From "Dog Tales : Hundreds of Heartwarming, Face-Licking, Tail-Wagging Tales About Dogs."

Tag knows how to sneeze on command. I will say, “sneeze,” and he will give a big “hachoo!”
—GENEVIEVE YATES
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

LUCY LEARNED SIT, DOWN, AND STAY pretty quickly, so we taught her shake and circle to mix it up. She does a quick 360-degree circle and completes it so fast sometimes she hits her head on walls. Since we train before dinner, she’s often so desperate for food she’ll do a series of tricks—sitting, lying down, jumping up, shaking, and circling in about 10 seconds flat—no command needed.
—JENNIFER KRAMER
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA

EVERY MORNING WHEN I GET UP in the morning to use the bathroom, Nia goes in the bathroom with me and lies down on her back and waits for me to take my foot and rub it on her belly. And it’s not just for me; everyone in my house knows that as soon as they get up to go to the bathroom that Nia will be lying on her back right beneath their feet waiting for her belly scratch.
—TOMIKO CHAPRON
MARINA DEL REY, CALIFORNIA

MY DOG HAD A CHAIR that we bought especially for her, and she knew it. If anyone else sat in the chair, even if she wasn’t using it, she would bark and bark at them until they finally got up and gave it back to her.
—BETH STURGEON
CHICAGO, MISSOURI

Aleria can sing. If you start to howl she will howl along with you. Occasionally, if you just tell her to sing, she will do it.
—TIM POWELL
OAKDALE,
MINNESOTA

IF YOU TELL BENVY “give me a hug,” she jumps up and puts her paws on your belly so you can hug her. Everyone thinks it is so cute. She also can give high fives. You just put your hand up and say “Benvy, high five” and she jumps up and gives you a high five with her paw. That makes even our friends who don’t really like dogs say “awwww.”
—EMILY MASON
CINCINNATI, OHIO

My dog’s very good at falling asleep on the porch at a moment’s notice, but I’m not sure that qualifies as a trick.
—TED VALKO
CHURCHILL, OHIO

MY DOGS, BUSTER AND KODA, sing on command. If there is a music box and you turn it on, they will sing to it. Or if you say, “Okay sing,” then they will both start barking at each other, then sing.
—TERRI BRINK
SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA

HUNTER TAUGHT HIMSELF to ride a skateboard; he rides around with the kids in the neighborhood. I actually had to buy him his own skateboard because the other kids didn’t like him using theirs. He has all four paws on the board and he barks the entire time he’s riding.
—SUSIE BROWN
FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA

MY GRANDDAUGHTER TAUGHT Cobber the funniest trick. Since Cobber loves to swim, she wanted him to dive into the pool at exactly the same time she did. She taught him to stand right next to the pool while she was on the diving board. Then she would count, “1…2…3,” and they would both jump into the pool. Cobber does it every single time.
—LINDA KORBEL
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA

OUR DOG CREATED A SPORT we call “ottoman surfing.” When she comes inside full of energy, she runs through the kitchen and into the family room, then jumps on our ottoman and rides it as it slides all the way across the room on the hardwood floor.
—C.A.
CINCINNATI, OHIO

When Sebastian was a puppy, I decided to train him to ring chimes whenever he had to go outside. I placed the chimes by the door, and every time we were about to go out, I would put a treat behind the chimes to teach him how to ring them using his nose. A few weeks went by and he hadn’t used the chimes on his own. One afternoon, I heard the chimes and ran toward the door. You can imagine how proud I was. When I got there, Sebastian was sitting there so nicely and his tail was wagging; clearly, he was proud as well. It took only a second for me to realize that Sebastian had gotten the entire thing backward—he had peed in the house and then rung the chimes, as if to say, “Cleanup on aisle seven!”
—KATE
C, IVENICE, CALIFORNIA

MY YOUNGEST DOG is a Cocker Spaniel named Dolly. She was named after Barbra Streisand’s role in “Hello, Dolly.” When you sing “Hello, Dolly” to her she goes crazy. I sing to her all the time.
—JANICE
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

My dog Aquarius had an incredible singing talent. I had called in sick from work to take him to a Purina Dog Chow contest in which the dog with the best singing voice would be featured on a bag of dog food. With great confidence, I entered the staging area, knowing how well he could sing, speak, roll over—do anything—right on cue. But when I saw the TV cameras there for the event, I feared my boss might see me on TV, so I had my husband go up on the stage with Aquarius, even though he was really my dog, and Ed didn’t understand him all that well. Well, the big moment came, and my husband clearly commanded Aquarius to speak! Obediently, my proud pooch did speak, but of course, it didn’t count as a song and, unfortunately, there were no second chances. His career was over before it began. And I lost my chance to be a Hollywood stage mother.
—CONNIE THROOP
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI