Digital Analogue

My dog is so smart

This morning, on our walk, I told him to "leave it"---the command I use to mean variably "stop barking at that squirrel", "stop licking that food wrapper", "don't even think about eating that piece of poo", etc.---and he looked up at me and then looked straight at the pocket I keep my treats in, expectantly. Evidently "leave it" now means "I'll give you a treat if you look at me right now", and more importantly, he's trained me to offer him a treat every time he goes sniffing at something unsavoury. Hmm.

Earlier this week, he was laying down in the hallway chewing on a rope toy, and I sighed and said, "I have to go to work now. You know what that means..." and he did! With no further prompting, he stood up and trotted into the kitchen, into his dog bed, and looked back at me sadly. I gave him a big old treat and he seemed somewhat mollified.

And my no-leash-at-night policy was vindicated already last night. It was cold and rainy and I just didn't want to go outside. I let him out, he peed, and then he raced right back in to get the treat he knew was waiting for him. And I stayed completely dry. Success!

"No matter how you feel about Bush, watching him speak is difficult. It's like watching a drunk man cross an icy street." --Tucker Carlson