This is Chipsy, a.k.a. the Smartest Dog in the World! (We'll never tell him otherwise.) He may not respond to "What? Timmy's in a well?", but he understands a lot of other things we say.
Every time my husband leaves and I'm pretty sure he's close to getting home, I'll ask Chipsy, "Is Daddy home?" His little ears perk up and he runs pell mell up the stairs to the front window to wait. I have to admit, sometimes I say this just to get him to leave me alone and wait by the window. He's smart, but I'm smarter.
If we say, "Do you want to do the dishes?" he runs helter skelter to the dishwasher. That's his favorite chore. He does a wonderful job of licking the dirty plates. That's our pre-wash.
When we say, "Is it time to get the girl?" he knows it means one of two things: either it's morning time and he waits by the stairs to go wake her up by licking her face, or it's time to meet her at the bus stop in the afternoon and he waits by the front door for his leash.
"Bring me your ball," is so simple. Sometimes we can even be specific: Bring me your red ball.
Ditto "Bring me your baby."
Of course, what dog doesn't respond to the phrase, "Do you want a treat?" We're not giving him genius points for that.
But we do give him extra points for recognizing the phrase, "Is Grandma here?" The excitement and noise he makes over the idea of his grandma coming over rivals any dog pound. It's ear-piercing. He loves his grandma! And I don't think it's just because she always has dog treats in her pocket.
Aww. Sounds like he and Riley would get along really well. (And both sit by the doors waiting for their "daddies.") :)
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolute cutie!
ReplyDeleteAnd all animals love getting and being part of the family - of course!
My little budgie may not seem all that part of the family, but when she and I are alone, I open the cage door and let her hop onto my hand and say: 'Coming out?' and she ducks her head down and leans forward so she jump onto my left shoulder (and if she feels like it drops a poop right there onto my nice clean shirt! Cheeky budgie! :P To make up for it, she give my hair a nibble and blows me a couple of kisses and licks my earlobe as though to say: 'Sorry, Mum.' Now who can't forgive a bird who does that?).
Yeah, all pets - no matter who they are - love their owns in one way or another. :)
You're both right. Our pets are much-loved members of the family.
ReplyDeleteDogs are soooo smart! I think our Roxy (a Pomeranian) is quite smart too. She's been with us for a long time and recently turn 9 years old. She has a lot of toys and we have different names for them.... If I can't find one of her toys I'll ask her where it is and she'll bring it to me. She knows the names of all family members & even get excited when I mention the name of one of favorite real life dog friends. If I mention the word Kitty she becomes excited as she thinks our neighbor's cat is the best thing ever.... Poor Roxy wants to make friends with the cat, but the cat feels otherwise!
ReplyDeleteMy dog, too, Captivated Reader. He wants to play with the cats so badly, but they hate him. Poor little pup.
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