This post is a little delayed but I had so much fun at this lesson I just had to get it in here.

Last week I was working with a fantastic client who has a six month old Great Dane named Lola. Lola is a wonderful 106 pound puppy that is very well trained and walks around Town Lake with her owner off leash.

The thing is, the owner wanted Lola to tell her when she wanted to go out. So, off we went to dog training work. Lola had a small bell like the kind you see in movies on the hotel counter. The kind you slam down and the little bellhop jumps up from behind the desk. We though we would do the same thing with Lola and her owner.

Initially, I started teaching Lola to touch the little ringer with the tip of her nose, and while she was doing very well at that she had other more efficient ideas. Very soon (within about 15 minutes of working) Lola figured out that she could hit that bell A LOT harder using her foot, and once she really put together that ringing the bell with her foot got more treats and tons more excited laughter out of myself and her owner she started doing it repeatedly. Over and over and over and over again. Montana, the owner and I were just laying on the floor rolling in laughter and Lola’s new found skill and understanding of what we were asking us to do. At one point neither of us could talk we were laughing so hard while the bell went DING, DING, DING.

Loads of fun and a new skill for Lola the very large puppy.

Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works