Once-timid terrier now is a champion trick dog.
As a champion stunt and trick dog, her registered name is Flopdoodle Chloe Bean. But at home, she’s just Chloe. And she does way more than just roll over.
If someone sneezes, she brings a tissue. She can take a bow. She can stack rings on a tower.
But when Christina Jones and her daughter Hannah first saw the terrier two years ago, there wasn’t a hint of the champion she would eventually become.
Curled up inside a kennel at Animal Care Services, the small dog was emaciated, weak and weighed just three pounds. When they took her outside, she clung to Hannah while Jones called her husband, Air Force Maj. Gary Jones, to tell him they wanted to adopt the timid dog. After work, Maj. Jones went to see the stray, found by an ACS officer wandering the streets, covered in fleas.
Chloe is an American Kennel Club
Trick Dog champion. She knowsmore than 100 tricks and commands and has trick titles that include novice, intermediate, advanced and elite performer. She is a trick dog champion and stunt dog champion with Do More With Your Dog, where she has racked up several titles.
“Chloe is a little of this, a little of that and a whole lot of amazing!” ACS spokeswoman Lisa Norwood said. “She’s the perfect example of how special shelter dogs are, and while we’re thrilled with her accomplishments, we can’t say we’re surprised. Shelter dogs rock!”
She also has a YouTube page, Flopdoodle Chloe Bean - Trick Dog Champion and an Instagram page, @chloe_trick_dog_champion, that features a six-minute skit where Jones and Chloe act out her life through tricks. She’s also on Facebook at @chloetrickdogchampion (The Flopdoodle Chloe Bean - Trick Dog Champion).
Jones said many of the tricks she taught Chloe she learned on YouTube.
Chloe’s competitive form was nowhere in sight in November 2018 when she was still on the mend. The Jones family worried about the dog Maj. Jones called a flopdoodle because one ear flopped over.
But within weeks, the dog’s weight picked up. She now weighs 11 pounds. At obedience class, she picked up basic commands so quickly that the instructor said, “this dog needs to do agility.”
According to the American Kennel
Club, dog agility is where a handler directs their dog through a pre-set obstacle course within a certain time limit.
Jones took her to a trainer, and Chloe placed first in jumping in her class. The trainer suggested Jones enroll her in a trick program. There, Chloe mastered complex maneuvers with ease.
“I showed her once and as soon as she gets what I have, she does it again,” Hannah, 11, recalled the trainer telling them.
Jones said the tricks provide Chloe with exercise and brain stimulation.
“It helps create a very significant bond between the owner and the pet,” said Jones , 37. “Alot of dogs, particularly working breeds, need something to do or they tend to become destructive or have anxiety issues.”
Chloe shares their Northeast Side home with Melody the Parrot, who screeches and practices musical scales, and a 16-year-old Golden Retriever named Annie.
The dining room, which doubles as Jones’ office, is lined with Chloe’s ribbons and awards. When the pandemic hit, they went from performing live in front of judges at a training facility to virtual performances in the dining room, where the terrier’s props are scattered about.
Their newest endeavor is lifting people’s spirits with Canines for Christ San Antonio. Their first mission was visiting workers at the city’s 911 call center. Chloe filmed a commercial for the organization’s upcoming 5K race.
Dr. Dee Yates, a certified professional dog trainer, said she has to repeat commands to most dogs several times, but Chloe picked up the tricks right away. Her own dog, Revel, a Papillon, has several titles, including trick performer, agility and rally titles.
The retired psychologist said Jones was determined to take Chloe as far as she could in trick classes. And Chloe was eager to please.
“She really wanted to please her owner,” Yates said. “She was just excited to do it. She was one of the smartest dogs, if not the smartest dog I have ever seen.”