🏀 Would you teach your dog new tricks after the basics?
“I know that Gertrude is more willing to open the garbage can and Darrel is more willing to shoot a basketball. And so I would find things that each of them is good at and then combine those tricks, or work together on learning two separate pieces that we’ll put together for a full trick.
It's really fun and it's challenging, and it makes them work together when sometimes, they just both want to be the star.”
When training is one of the best ways to feel closer to your pet, even learning simple commands gives us an opportunity to earn trust and build a bond.
But what happens when the basics become boring?
When Hailey Adair was stuck inside during the pandemic, she had already started obedience training with her dog, Darrel.
With nowhere to go and everything shut down, they simply spent more time training. But soon, they needed something more.
Sensing her dog felt the same way, she sought out more engaging tricks…
And Darrel (and his dog sis, Gertrude!) was up for the challenge.
Forming the perfect family
“We knew from a video. We were like, ‘That’s the one, that’s our dog.’ …It was a Walking Dead litter and his name was Darrel. That was also my husband’s grandpa’s name and it was spelled the same way.
It was one of those weird things where it was just meant to be.”
Hailey and husband had just gotten engaged and they knew they wanted a dog. He had grown up with Golden Retrievers, and she worked closely with Corgis…
So when her coworker, who volunteered at a local rescue, showed her a video of a “Golden Retriever-Corgi” mix puppy, it was love at first sight.
They brought Darrel home and as soon as he was acclimated, Hailey started bringing him to work too. There, he provided comfort and learned how to chill in an office setting.
As he grew, his body did too… In ways they wouldn’t expect from a mix like him.
A DNA test confirmed, he was 10 different breeds plus “super mut” …And not a single drop of Corgi or Golden Retriever!
“His main breeds are actually pit bull, Australian Shepherd, Pyrenees, Cattle Dog, Collie, and Cocker Spaniel–all the smart and home-friendly, family breeds.
It just explains a lot about who he is and why he's so smart and in tune with us, and just people in general.”
After a few years, Hailey noticed that even with a huge backyard, Darrel never really wanted to play unless he was with other dog friends.
It was time to get him a buddy of his own. One late night on Petfinder was all it took to find his perfect match.
A litter of Australian Shepherd/Cattle dog-type puppies was being transported from a high-kill shelter in Texas and Gertrude was one of them.
But she came with an unexpected issue.
Her first vet visit revealed she had a congenital heart defect and wouldn’t likely live more than a year. Hailey and her husband had a tough decision to make.
Instead of opting for palliative care, they went to their community and ended up raising enough funds for surgery.
Three years later, she’s doing great… And she’s likely to live a full life!
The tricks that keep life interesting
“My dad and I play Pokémon Go and my husband's a big fan of Pokémon. We went on Pokémon Go walks with Darrel all the time and one day I just thought, ‘Why not?’
This is when I was brainstorming weird tricks we can learn, so that was just a random one that popped into my head. I was like, ‘He already knows how to boop and Gertrude knows how to boop, so why not try it?’”
When Darrel was young, something terrible happened that kept him from being social with all his dog buddies: the pandemic.
He was enrolled in obedience training, but that shut down. Now, all he could do was continue his training at home with his mom.
Hailey continued his training via Zoom, but sensed he was a little bored with it.
“I know how important the foundations are for training and obedience, and all the things you need in order to have a dog that can live in different environments and everything.
But we found that he loved the tricks. He loves food and he loves being rewarded by love and encouragement. And so we found that the tricks were just really fun and easy for him to catch on to.”
In addition to his obedience training, Hailey learned how to take that engagement a step further. Soon, she bought him a skateboard.
It was their excuse to get outside instead of being stuck in the apartment and they started exploring new parks and places in the community.
Posting about their training adventures, Hailey connected with people online too.
There, she would gain motivation seeing what other people were doing with their dogs and would partake in training challenges with Darrel to keep from being bored.
Once Gertrude became part of the family, she jumped right into the training.
“We started doing their training side by side at a very young age, and she picked up a lot of the things that Darrel would do. She seems to learn pretty well from watching him.”
Hailey was curious if she could get them to cooperate on tricks. She’d work on individual skills with each of them, so when they put them together, they could accomplish the task
She also thought outside the box when it came to what tricks they could do… Like playing Pokémon Go.
