Cinder, the blog dog, here! Bipeds spend a lot of time talking about how they can coerce us canines and felines into doing the things they like. It’s cute, and I know they love me even when I sneeze instead of obeying, so I tolerate it with good humor. Besides, I can relate – humans are so much fun to train!
When I go out, I see humans who have been trained in all sorts of ways. Some of my friends have trained their humans to push them in strollers instead of walking (I have tried this on mummy but she’s not buying it). All sorts of humans clean up after us, carrying around neat little baggies to get rid of our waste and kicking mulch back into a garden when Cody (my dog brother) kicks it onto the sidewalk after a particularly good pee-mail.
There are no limits to what we can teach our humans. I have taught my daddy to let me sit on his neck while he works so that I can tell him every time a squirrel runs through the yard. I’ve also trained him and mummy to open the door to let me out and then back in every two minutes. That’s my favorite trick – I’m very proud of them for picking this up so quickly and being so responsive when I give the “open door” command.
Daddy is more advanced in his training than mummy. Don’t get me wrong – mummy is very good at feeding me at the exact proper time (when I stare at her with my very serious face), and she always listens when I tell her to get out of my chair, but Daddy has learned to let me drink from his cup of ice water, and to save me a piece of chicken from his lunch. He knows that if he is sitting on the couch he must share everything he eats; mummy still struggles with this concept, but I love her anyway and simply continue to work on it.
Even my kitty brother, Biskit, has learned to train humans. He makes all sorts of funny noises (they call it meowing; I have not entirely mastered this weird cat barking yet) and gets them to feed him, brush him, give him treats, even play with toys (well, when I’m willing to share, of course. I’ve already taught everyone that ALL the toys belong to me). He has even talked the humans into letting him go to the bathroom in the house. I am currently trying to train the humans to let me enjoy the fruits of this habit (cat poop is a delicacy bipeds do not seem to comprehend), but so far, mummy is showing her usual inability to grasp the command to allow me access.
How have you trained your humans? It’s important to keep up with their training, especially when they have a baby biped in the house. So keep at it, my furry friends, and remember – they love you and they want to make you happy, so be creative and help them learn the best tricks!