The term "dog trick" is a misnomer, isn't it?To sit, stand, stay, or shake is not trickery at all; rather, the expected happens because the dog is following your command.
A real trick would have to have a surprise element.
I had just gotten done telling a neighbor this afternoon that Macy doesn't know how to perform any tricks, but, boy, was I wrong!
Apparently, Macy can perform "slight of mouth," a skill reserved only for dogs trained in performing magic (much like what human magicians practice, called "slight of hand").
It's funny that she could have developed this skill so quickly, considering the fact that she didn't know how to fetch when I first got her.
But wait!! She did spend all last weekend with a magician!! That explains it!
Perhaps it was my father who trained her when I was away at the Jesus Retreat. He's a former magician, you know.
He and Mom took care of Macy while I was gone, and my neighbors said that my parents stayed for quite a while. So it's quite possible they could have trained her during that time!
Oh! I suppose I should tell you the magic trick she performed! :)
Earlier this afternoon, Macy was playing with her tennis ball. The last time I saw it, we were both upstairs. She was chewing on it and rolling it around excitedly.
A few hours later, I decided to take her on a walk. We had been hanging out downstairs for quite a while then. So off we went.
We walked for about 30 minutes, and on the return home, she suddenly stopped, looked down, and pretended to look surprised as she saw that sitting on the grass, right before us, was her tennis ball!I was amazed.
How on earth did it get here, so very far away from my house?!
She seemed to smile back at me. She was basking the glow of having just performed her first real dog trick.
A skeptic would surmise that this were a different tennis ball altogether or that Macy had been holding it in her mouth this whole time and I never noticed. But both scenarios are complete gibberish!
I assure you that the tennis ball was not in her mouth when we left. I frequently am down on her level when I hug and caress her, and I would have certainly seen the huge, bright neon fuzzy thing glowing in her mouth, if she had it in there. Plus, this is a jumbo, over-sized tennis ball, so it's not like she could hide it!
I know this is her tennis ball because the label on it is the brand I purchased, and the tears she ripped into it are in precisely the same location. Trust me!
I can only conclude that she performed slight of mouth, and the fact that she skipped eating dinner tonight might have been proof that she had the ball tucked into the recesses of her gums somehow. Instead of "palming it" (as a magician does), she must have "gummed it."
I just realized that what I wrote may sound conflicting. I just assured you that it could not have been in her mouth when we started our walk, and then I suggested that she must have gummed it.
But that's the amazing thing about magicians. Their deft skills make you feel certain about what you saw or didn't see, and they surprise you, even when you know how they do the trick.
What an amazing girl!
