Papa Teaches Azuki New Tricks

Matt is in the middle of teaching her new tricks too, like the one in the picture where he is trying to teach her to stand on her hind legs. Azuki has incredibly strong hind legs, and we believe that one day she can learn to twirl in circles on her hind legs, like a circus dog. He is also playing a game with her where he hides in another room in the apartment with a treat, and then whistle for her to come. Azuki very quickly learned that finding pa pa means getting a treat, so it is really funny to watch her whip her head around, running from room to room, trying to find her pa. We have realized that her hearing is good, but she is not very good at figuring out which direction the whisle is coming from. So you see her panicking, running in the opposite direction, desperate to get that treat.

This exercise actually explains a lot of Azuki's barking behavior at home. Azuki is not a nuisance barker, and she hardly ever barks outside of our home. However, she is very protective of the home and she will bark at even the slightest little noise which she thinks is coming from outside of our door. The problem is, because she can't tell which direction the noise is coming from, EVERY NOISE to her is coming from outside our door. This can be very annoying, and we try to curb it with a stern "quiet!" command. She will eventually settle down, although I don't actually think she is learning to stop barking on command yet.

Look at how long her body is in the photo!