What My Border Collie Has Taught Me
Have you ever had moments when you truly believed that your dog could understand every word you said, even though they were “just a dog”. There are studies that show dogs are equivalent in IQ to a two year old child, and they got it right! Sometimes I think dogs may even be a bit smarter. Our four legged boy is Tucker. We found him nine years ago, as an eight week old puppy online looking for a new home, because at the time he was living in a small apartment. Since that day he has taken up prominent parts of our house, with toy boxes in almost each room, two different dog bed options to choose from, along with any other bed or couch that is available. Most importantly he is our son, and my two legged daughter’s “little brother”, and my parent’s “grand dog”.
This story is for those of you out there that may also have a “busy breed”, and I wanted to share some of the things that Tucker has taught me in the past nine years.
- Watching TV doesn’t mean that you sit idle—it means that a toy will appear on your lap, you are required to throw it, and then it will return again for this action to be repeated. This activity could last the entire time you are trying to sit comfortably if he is given the opportunity.
- Water is fascinating in many forms! It could be from the garden hose attached to the outside runs at work (that have had to be replaced twice), a short game of tug of war with the hose while it was turned on, or the beach – where you can bite at waves until you drink so much water you almost cause serious harm to yourself. Helping to wash the truck at home is also easy when you control the hose and bite down on the nozzle, and then run around.
- You can never say “last one” when throwing a Frisbee or ball outside if you expect that toy to be brought back to you. If you are done playing then why should he bring it back?
- Cuckoo clocks are evil things that cause anxiety and should be attempted to be pulled off the wall whenever they are spotted.
- When you have a friend over, and he is put in a kennel so that the two of you don’t get in trouble, it is possible to bite the blanket in his kennel, drag it through a door way that it “just” fits through squarely and then continue to pull him around in circles in the middle of the living room until your pet parents get home.
- A box of 100 crayons do not taste all that great but it makes yard clean up much prettier.
- If you do eat a whole bag of liver treats all at one time, it does upset the digestive tract.
- Being a meteorologist is an easy job. A dog can let you know when a storm is on its way, and this can be done at any hour of the night in case you were not already aware.
I am sure you all have some fun stories to share with us about what happens in your household. Please feel free to share them with us at www.ckvets.com, we would love to hear them! One last thing from my end, as you may have guessed Tucker loves to play ball, and he and I have done a fair bit of school presentations in the last nine years. I have to ask—whose idea was it to put tennis balls on the bottom of every chair in classrooms anyways???
