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Ross Allen Johnson, My "Forever" Friend
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Ross's Story Part 2
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Because of his great intelligence, and because he was so eager to please, it was very easy to teach him
some tricks.
He did the simple tricks that lots of dogs do, like sit, shake, and roll over. I was also able to teach
him to fall over and play dead when I pointed my finger at him and said "Bang!"
On a whim one Sunday morning when only Ross Allen and I were home, I decided to see if I could get him to
fetch my hat and coat when it was time for him to go outside to do his business.
I said, "Ross, go get Grandpa's hat." I then walked him over to the chair where my baseball cap was located,
put the cap in his mouth, held his mouth shut, walked him across the room to the recliner that I had been sitting in, sat
back down, and took the hat from him. I made a big deal out of praising him for what he had done.
I then said, "Ross, go get Grandpa's coat." I followed the same procedure as for the hat, putting the sleeve
of the coat in his mouth and holding his mouth shut as I walked him over to my recliner. I once again praised him profusely
for this spectacular thing that he had done. :)
The second time that I asked him to fetch my hat and coat I had to help him get started, but that was it.
From then on, he would fetch my had and coat on command.
In only one training session I had taught Ross Allen to fetch my hat and coat! What a smart dog!
We later added his leash to the things that he would fetch. Not surprisingly, he caught on quickly
to retrieving his leash, just as he had when he learned to fetch my hat and coat.
We had an older guy hanging a new front door for us one time, and in doing this work he was in the living
room much of the time. I casually asked Ross Allen to fetch my hat and coat, and when Ross did it, I thought that
guy was going to pass out. He said he had never seen anything like that in his life.
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