I have to stay on my toes with this smarty pants.
Dogs are smart… crazy smart. As we sat watching Yukon Vet on the weekend; I had Riggs across my lap and Elsa was trying to find a place. As Queen Bee she likes to have the best seat in the house and that seat is whatever she deems to be “best.” She was wondering around the room and caught my attention, so I watched her. She went over to a pile of toys, pick one up and threw it to the floor. Riggs barely moved on my lap, it was past his 7 ish lights out time.
She stood watching us on the couch and the “best seat” was taken. If I see that she wants to sit on my lap when Riggs is there I will move Riggs, it is her right. She wanted the seat next to me and was taking it into her own paws to acquire the position. She picked up another toy, brought it over closer and dropped it on my husbands feet. Well, that was enough to get Riggs off my lap and going for the toy. She very quickly hopped up on the other end of the couch and quickly walked over plunking herself across my lap. Happy.
She knows that Riggs has a strong desire to “own” every toy or chew in the house and she used it against him. She’s smart but that smarts doesn’t come to all and it rarely comes early. It is acquired through experience, trial and error. To this day I still laugh about Luke getting toys away from Jessie and Tilley. He would never just go up and try to grab them, it was far too dangerous. So he’d go to the front door, bark and then when the girls came to see what the commotion was, he’d run back and grab whatever it was that he’d wanted.
We often think that dog’s don’t think out things, that they only react to actions. But it is very clear when you live with one or more dogs that they plot and manipulate us, other dogs and situations. Not only did Elsa know how to get Riggs off of my lap, but she realized the first attempt was not close enough to us to be effective and tried again, ending in success.
Some dogs are so good at getting what they want that we often don’t even know that it has happened. When I go to a new clients home and watch the human/canine interactions; I can sometimesl let them know how well their dog has trained them very quickly. “You see when she does this, what you do?” I ask them. They typically stand with their mouth hanging open in disbelief. Yep, they are smart and if you don’t give them the smarts credit that they deserve; you my friend may have some wool (or canine fur) pulled over your eyes.
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