Man Taught Every Labrador He's Had to Go Get Him a Beer
A Brainerd, Minnesota area resident named Kris Scheller has always had black Labradors (except for one yellow one) who have always shared the same name (Sport) and have always been taught the same trick - to grab a frosty beverage out of the refrigerator.
I love how consistent this dog owner is.
The Star Tribune interviewed Scheller age 63, who started his dog training in the mid-1980s. His clever dogs have even appeared on Stupid Pet Tricks back when the David Letterman show was on TV, on America's Funniest People, American's Funniest Home Videos and the Maury Povich Show.
Related: Dog Who Retrieves a Beer for Her Dad While He Lounges in the Pool Is Every Man's Dream
The Star Tribune article says, "All of the Sports have been black Labs or Lab mixes, although Scheller also once had a yellow Lab named Buddy who appeared in print ads.
He said he's used a treat-based training method to get his dogs to do tricks, breaking up a complicated set of behaviors into individual steps like hold, retrieve, shake and drop.
Sounds easy enough! So grab your own dog and a cold one.
How to Teach Your Dog to Get a Beer (Or a Soda)
Kristine Jones/Shutterstock
So first of all, your dog should know some basic commands. Start with simple fetch training. Once they learn how to bring an object to you on demand you are ready to move on to cans. Associate the can with positive reinforcement. If you stick a can "coozie" around the can it may be easier for your dog to grab. When they have the can in their mouth (and you may want to start this with empty cans at first!) and they give it to you, exchange the can for a treat. Practice retrieving and bringing the can: Gradually increase the distance between you and the can, encouraging your dog to bring it back to you. Each time they perform this task, reward them with a treat and praise. These need to be those high-reward treats like a piece of meat or a small bite of cut up hot dog.
On Golden Retriever Life, they suggest that you take something your dog is familiar tugging, such as a rope, and place it on the fridge door so your dog can actually get the door open. Have your dog pull on the rope until the door opens.
They also smartly suggest your remove this same rope when you aren't home so that your dog doesn't open the refrigerator door and eat everything in there!
Who knows, with some practice your own dog may be able to appear on Stupid Pet Tricks!
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