No hamsters were harmed during the taking of these photos!

We have been laughing really really hard, since the day that the dog discovered the ball we bought our hamster Tater-Tot for Christmas and Charlee turned the hamster into her new and unique game of hamster soccer.

Relax, I monitored the game very closely and the dog was very gentle. Game over as soon as Charlee started to get excited, and well before she got carried away. Please do not try this with your hamsters, my dog is well trained and has a reliable "off" switch, and the dog and hamster are good friends.

For several weeks I have been toying with the idea of blogging how we can teach our dogs behaviors simply by laughing. Herding breeds tend to have great senses of humor in my experience, and they are quick to learn both the good and the bad with very little encouragement of the chuckling kind. Charlee has learned some really intricate dance moves just by hanging around when I danced in the living room with the kids. The more we laugh the more into it she gets. Some of the jumps, twirls, and airs above the ground she 'offered', I have easily put on cue. The more we laugh, the wilder she dances (really!) I explained to my tricks class recently that it is like the beginnings of dressage with horses.
Intricate moves were later developed based on what the horses in the field performed naturally while at play. One day when I have more time, Charlee and I will strut our stuff in the Freestyle arena.

Is there anything, good or bad that you taught your dog while laughing?
Please post it here.

E-mail this entry to a friend