New Tricks for Rascal

by Holly Webb

  “These classes are all about you ending up with a happy, well-behaved dog,” Jo explained. “A dog who gets on well with all your family, and other dogs too. So, we’re going to start with some playtime. I think we’ll put Libby, Sam and Josh together in one group. Then Angus, Goldie and Rascal in the other, as they’re about the same size.”

  Jo moved the two groups to opposite ends of the hall, and told all the owners to crouch down. “That way your puppy knows you’re nice and close if he’s scared. We’ll take their leads off and let them play with these rope toys. If one of the pups starts being too rough, just gently take them away for a minute, OK?”

  Ellie undid Rascal’s lead. He looked up at her curiously, and then went to sniff the rope. But Angus wanted it too, and as he tugged it away Rascal barked loudly. Everyone in the hall turned round to look.

  Goldie had been sitting watching, but now she tried to join in, and Rascal noticed her for the first time. He trotted over, and started trying to sniff her bottom!

  “Stop him!” Amelia snapped. Ellie snatched him up, her face scarlet. After that, Goldie and Amelia kept giving Rascal identical disgusted looks, and Ellie felt like a worm. She was glad when Jo told everyone to put the puppies’ leads back on, so they could practise walking to heel.

  “Get your treats out, everyone. Remember, we want the dogs to enjoy training, and to want to do what they’re told. So, when your dog is paying attention to you, reward him. When he’s walking, have the treat just in front of his nose, so he follows along. Off we go.” Jo got them all walking in a circle round the room.

  Rascal’s tail was wagging as he followed his favourite treat, and he looked as though he was enjoying himself. Ellie took a deep, relieved breath. Maybe he had just been getting used to this training thing!

  Then Rascal bolted, pulling the lead out of her hand. Ellie squeaked and chased after him.

  Rascal whizzed up the stairs to the stage, where everyone had left their bags, and Ellie gasped. She knew what he was doing. Jo ran lots of classes that evening, and she’d mentioned that she brought sandwiches to keep her going.

  Delicious-looking chicken sandwiches, one of which was now hanging out of Rascal’s mouth.

  “That’s her, over there.” Ellie pointed across the playground.

  Christy stared at the group of gossiping Year Six girls. “Oh, her! I know who you mean now. Poor you!” Christy giggled. “I can just imagine Rascal sniffing her dog’s bottom…”

  “It was awful,” Ellie muttered. “The whole class. I’ve been thinking about it all weekend. Jo said it didn’t matter about the sandwiches, but I was so embarrassed, and Dad nearly made us go home before the end.”

  “Your dad’s got a couple of days to get over it before the next one, hasn’t he?”

  “The next class is tomorrow. Tuesdays and Fridays. I’ve just got to try and avoid Amelia till then,” Ellie added, hiding behind Christy, as Amelia glanced their way.

  “Rascal will get it in the end,” Christy promised. “I know he will.”

  Ellie frowned. “He’s still being a monster while I’m at school, too. I’m really worried Mum and Dad are going to say he’s too much for us. That’s why it’s so important that he’s good at the training. And at the end of the lesson, Jo told us there’s going to be a show at the last class.”

  “They did that at Bouncer’s classes. He came second,” Christy said proudly.

  “Well, right now, Rascal would be about millionth, and there’s only six dogs in the class,” Ellie said gloomily.

  “You need to teach him something really clever,” Christy suggested. “A special trick that no one else knows. That would show everyone.”

  Ellie nodded thoughtfully. Now all she had to do was come up with the perfect trick.

  On Tuesday, Ellie and Dad arrived at the hall at the same time as a boy about Ellie’s age, who was leading the biggest dog Ellie had ever seen. His mum was hurrying along behind them.

  “Sorry!” the boy gasped to Ellie, as the enormous black-and-white creature squished him and Ellie together in the doorway. “Can’t stop him!”

  “Wow,” Dad muttered. “That’s a dog and a half.”

  The dog stopped just inside the door, and the boy apologized to Ellie again.

  “He’s so big! What sort of dog is he?” Ellie asked.

  “He’s a Great Dane,” the boy said proudly. “He’s called Hugo – because he’s huge! And I’m Jack. We’ve just adopted him from the dog shelter.”

