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What is the most intelligent thing your dog has done?


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We trained Juno to use a doorbell with a big yellow button to let us know when she wanted to go outside. She learned this really quickly when she was still a young puppy. It has been very useful in preventing her from scratching the door or screen and she can let us know when she wants out when we are in other parts of the house or if we are busy watching TV. This in itself isn't that amazing but a couple of weeks ago Juno and I were getting a lesson at our local training facility.

At the end of the session, while I was talking to the trainer I noticed that Juno had wandered over to the door and was pushing something. When I went over to see what it was, it was the cap for a central vacuum. It looked very much like our doorbell and after a half hour of exercises Juno was tired and wanted to go home.

Bill

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Speedy, all on his own, without any instruction, learned to show Dean where the toys went.

My Kit is Jester's helper dog these days. Jester is more blind than he wants to admit, and unless I manage to throw the fetch toy right in front of him, he loses track of where it is. That should be easy, but he often changes direction as he runs out. Kit watches where the toy goes, goes to get it, brings it close to Jes and stands staring at it until Jes sees her and gets the toy. If not for her, Jester would not have as much fun with fetch fetch games because I would constantly be having to go find the toy for him. She looks after him.

 

Jester has always figured out how to get to a fetch toy in order to bring it back to me. He has found a way around or under a fence, tracked back as much as 50 feet to find it and then back to the place he found to get under it, he has tugged on a lower branch to get an upper branch moving in order to let the toy fall, and once even climbed a tree to get the toy. He used to be able to open crate doors, but is not as good at it these days.

 

Digger likes to decide for himself whether or not he will go outside with the others to potty. If I am going to be home, I don't care if he goes out with the others, but if it is last potty chance before I leave for several hours I need them to go out. So I would use an inviting tone if it did not matter, and give the "come" command if it did, but Digs would still refuse if he did not feel like going out, whereupon I would take him by the collar and lead him out. Gently, but firmly. Every time he would grumble at me while I did that. One day I just sat down nest to him while he was grumbling and said, "Look, you are grumbling because you don't think it is respectful of me to take you by the collar like this. But you are being disrespectful to me if you refuse to come when I say come! So, you be respectful of me and I will be respectful of you, OK?" Amazingly, although that was years ago now, he never once again needed to be taken by the collar. He could not have understood my words? But he understood.

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Digger...could not have understood my words? But he understood.

 

I'm sure dogs are telepathic, so he understood your meaning if not your words.

 

Mirk used to understand many things we said to him.

 

It was fairly routine for my ex and me to discuss our plans on early in the week prior to a trip. Mirk loved going anywhere in the car, especially trips and especially to sheepdog trials and clinics. So when he heard us discussing it, he'd get very excited and go to the front door in anticipation. When we'd tell him, no, we weren't going until Friday he'd look disappointed and go about his business. Until Friday morning when we'd wake up to find him excitedly waiting at the front door. Most of the time we had to tell him we had to go to work first, but would be going when we got home. He'd heave another big sigh of disappointment and wait patiently. But when we got home from work he'd dash out the door and pretty much glue himself to the door of the truck and nothing would budge him till we opened the door to let him in.

 

Another example of his telepathy was when we'd sent him for a month of training with Jack Knox. I missed him terribly and on the Tuesday of the week we were going to pick him up, on the way home from work I said out loud, "Mirk, I'm coming to get you!" When we arrived at the farm on Saturday to get him, Jack was telling us about his progress in training and said how well behaved he'd been and gotten along with all his dogs when they went out for walks in the fields . . . except for just one time. Jack said Mirk was running with the other dogs when all of a sudden he stopped dead in his tracks, looked off and took off over the hill and wouldn't come back no matter how much he yelled or whistled for him. Getting worried -- he'd have been worried enough if it had been one of his own dogs, but this was someone else's dog! -- Jack ran back to the barn, put his own 17 dogs up and went back out to look for Mirk. As he reached the field, there came Mirk running back to Jack.

 

As Jack was telling us his story I got to thinking and asked what day this had been. Hmm, he said, it was Tuesday. I asked what time. Well, he replied, it would have been just after 5:00; that's when he took the dogs to the field for their daily exercise. And it was also just the time I was driving home from work, missing my dog and telling him I was coming to get him. Guess he just didn't understand that I didn't mean right at that moment. ;)

 

Not related to being smart but to dogs' incredible powers of perception, quite a while after Mirk stayed with Jack for training we went to a sheepdog trial in VA. Runs started early the next morning but we'd had a long trip and slept in a little in the camper near the trial field. We could hear a few handlers' whistles as they ran, no big deal. But all of a sudden Mirk became highly agitated, running around, trying to look out the window and going to the door. We looked out a window and sure enough, Jack was running his dog. Mirk recognized his whistle and wanted to go work with him. Jack whistles with his fingers and told us one time that someone had done some high tech comparisons of his whistle vs. people using shepherds whistles. They'd told him that though mostly indecipherable to the human ear, there were distinct differences, especially in clarity, when the whistles were mechanically analyzed. Apparently dogs can discern the difference easily. :)

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That sounds more to me like appeasement behavior than loving to be caught.

 

Just sayin' . . . .

Her appeasement behaviors are really different and a lot more sulky. She's a complicated little creature. She reacts the same way as she does when she tries to sneak up on me and lick my leg without me seeing her. If I say 'hey!' she gets all wiggly then runs off and tries again.
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While Kira is still in big time puppy mode (just hit 5 month mark), her problem solving skills blow me away daily. I have a feeling I'm in for quite a ride with her :P .