”Darrel is the one that will meticulously throw the ball and then Gertrude just throws it and sees how it works. It's just been really fun to try to fine-tune their skills.”
When their intelligence causes chaos
“Darrel will pickpocket somebody's purse and bring me something. There have been times when he has brought me other people's things and I don't even know necessarily whose it is. A lot of the time, if people have snacks in their bags, he'll bring me their snack and ask me to open it.”
A smart dog makes training easy, but it also leads to some pretty interesting moments when the tricks translate to real-life tasks.
In the same way people will kid-proof their home, Hailey has had to go through and dog-proof hers.
She and her husband have to be very careful with what they keep out because even things “out of reach” are likely fair game.
Darrel knows how to open the fridge so she’s had to take the handle off to keep him from getting inside. He also figured out how to unzip things (like purses!).
At a local pet shop, the dogs were part of a little photo shoot. Next thing they knew, Gertrude was up on the counter. She’s also ended up on the stove at her parents’ home when they’re watching her.
In some cases, the tricks are completely harmless though… Like when either dog brings Hailey an empty water dish to ask for more.
“Unfortunately, some of the tricks have translated into day-to-day skills, but for the most part, they're really good dogs and they don't get into mischief.”
Darrel and Gertrude get plenty of walks and opportunities to get their brain juices flowing, which helps keep the chaos down.
And for all the mischief they like to cause, they do love quieter, loving moments too.
Building a bond with smart dogs
“...We treat them in a way that's respectful and we try to meet all their needs in a way that maybe typical people raising dogs don't. I think that has almost given them a sense of independence and self worth that has allowed us to build that type of connection you would for somebody that you're caring for. I think they see us as one of them.”
For Hailey and her husband, the fact that her dogs are so intelligent has allowed them to communicate and understand each other in ways they never could’ve imagined.
With Darrel, for example, if something is bothering him, he lets them know. He’ll come up to Hailey and whine or poke her arm. When she asks, “Can you show us what you need?” he’ll often show her.
And when she’s training with Darrel and Gertrude, they become so in tune with each other that Hailey can really get in the zone and direct all her attention to them.
“I really enjoy having something to escape from reality for a little bit and just get into the zone. I’m able to train with them and learn things and both give me a challenge. It really just gets me out of my head a lot of the time.”
Over time, Hailey has encouraged communication and because she takes time to try and understand them, she can sense how much they truly trust her.
Even little things like a few select buttons the dogs can press when they need something in particular open up new ways to make sure everyone is on the same page.
These seemingly simple everyday moments are part of why their bond is so tight.
It’s a conscious effort to be in sync with each other and communicate in ways not every person and dog can accomplish.
All of this, because of dogs
“I'm not good at being the center of attention. I'm not confident talking in front of people. I hate interviews... All of that stuff is just terrifying for me.
But I love talking about them. I love doing stuff with them like performing or stepping outside my comfort zone, having absolutely no fear if I mess up or make a mistake… I feel like a different person when I'm with them, especially when I'm doing things I love with them.”
Darrel was the first dog Hailey had outside of childhood, and she had no idea just how much he, and then Gertrude, would impact her life.
Just their presence in the home taught Hailey how to deeply care for someone who was completely reliant on her.
And the more time she spent with them, the more she felt herself opening up and accepting things that would previously make her feel uncomfortable.
Because she documented Darrel’s tricks on social media, she’s since had a whole new world of opportunity open up.
The woman who didn’t feel confident speaking in front of people was now on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon...
And working a job in the pet industry–something she never would’ve guessed in a thousand years would happen.
All because her strong connection with Darrel helped her see something more in herself too.
“It's just crazy and none of this would have happened without Darrel. So it's wild.”
Whether your day-to-day includes learning new tricks with your pet or it looks more like leisurely walks and relaxing, they’re used to a routine that works for them.
But if you had to step away for a few days, would someone know exactly what to do to keep them happy and safe?
If something happened, could someone confidently step in and take your place?
Putting a Cotl plan in place ensures your pet is taken care of, just the way they’re used to, no matter what.
Discover how the process works or book a call directly with Sean, our founder and CEO, to see what a plan could look like for you.
