Clean Up, Clean Up...

All of Dante's toys are divided into two buckets.  One contains toys that are durable and he is allowed access to freely, and the other contains "special" toys - plush, outside, high-value - that is kept out of his reach.

The bucket of toys he is allowed to have anytime is kept under an end table, and he knows to go get one if he is bored.  Last night, I walked into the living room to this:

This is only about 2/3 of what was in the bin.

My sister informed me that apparently Dante found it completely necessary to, one by one, empty the entire contents of his toy bin to find "the one."

My mom has been getting on me that I need to teach him to pick up his own toys.  I guess it is true: how can he become a service dog and help someone else if he cannot clean up after himself?  ;-)  So, I sat down, and commanded a "fetch."  One by one, Dante brought every toy back to my hand, and I deposited them back into the bin.

All cleaned up!

If only that were the end of our quaint little story.  

Ha.

I then "release" Dante and go back into my room.  Only to be summoned back minutes later by my sister exclaiming, "I can't believe he did that!"  

Yup.  It seems that this too-smart-for-his-own-good puppy realized that if he dumps all his toys out onto the floor, he gets a rousing game of Fetch, AND a couple tasty treats.  So he would be crazy not to do it again, right?

I think I've created a monster...