  “I’m Ellie, and this is Rascal. Is this the first time you’ve been to puppy-training?”

  Jack nodded. “Yup. We were supposed to come on Friday, but we had to go to the vet’s instead.” He went red. “Hugo ate one of my socks.”

  Ellie giggled. “Rascal does that! And he chews shoes. We’d better not let them gang up.”

  Rascal and Hugo were already giving each other interested sniffs. Hugo was so giant that Rascal could fit underneath him with room to spare.

  “Is it difficult, the training?” Jack asked nervously. “Hugo isn’t very good at doing what he’s told, and he’s so big he just pulls me after him.” Then he gave Ellie a fierce sort of look. “But I don’t care. He’s a brilliant dog, and I wasn’t going to leave him in that shelter without anyone to love him.”

  Ellie nodded firmly. “I think he’s great,” she said encouragingly. “Look how nice he’s being with Rascal.” Then she sighed. “Honestly, you can’t be worse than we are. My dad’s hiding at the back, look, he’s so embarrassed.”

  Jack chuckled, but then he looked anxious again as Jo called everyone to begin the class.

  It helped a little that Ellie knew what to expect, but Rascal didn’t seem to have improved, even though she’d practised with him at the weekend. At least Amelia shared her disgusted looks between Ellie and Jack this time. Hugo was so big that if he went the wrong way, everyone knew about it.

  “Let’s do the ‘sit’ command now,” Jo called near the end. “Hold the treat over the puppy’s nose, and move it back so your pup naturally sits down. Say ‘sit’ clearly and firmly as he sits, and reward with the treat.”

  Ellie frowned. Jo made it sound so simple. Rascal wagged his tail delightedly as she got out the treats. She held one carefully over his nose, and started to move it back.

  For a second it looked like it was about to work, and then Rascal fell over backwards. He bounced up again with a confused little “Wuff!” and Ellie heard Amelia tittering. Goldie was sitting perfectly, of course.

  Jack held his treat over Hugo’s nose, but he had to reach up to do it because Hugo was so tall. Hugo wagged his tail enthusiastically and simply ate the treat out of Jack’s hand. Amelia giggled again.

  “Lots of practice is the key thing,” Jo told them encouragingly. “Just five minutes, two or three times a day. They’ll get there. Now, has anyone got any behaviour problems they want to talk about before the end of the session?”

  Ellie looked down at Rascal. He’d done so many naughty things recently, she wasn’t sure where to start. But then Ellie remembered how Rascal was still howling whenever she left him, and how Mum was hardly getting any work done. She looked around nervously, wishing somebody else would go first, but everyone was silent.

  “Um, Jo?” She waved a hand. “Rascal barks and whines a lot while I’m at school. It drives my mum mad!”

  Jo looked thoughtful. “Have you tried giving him one of your sweaters in his basket?” she asked. “Jack Russells can be very devoted to one owner, and if he thinks he’s looking after something for you, he might be happier to be left.”

  Ellie smiled. “Thanks, Jo.”

  “Right. See you all on Friday,” Jo called, and everyone started to gather their things.

  Amelia walked past Jack and Ellie, smirking. “Bet you’re glad you’ve found another dog that’s as useless as yours,” she sneered, as she made for the door.

  Ellie gasped, and Jack stared after Amelia with his mouth open. “What’s with her?”
he said at last.

  Ellie shook her head and smiled at him.

  “She’s just a mean girl from my school. Rascal and Hugo are going to be brilliant by the end of the course.”

  Behind her back, Ellie had her fingers crossed.

  “So did Jo’s tip about the jumper work?” Christy asked. It was Saturday, and Ellie and her mum were having a picnic in the park with Christy, her mum, and Christy’s little sister Jade.

  Ellie nodded. “Yes! I gave Rascal my old pink hoodie, and Mum says he hardly whines at all now! Jo’s so clever. I said thank you to her at the class on Friday and asked if she had any more tips for Rascal. She said it was just all about working with the dog and finding their strengths.” Ellie sighed. “But I’m not sure what his strengths are, apart from guarding pink tops! I wish he was getting better at the rest of his training, too.”

