The Smartest Dog in the World

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.