Tricks Make the Man

This is the boy's collection of tricks more or less mastered. We're always shaping and refining.

Find It Expert

Blarney has mastered every kind of 'find it' challenge. He seemed to take to this game naturally. He'll play outside, searching the fern beds. He likes to sniff out his ball in the workshop or anywhere in the house.

Blarney Builds Vocabulary

We've assessed the words Blarney knows or us learning and decided to list them here for the record.

A few are incidental but essential.
Come (he was the timed champion at Kindergarten for this command)

OK We use this as a release word along with "Free"

Yes Good Boy (Praise words and reinforcement substitute for treats which work for many of the behaviour commands.

NO He knows this well and responds accordingly but he has been known to sneak back for another attempt at whatever has taken his interest.

On Your Mat He's loved his mat from day one.

Get Busy! Our command for using the great outdoors as a bathroom. As of this date, we still haven't established clear communication with Blarney to get him outside. He hates rainy weather and would prefer to find a quiet backwater in the house.

Go To Bed Blanket Mum Dad
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These are words that he has learned as part of actions. Most come with a hand signal. Some he still needs a treat to inspire.

TOUCH
STAY WAIT STOP
HEEL
SIT DOWN STAND
TAKE IT LEAVE IT
DROP IT
FETCH (he goes for a ball but doesn't always bring it back)
SPIN
PULL
PUSH
DIG
THROUGH
TUNNEL
PEEK A BOO
BANG
SPEAK (good at this but hasn't mastered QUIET)
OVER

Blarney is also good at taking a direction pointing. He'll go in the direction of a swinging finger.

Getting Along with the Big Guy

Blarney quickly built up a "working relationship" with the big lab, Jake. In this clip he can be seen "offering" Jake his ball and acting submissively by going down on his back. During the same visit Jake also went submissive by crouching down to Blarney's level and rolling onto his back. Very cute!

Fixed and Ready to Go

Blarney's life has changed forever. He spent a day at the vet getting neutered and having an identification chip slipped under his skin. He can now be scanned like a super market item. We're sure it was the most traumatic event in his short life. First sleeps after, with nightmares of the vet's holding pen, were punctuated with high-pitched whines and short yelps. Next time, we will expect him to react like a kid going under the dentist drill?

Separation Anxiety NOT!

We took a five day package to Las Vegas and left Blarney with L and K. They were thrilled to have him as a house guest although their apartment was undergoing repairs for water damage and their space was cramped with displaced furniture. The week had record rainfall that caused flooding up island.
It was dark and sprinkling lightly when we arrived to pick him up. The door opened, his nose was there, a couple of quick barks ensued before he sniffed Joan's feet and recognition dawned. I picked him up for a few moments of serious face licking and all was back to normal. Were we missed? Hmm! Not as much as when we leave him alone for a couple of hours and return to jumping and torso twisting ecstasy. They say dogs live in the moment and I'm sure Blarney is no exception.

Blarney the Elder

During this visit from a little ball of fluff, Blarney was the older dog. Up until this point he'd always been the puppy. Here he is letting the younger dog take advantage of him.