  Christy nodded. “But Bouncer took ages to crack dog-training,” she pointed out, scratching Bouncer’s ears. “Didn’t you, boy? And he’s a Lab, they’re supposed to be good at it! I’m sure Rascal will get there.”

  Ellie stared at Rascal, flat out on his back on the grass, with his paws in the air. “I hope so. I still need to find a special trick to teach him, just to show everyone how clever he is. He is clever, you know. He must be, to think up so many ways to be naughty…”

  “Girls, would you like an ice cream?” Christy’s mum called.

  “Ooh, yes, please!” they answered.

  Everyone got up to stroll over to the ice cream van, and Rascal perked up at the sight of food. As the girls took their ice creams, Rascal wagged his tail eagerly.

  “I can’t, Rascal,” Ellie whispered. “Mum’s watching!” Ellie’s mum was very strict about not giving him anything that wasn’t his proper food.

  “You wouldn’t like it anyway, Rascal,” Christy told him. “It makes your teeth cold.”

  But Rascal continued to wag his tail hopefully. He couldn’t reach Ellie’s ice cream, or Christy’s, but there was another one, very close to his nose.

  Christy’s three-year-old sister Jade was wandering slowly back to the picnic rug. Her ice cream was dripping temptingly.

  As Ellie took another lick of her ice cream, Rascal suddenly pulled the lead from her grip. He then whipped round and snatched the ice cream out of Jade’s hand.

  “Heyyyy!” Jade wailed, as Rascal bounded off. “My ice cream! He took my iiiiice cream!” And she started to howl, even louder than Rascal could.

  “I’m sorry, Jade! Please don’t cry. We’ll get you another one,” Ellie promised.

  Ellie’s mum hurried over, looking horrified. “Ellie! How could you let him do that?”

  Mum gave Ellie the money to get another ice cream, and took Rascal’s lead while Ellie hurried off. Meanwhile, Rascal was busily licking up his stolen ice cream, slurping it out of the cone with big swipes of his pink tongue. He shivered deliciously as he finished it. Then he picked up the cone delicately in his teeth, and offered it back to Jade.

  Jade shook her head.

  “Urrgh, no, Rascal!” Ellie said, as she returned with the new ice cream and took his lead back from Mum.

  Jade started to laugh. “He doesn’t like cones! I don’t like the cones too!” She giggled.

  Ellie couldn’t help laughing with her. At least Jade wasn’t upset any more. But Mum still seemed furious.

  “We need something brilliant to show Mum you’re a genius dog,” Ellie told Rascal, as she took him into the garden on Sunday morning. She wanted to try out the trick she’d found in one of her dog magazines. “Believe me, Rascal, we’ve got a lot of making up to do. You are not Mum’s favourite pet right now. And we only have one pet! I still can’t believe she made me pay her back for Jade’s ice cream out of my pocket money yesterday. I don’t know how I’m ever going to be able to save up to get you a new lead before the dog show.”

  Rascal watched with his head on one side, as Ellie took a dog treat out of a packet. “Look, Rascal. Your favourite chicken kind!”

  Rascal gave an eager little whine.

  Ellie carefully put the treat on his nose. “Don’t eat it! I said don’t eat it… Oh well. Let’s try again.”

  Rascal licked his chops, as Ellie placed another treat on his nose. This was a good game! He was almost cross-eyed trying to see it, and his tongue was creeping out of his mouth.

  “No, no, wait till I say! Oh.” The treat had already disappeared, and Rascal was watching her eagerly for more. Ellie sighed. “I suppose we just need to keep practising.”

  Mum was just about to start preparing Sunday lunch, and had called Max, Lila and Ellie into the kitchen. “You will all behave beautifully, OK?” she told them. “This is the first time Auntie Gemma’s brought her new boyfriend round.”

  “Yes, Mum.” Max rolled his eyes.

  “What’s he called again?” Lila asked.

  “Liam. And please make sure the dog behaves too,” Mum added.

  Ellie nodded frantically.

  “Now, it would really help if you could all stay out of the kitchen while I make the roast.”

  Ellie slipped out into the garden with Rascal and his grooming brush, and the dog treats. She was determined to get the trick right eventually.

