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