Category: Fun Stuff ¤ Author: Stacy Braslau-Schneck ¤ Title: 101 Tricks ¤ James, and list, here's my modified version (I found a number of redundancies) of James' list: Bare teeth ("Are you a mean dog?", or "What do sharks look like?") Speak (bark) Speak LOUD! Speak SOFT! Speak silently (Whisper) Beg (dog sits up and holds up paws) Bite water, bubbles, or snap at air (away from anyone's face!) Bow Circle around me Cock your head to one side Crawl Did you wash your hands? (dog sits up in beg position but shows pads) Sooooo big! (same as wash your hands but standing up) Dig Fan the flames (two paws) Walk in a figure-8 High four! ("high five", but for a dog!) Gimme four, also known as "Low four" Growl Kiss Drop it/Let go of rope or toy Nod your head Nose touch to hand Nose touch to other objects (naming objects or pointing) Play dead Pre-wash dishes for dishwasher Push things with paw (like doors, drawers) Put paws on a person's shoulders (tall dog) Jump into someone's arms (small dog) Jump through a hoop made by someone's arms (small dog) Ring bell by pulling string Ring bell with nose Ring bell with paw Roll over Rub muzzle on floor Shake hands Shake your head Shake yourself Sit on couch with front feet on ground Spin Wag tail Walk backwards Wave Wave/shake hands with the other paw Where's your tail? Whimper Yawn Balance treat on nose, then toss it up in the air and catch it Carry purse or other bag Cover your eyes Fetch newspaper Fetch slippers Find/bring dog dishes Find/bring leash/collar Find/bring TV remote Get a toy by name Ride a skateboard or cart Pull a cart Heel backward Hide your eyes/shame on you (paw over nose) Hide your head (nose touch under cushion or blanket, or hide head under chair) Howl ("Heard the Spice Girls latest CD?") Keep barking until some (subtle) cue (Clever Hans) Lead another dog by the leash (or lead himSELF by the leash) Limp Moon-walk (scoot backwards in a bow) Open doors (tie a rope or towel to handle) Permit the wearing of sunglasses or hat Pick a card (from a deck) Pick the hammer (paw to indicate correct tool) Pull, with harness - pulling laundry basket, pulling firewood, pulling cart Pull on rope - close doors, open doors, open cupboards, pull wheelchairs Pull your wallet (or someone else's) out of your pocket Push balls with nose Push something else with the nose Put a toy IN something Get it out again Roll in cued direction Rub back on floor Rub muzzle with paws Sit in a chair, paws on table Sneeze! Take a bow, twirl, and take a bow. Take money from someone else and bring it to you! Walk sideways Wave bye-bye Weave between your legs Climb a ladder Dance Fetch a hot dog Kick balls with paws (play soccer) Lead people (take wrist gently in mouth and take them somewhere) Learn names of family members and carry messages back and forth Nose touch to designated colors or shapes Ride a horse/llama/other dog Roll over with ball between front paws Stop dead on cue Walk up stairs backward Tea Bag Search Dog: Dog search people for a tea bag held in their hands, people sitting on floor or chair. Fetch beer from fridge Chained Tricks Bang! (roll over on side and look dead - except for tail, usually) Carry basket with Hallowe'en treats to door (wearing costume, of course), you open door and hide behind it, dog walks forward to doorsill and sits politely while children take treats. Chair Tricks - be creative Count/Add/Subtract (What's one and three? What's 312 minus 308? What's 120 divided by 30?)(the CUE is a tiny hand signal to bark) Going duck hunting (complete with bringing a gun to his owner, walking on logs, jumping from rock to rock, crawling through the underbrush, and retrieving the duck) Learn words - show me your dish, show me the dog food, show me where water comes from Lie on blanket, grab one corner of blanket, roll over and cover yourself up and pretend to sleep Pick up everything that's on the floor and put it in garbage Pick up toys and put them in toy box Say your prayers (Beg position, front paws on chair, nose tucked in between front legs) Steal people's purses from beside chairs and put them in a bucket Stop, Drop & Roll (for demonstrating fire safety to kids) Team Stunts Line Dancing - dogs in the heel position to move through a series of turns and sideways steps Overs and Unders - one dog to go over another dog - jump; one dog to go under another dog - crawl Team Rollover - a team of dogs lie in a row, the last one does a rollover then moves around to the top end and lies down again. Team GoForIt - one activity completed by all team members simultaneously Team Retrieve - one dog is to place out an article for another dog to retrieve it. - - ------------------------------ Thanks to (in no particular order): Jean Heisler, Chris Nielsen, Kim Burrell, Susan Finlay Ailsby (eh?), Kay Laurence, Stacy Braslau-Schneck, Stephanie Price Stacy Braslau-Schneck