Does your dood understand what you're saying?

[Pat and Traveler]

I've heard some amazing things about dogs understanding what we're saying.  Aside from the commands we've worked on, they sure seem to pick up other things along the way!  One of Trav's cutest is what he does after he 'plays dead.'  We taught him to lie on his side when we say "Bang, bang--dead dog!'  That's cute.  But he usually continues to wag his tail when he's supposed to be dead--silly dood!  However, now he's learned to hold his tail still if I say, "Dead dogs don't wag their tails," which just cracks me up.

We spell some things so he won't get too excited--walk and ball, for example.  He's picked up some words that I didn't realize he was learning.  "Antler" is one.  I was keeping an antler up on the bookcase for a while.  I didn't want it lost in the yard or collected by his brother.  Much to my surprise, he started looking up at the bookcase when I said 'antler.'  He knows exactly where I keep it.  He learned 'vacuum' somewhere along the line.  He loves to bark at the vacuum and, well, I let him have his fun with it.  Now all I have to do is mutter about having to vacuum, and he trots off to the closet where it's kept.  He understands 'kitty' and 'look' and 'who's that?' and 'squirrel' and some others I'm not thinking of right now.  I put something in his bowl the other day, and when he came in from outside I told him he should look in his bowl, and he went straight to it for the snack.

Has your dog picked up any surprising or unexpected words, or body language clues?   

[Sally]

everytime one of Duncan's ears flops up over his head i'll say "fix your ear" and he shakes his head till his ears falls back down. It's hysterical. Also, the ground of the dog park is all wood chips so whenever Duncan sits or lays down the wood chips get caught in his fur. I alway say "shake it out" when we leave and he shakes his whole body so that all the wood chips fall out...

[Carol and Banjo]

Too cute (and smart!)!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

When JD's leash gets twisted on one of our walks, I'll say "Let me fix your leash" and he stops walking to let me fix it.

[Carol and Banjo]

Banjo does this too Karen.....I always wonder if he hears that as individual words strung together or as one longggggg word.

[Becka]

That's very sweet!

[Pat and Traveler]

That JD is such a smart dood!  Of course, he'd have to be, since he's kept so many felonious innocent doods out of doggie prison.  :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

ROFL!

[Pat and Traveler]

Sally, I'd love to see Duncan fixing his ear and 'shaking it out.'  What a cutie!  (Ooooops--this didn't appear where I thought it would!)

[Sally]

i'll have to try and video tape it!

[Camilla and Darwin]

That is so cute!

[Camilla and Darwin]

LOL, that makes me laugh! Darwin does pick up common phrases. He will get super excited if I say the phrase "Do you want some lunch?" which is funny because he only eats in the morning and evening, but somehow he connected that with him eating. If we say it, to anyone, he will leap up and run to his bowl. :-)

[Pat and Traveler]

Camilla, Darwin is such an optimist!  Along with being just plain adorable, of course.  :)