 

#1: We have a dog gate in the back of our car (a hatchback) so Kira will stay in the back and not destroy the car seats. The gate only blocks the top open part above the seats as the back of the rear seats block the rest. The rear seats have a middle compartment that can be folded down, but only if you pull up on it's top strap while pushing the seat at the same time. Well, when Kira was about 4 months old, I secured her in the back of the car and jumped on the highway. About ten minutes later as I was driving, you can imagine the shock I had when she jumped into my lap! She escaped via that middle seat! I figured it was a freak accident and that she was probably just chewing the strap and leaning on the middle compartment by coincidence. I pulled over, put her in the back again making sure the middle section was firmly locked into place, and then watched her immediately pull the strap with her teeth and push the seat down again with her paws. So much for that!

 

#2: I've been teaching Kira how to target touch and push on things with her nose so we can can do treibball with her eventually. After she got down touching my hand with her nose, I started to teach her to "push" the kitchen cabinet doors to close when open. She has decided that pushing with her paw is MUCH more fun and she now LOVES to close things. Every time I'm in the bathroom rummaging through a drawer or in the kitchen cooking, she runs up and slaps the doors/drawer to close them when asked. But what's weird is that she has somehow figured out to close the dishwasher from all this :blink: . I was loading the dishes the other night while she watched me, and she came over after I pushed the dish drawers in and then got her head under the open door, lifted it up till it was almost upright, and then jumped up to hit the door firmly shut it with both her paws. She then sat there looking at me, completely pleased with herself for assisting me. Such a weirdo!

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Well done Kira! I LOVE dogs that love to help you. It's my favourite trait in a dog, really. Nothing like that moment when you drop something while carrying the shopping, and the dog just grabs it and brings it in behind you. One less thing to worry about. She can't close the dishwasher- that's quite a complicated manouver. A lot harder than a cupboard. Be proud!

 

Now, when my girl stood on the shovel and 'dug' it was much less helpful. Still better than when she proudly followed me along the line and carefully uprooted all the seedlings I had just planted and had spent weeks growing, coating herself in dirt in the process. Oh, that happy newly-brown face.

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Now, when my girl stood on the shovel and 'dug' it was much less helpful. Still better than when she proudly followed me along the line and carefully uprooted all the seedlings I had just planted and had spent weeks growing, coating herself in dirt in the process. Oh, that happy newly-brown face.

 

Speedy used to try to "help" by tossing toys into the fireplace as I set up the paper and kindling to start fires!! :P

 

Thankfully, he had the good sense never to do that once a fire was burning.

 

He also used to put balls into the box of Christmas ornaments when I was decorating or un-decorating the tree. I had to watch that!!

 

I always think of that when I'm starting a fire or decorating the tree. I am kind of sorry that Bandit is too sensible to do that sort of thing . . .

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Over the weekend I was at a conference with Kolt. The hotel put me in an adjoining room. Every so often Kolt would sniff hard at the bottom of the door and then try to get my attention. He had a huge - "there are PEOPLE there - I want to go see them" look and posture about him. I tried stuffing a towel under the door but he'd dig it right back out. I guess my search dog is persistent when it comes to finding hidden people... :D

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My Kit is Jester's helper dog these days. Jester is more blind than he wants to admit, and unless I manage to throw the fetch toy right in front of him, he loses track of where it is. That should be easy, but he often changes direction as he runs out. Kit watches where the toy goes, goes to get it, brings it close to Jes and stands staring at it until Jes sees her and gets the toy. If not for her, Jester would not have as much fun with fetch fetch games because I would constantly be having to go find the toy for him. She looks after him.

Love this!!

 

Although not an example of a dog, please indulge my story of my 2 cats (many years ago). We had adopted 2 very young kittens from the local pound. One (Agger) was very confident, and one (Nipper) was very fearful (and eventually grew into a fairly normal cat, but with edges of fear). We were living in the country and would often let the cats outside during the day. [They were always inside at night.] One day, Agger brought a mouse into the yard and laid it in front of Nipper. The mouse was quiet, and Nipper just looked at it. The mouse moved a bit, and Nipper just looked at it. The mouse started to get away, and Nipper just looked at it. Finally, Agger went to catch the mouse again, and once again laid it in front of Nipper. This routine was repeated at least twice more - with Agger bringing the mouse back to Nipper to teach her how to play/kill the mouse? It was fascinating.

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When I was a kid my cat had had a litter of kittens and patiently taught them how to hunt. Then one day I was outside playing and she brought me over a very alive, well, mouse. I 'lost it', so she brought it back to me. She batted it a bit and then sat back and looked at me meaningfully. Every time it ran away she brought it back to me.

 

I was a failure, but she wasn't going to give up. She brought me a smaller mouse. Then a more-injured one. Then a half-dead one. Then a fully dead one, and got very insistent that I was going to 'hunt' it.

 

I think she feared my inevitable death from starvation when I was let out into the wider world. She had spotted an obvious gap in my education and realised my parents weren't going to step in.

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When we brought home our border collie puppy, my brother was outside with her and the other dogs. Within a few minutes of being outside, we heard a loud bang, and Avila ran inside. She had figured out how to open the screen doors with her nose.

 

She has been mostly trained out of it now, but somtimes I will still hear the crash of the door and the feeling of a wet tongue or muddy paw. :)

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