  “I’m sure you kept it on your nose longer that time,” Ellie murmured, as Rascal gobbled down another treat. “Let’s have a break. Shall I make you look beautiful?” She started to brush Rascal lovingly, making sure his white coat gleamed. “We need to show you off to Auntie Gemma and Liam.”

  Just then, Mum called. “Come in, please, Ellie. They’ll be here in a minute. Oh Ellie,” she sighed. “Look at you, you’re covered in hairs! Go and change. I need to change too, actually.” Mum looked down at her apron. “The chicken can just stay on the side and rest. Lunch is all ready, except for the roast potatoes.”

  “It smells great.” Ellie sniffed the delicious roast chicken smell, as she headed out of the kitchen. Mum was obviously making a big effort for this Sunday lunch.

  Ellie went upstairs to change her top. She was just coming back down when the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” she called.

  Auntie Gemma was standing at the door with a nice-looking dark-haired man, who seemed a bit nervous.

  “Hi, Ellie! Liam, this is one of my nieces. Ellie’s the one who really loves dogs.”

  Liam smiled at Ellie. “Gemma tells me you’ve just got a puppy.”

  Ellie nodded shyly. “Yes, he’s called Rascal.”

  Dad popped his head out of the living room to say hello, and Mum hurried downstairs. “Hi, Gemma. It’s great to meet you, Liam. I’m just going to sort out the lunch, it’s nearly ready.” She disappeared into the kitchen. Then there was a sudden scuffling noise, and everyone in the hallway clearly heard Mum shriek, “Oh no! Bad dog!”

  “What is it?” Ellie cried, dashing after her.

  But as soon as she got into the kitchen, she could see. Rascal was sitting at the bottom of the step stool Mum used for the high cupboards, looking really guilty. And in his mouth was what was left of the chicken.

  “Honestly, I really do love fish fingers,” Liam told Ellie’s mum. “And they’re delicious with gravy.”

  Mum smiled, but she still looked really upset.

  Ellie felt so guilty that she hardly spoke during lunch. She knew how hard Mum had worked on the meal, and then Rascal had gone and ruined it. At least he hadn’t got anywhere near the pudding, which was an enormous chocolate cake.

  Mum had banished Rascal outside, and now Ellie could hear him whimpering and scratching at the back door, as she helped her with the washing-up.

  “I suppose you’d better let him in,” Mum sighed.

  “I’m really sorry,” Ellie whispered.

  Mum gave her a hug. “I know. And it’s my fault, anyway. I’ve told all of you so many times not to leave anything where Rascal can get it. I just didn’t think about him climbing the step stool!”

  “He’s a master-criminal!” Ellie said, opening the
back door for Rascal. But he didn’t look like a master-criminal. He looked lonely and miserable, as if he’d hated being shut out. He slunk through the door with his tail between his legs.

  “Oh dear, now I feel guilty,” Mum said sadly.

  Ellie shook her head. “He was really naughty, Mum. I think Liam likes dogs, though. Can I go and show him Rascal?”

  Mum nodded, and Ellie called Rascal to follow her into the living room.

  “Here, boy!” Liam reached down to stroke Rascal, and Rascal beat his tail on the floor, sitting happily at Liam’s feet.

  Ellie gave a sigh of relief. Perhaps Rascal was going to make up for the chicken incident.

  “So, how old is he?” Liam asked, tickling Rascal behind the ears.

  “About three months——” Ellie started to say, but then she broke off. “Rascal? What’s wrong?”

  Rascal was making strange coughing noises, and his little shoulders were heaving.

  “Oh no! The chicken!” Ellie squeaked.

  “Liam, move your feet!” Max yelled.

  But it was too late. Ellie gasped in horror as Rascal gave one more huge cough and threw up the stolen chicken, all over Auntie Gemma’s new boyfriend’s feet.

  Ellie was feeling really hopeful about Tuesday’s class. She had been making a big effort with Rascal to try to make things up to Mum after the disastrous Sunday lunch. Whenever she had a spare moment, she walked Rascal to heel, and practised “sit”, “down” and “stay”. And she’d been working on their special new trick. Rascal still ate the treat before he was told, but at least he seemed to know he wasn’t supposed to, which was a start.