What’s your Inquisitive Canine’s favorite thing to do? Sniff? Explore? Agility? Maybe yours is more of the eat, pray, love type. My sidekick Poncho enjoys a lot of different activities, and he’s very good about any work-related task I request of him.
I’m bringing this up because of one of my favorite videos. Just Jesse the Jack stars Jesse, a Jack Russell Terrier, and Heather, his genius handler. Heather honed in on Jesse’s natural abilities and taught him amazing things by capitalizing on behaviors she liked and putting them to good use.
I know you’ll enjoy and appreciate Jesse. While watching the video, zero in on how Heather adapted his innate canine skills to our human environmental needs.
For example:
- Retrieving – brings the television remote.
- Targeting – uses nose and paws to close doors and cabinets.
- Jumping – grabs things for Heather.
- Digging – uses paws to massage Heather’s back and to clean the sliding glass door.
- Tugging – helps Heather get dressed and tucks himself into bed.
Oftentimes, the always exuberant Jack Russell Terrier isn’t taught to direct his abilities in appropriate ways. The excellent digging skill results in a torn up lawn or tugging turns a couch into a shredded mess. Behaviors need to be put to use in ways that are fun for your dog and for you.
So, Inquisitive Pet Parent, what can your dog do? Any behaviors that can be redirected? Leave a comment because we’re inquisitive, too!
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