The crafty dog, pretending to limp to get extra treats, has an epiphany when his clever ruse unexpectedly backfires.
Piper and his dad, Dennis Gerard, are best friends. Gerard always does his best to give Piper anything and everything he could ever need — a…
Piper and his dad, Dennis Gerard, are best friends. Gerard always does his best to give Piper anything and everything he could ever need — and sometimes Piper uses this knowledge to his advantage.
A few years ago, Piper stepped on a bee and hurt his paw. His parents consoled him by giving him lots of treats, so even after his paw started to feel better, he decided to pretend it still hurt so the treats wouldn’t stop coming.
“He was legitimately sore for one day but continued to play it for treats,” Gerard told The Dodo. “Of course, I am the weakest link and I give him treats, reinforcing the behavior. It’s a vicious circle.”
Piper has been faking leg injuries ever since then in pursuit of treats. Recently his dad was getting fed up with Piper’s nonsense and decided to take a stand.
“I had to teach him a tough lesson,” Gerard wrote.
Piper was due for a checkup anyway, so during one of his fake leg injury episodes, his dad decided to take him to the vet. As soon as they pulled up and he realized where they were, Piper began to question all of his choices.
“I asked the vet tech to examine his legs,” Gerard said. “She was happy to play along.”
Even though Piper wasn’t exactly pleased with his trip to the vet, he still won in the end.
“Whether he understood if we were there to scare him straight is debatable,” Gerard said. “However, I can confirm he outplayed me on my plan. I felt so bad for him that I gave him tons of treats and a pup cup when we got home.”
Despite Gerard’s attempts, Piper still got exactly what he wanted in the end — more treats and lots of love, and Gerard was more than happy to give it to him.
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)