Helper girl

One of the things Hope learned in Advanced Training was the "tug" command, where the dog has to grab something in their mouth and walk backwards; its mostly used for opening doors I think. I have a leash tied to many of my doors at home and have Hope open the door. I never thought she would be able to open the sliding door to the backyard as its kind of heavy, but this girl is determined and learned to open it. Now if only I can teach her to unlock the door, she could let herself out all on her own!

It actually came in handy yesterday, I was watching a friend's young puppy who I was carrying to take him outside (I didn't want him to pee on the floor as he had drank a lot of water and had just woken from a nap); since my hands were full, I gave Hope the "tug" command and she was able to open the door for me! My little helper...

In the morning when I am getting ready for work, I have her open and close my closet door. She also likes the "push" command to close my bathroom drawers. Sometimes I even have her help me remove the dog towels from the dryer using the "tug" command. In the morning if I forget to let her push one of my drawers closed, she looks at me like, "I wanted to do that!"

She also loves picking up her food bowl before meals. Sure saves me from bending over, might come in handy in my old age....I'll have to get a video of that someday.