Skip to content

Willy's Elusive Head Turn

2008-07-13 · John, Sarah Urist Green · watch on YouTube · Personal life · personal update

John shows four-month-old Willy's obedience skills, explains that the puppy tilts his head only at sounds he has never heard, and, having run out of new noises, asks viewers for video responses.

What is said

00:00:00 — Willy is four months old; demonstrations of down, stay, sit and a half-hearted retrieve

  • ★★ John tells Hank that Willy is four months old today and has learned down, stay and sit, though he only sort of retrieves. — 00:00:06 · Willy

00:00:44 — The skill they want: Willy's head turn, which he does only on hearing sounds he has never heard before

  • ★ John says that for someone with a brain the size of a baby fist, Willy is kind of a genius. (playful) (hedged) — 00:00:44 · Willy
  • ★★★ John says the skill they most want Willy to master is turning his head to the side, which he does whenever he hears sounds he's never heard before. — 00:00:44 · Willy
  • ★★ John says it was easy in the first month, but now he has had to search his vocal cords for new sounds. (playful) — 00:01:13 · Willy

00:01:13 — John and the Yeti try on camera to make new noises for the head turn

  • ★★ John and the Yeti try on camera to get Willy to do the head turn with new noises, without quite succeeding. (playful) — 00:01:13 · Willy, Sarah Urist Green

00:02:13 — They're out of sounds: request for video responses with a sound Willy has never heard; sign-off

  • ★★ John says that as far as they can tell the sound has to be a human voice making sounds Willy's never heard, and they are out of such sounds. (hedged) — 00:02:13 · Willy
  • ★★★ John asks anyone who wants to make a video response with a sound they think Willy has never heard before. — 00:02:13 · Willy, Nerdfighteria
  • ★ John tells Hank he will do a real video soon. — 00:02:13

Humor (significant)

  • John praises Willy's skills despite his size. — 00:00:44 > «for someone who has a brain the size of a baby fist, I think he's kind of a genius»
  • Willy tilts his head only at sounds he has never heard; as a newborn puppy that was everything. — 00:00:44 > «for the first month, we were on Easy Street because he'd never heard any sounds»
  • John and the Yeti make strange noises on camera to get the head turn; Willy moves his head, but not properly. — 00:01:13 > «No, that was a head thing, but that wasn't the one I was thinking of.»

Threads in this video

BR2_53731d306f