Claire DuBose

Hi there! My name is Claire DuBose and I am a student at the University of Georgia

I spent a lot of my time growing up as an only child, as I have two older sisters. Because of this, I had to turn to other things for entertainment: my dogs.

I pull out my finger gun. “POW” I scream while shooting it at Bentley. Bentley falls over, dead. When Covid first hit, I pondered what to do with all my downtime, and then it hit me. I should train my dog, Bentley, to do tricks. I knew he was a smart dog because he easily learned basic commands like sitting. My next goal was to teach him to lie down. It took some serious repetition and, at times, the process drove my family crazy, but I persevered.

He learned how to sit, lie down, roll over, and paw in a matter of days because I kept working with him for hours on end until he completed each command. Once he learned the ordinary tricks, I began working on the more challenging ones. Suddenly, after a lot of work together, he knew the difference between how to speak loud and how to whisper with barks. He learned how to play dead, close the door, and ring the bell when he had to use the bathroom. He even learned how to bow his head and pray with us before our dinner.

My family couldn’t believe it. Once he learned these tricks with relative ease, I began teaching him manners. I practiced walking him with no leash to see if he could follow my commands. Soon enough, he could walk past other dogs, people, and cars without a leash and stay completely focused on me. It took an incredible amount of patience, hope, and dedication but the challenge has been worth it.

Now that I am in college, being away from him has been very hard, but I receive daily videos and pictures of him to help me through it!