New tricks

Gus practising for his stint on the Fourth Plinth.

Wifie has been teaching Gus to do barking circuits round bench seats, and he performs very well for her. On Sunday, I thought I would see if I could train him to do a circuit round the seat on the top of Arnside Knott. He wasn't sure what I wanted, took a short cut underneath the wooden planks, and ended up climbing onto the stone pillar instead. He had his treat reward, and as a dog who never forgets anything, the next time we went past, he climbed up again unprompted, waiting for his treat.

Extract from Gus's Snoutbook.com entry:

Dad was trying to get me to do circuits round the bench on the top of Arnside Knott. I didn't like to tell him I've got bored with running in circles barking, so I thought I would show him a new trick instead. And it worked, he gave me a reward, and was inexplicably delighted with me sitting on the pillar at eye level with him. Now, I do it every time we go past, and it's a dead cert for a tasty treat.