Your dogs memory

[sweet_ceana]

Ceana never forgets where anything is. She always knows where every toy is, even if it is in another state and it has been a year since her last visit. She also *hates* to leave toys in the yard. She will not relax until all the toys are inside. DH and I joke around that she can't leave a fallen soldier behind.

 

Does anyone else's dog have this habit, or is this just a Ceana thing? I always assumed that this ability to keep track of so many things at once had to be a helpful part of her stock work genes. Then I started taking stock lessons and learned that I probably shouldn't assume anything she does has to do with stock work. So to those that know, is this a helpful trait that would actually translate to stock work at all? She'll never be amazing on sheep since I doubt we'll be able to own any in her life time, but I am still curious to know where the heck this weird habit came from. (If that is even something i can figure out.)

[njnovice]

Mick knows where all his toys are and what their names are. If I ask him for something that he doesn't know the name of (or just some random thing to mess with him), he'll bring his rope. It's kind of a joke in the house.

 

"Mick, where's the coffee pot?"

Mick appears 30 seconds later dragging his 5' long rope tug toy made for mastiffs.

 

For some reason, he's made "rope" his default, "I don't know what the hell she wants so I'll just bring her this item." And, it's not like it's the same rope. He's gone through about a dozen of those massive rope tugs.

[Tiga's_mom]

Tiga always knows where his treat balls are. It doesn't matter if you hide them when he's not home, he still knows where they are at all times.

 

He also will bring us the toy that signifies how much he's missed us when we've been out. He always knows which one he is looking for because he will by-pass other toys to go find the one that he wants and it's always different. Very strange.

[Jacks_Mom]

Jack does the same thing except he brings them all to bed at night and I am picking monkeys, balls, ducks, raccoons, etc out of the bed so I can turn over at night. It is like a ritual he has every night he finds all of his toys no matter where they are and brings them to bed.

 

[geonni banner]

Sugar doesn't always remember where she left individual toys, but if you ask for one by name she'll hunt until she finds it. She does know what "toy" means, and will grab whichever is nearest or whichever is her favorite at that time. I don't know if this means she understands the concept of a category of things called toys, but it sure seems like it.

 

It's also true that if food hits the floor accidentally, she will not dive for it until I say, "Get the cookie." But if no food is on the floor and I say, "Wanna cookie?" she will go to the place in front of the cabinet that her cookie jar sits on, and wait in obvious expectation of a Milk-Bone. Interestingly, if someone else comes into the apt. and asks if she wants a cookie, she will sit in front of them or dance around them, rather than go to the cookie jar. This may be because sometimes people bring treats for her from outside.

 

 

Now where did I leave that Bluiki...

[jrhodo]

My Reb knows when I say "water" and we're inside to drink from her bowl. If I say "water" when she's at work and looks hot, she goes in a pond.

 

When I tell her we're done playing frisbee, she staches it under some bushes. She always knows where it is when I ask her.

 

Here's what amazed me today:

We work at a golf course. About once a week our mechanic "laps" the mowers. He takes the reels off of the mowers and hooks them up to a motor that turns them while he sharpens them. It takes about 20 minutes apiece. After he's done, he takes them to the hose and washes them. Reb is obsessed with hoses. Last year she figured out that if she laid down in front of him and waited, she would get to play in the water.

 

It's been six months since he's lapped them, until today. We were across the yard when she snuck away. Sure enough, he had turned on the motor and she remembered!

[in2adventure]

Lucia has an amazing memory for her favorite things. She knows where every toy has been hidden/left behind, knows every wood pile that once had a critter in it, every car that once had a toy or critter under it. I could go on forever about her memory for places we've visited.

[ejano]

Mick knows where all his toys are and what their names are. If I ask him for something that he doesn't know the name of (or just some random thing to mess with him), he'll bring his rope. It's kind of a joke in the house.

 

"Mick, where's the coffee pot?"

Mick appears 30 seconds later dragging his 5' long rope tug toy made for mastiffs.

 

For some reason, he's made "rope" his default, "I don't know what the hell she wants so I'll just bring her this item." And, it's not like it's the same rope. He's gone through about a dozen of those massive rope tugs.

 

I love this...bty, where did you buy the rope? If its made for mastiffs, perhaps its something Robin won't eat?

 

Liz

[ejano]

Ladybug only knows/cares about her ball. She's got one stashed in every room and in several places outdoors in the event someone might be idle and perchance might want to engage in a lively game of fetch. .

 

I've been haphazardly introducing the names of various toys to Robin....I believe the record for a Border Collie is 250 distinctive words for toys but we'll never get beyond three because the toys constantly get shredded by either him or Brodie...he knew to go find Lion, Bunny, Turkey, ball, bone, and wubbely......only the ball, bones and the wubbely currently survive...I've got my sister scouting the thrift shops for baby toys and I'll keep them put away except for "find it lessons". Trouble is, there's no reward because the reward is to play with the toy and Robin has gotten very good at shredding them lately....

 

Liz