What do your dogs know?

[Stacy]

I was just sitting here and my eyes were itchy. I reached into the drawer and pulled out some eye drops and put them in. Katie just sat there and watched me. She didn't even try to help! Then I threw the eye drops back in and pulled out some doggy ear drops. Not something I do routinely, but Katie's ears were a little red. I hadn't even looked at her (but I did think of her) and she took one look at that bottle and headed for the hills. 

Sometimes I think we really don't give our dogs enough credit for how in tune with our lives they are. How did she know? And what else does she know? We might all be in trouble if she could talk. 

Are there things that your dogs know that surprise you? 

[Barbara, Zoey and Zeke]

What amazes me is how well she knows my neighborhood.  We walk a couple of times a day, so I expect her to know some, but just how much is fascinating.  Some friends live down the street that have a young GSD that Zoey is friends with.  She loves to run the fence with Gracie and play.  She knows the minute we turn down that street!  A little whine that means she can hardly wait!

She met a new dog the other day while out walking, and turned to go up to their backyard fence the next day.

Close to the dog park she does the little whine again!  Yes, I think they know a lot more than we give them credit for!

[Joani, Skadi & Elli]

Cute stuff!  Mine know more than I give them credit for too.  They especially know if I bring a "new" toy home...they ditch the old ones and play with the new one until they get another new one!  They used to head for the hills too when I got in the drawer and pulled out the package of frontline...so, I switched to a pill...they still run when I pull the package out...LOL

[Wendy and Myla]

Reading all of these is my Myla!  Myla will be seven (OMD!!!!!) in March and for the first five years of her life, every Friday morning I would get the grandkids!  Every Friday, around 8:00 a.m. she would be in front of the window by the door waiting for the kids to come.  Sometimes they didn't and she would mope all day long.  Well now, for the last two years, they are both in school full-time and they don't come on Fridays but she still sits in front of the window, every Friday, and waits.  It's so sad!!!!  She also knows exactly when she's going to have a bath (which she hates) and no matter how hard I try to hide the fact, she will totally avoid eye contact and try to make herself smaller. If we go away and leave her in the house, she is fine if we take the car, but if we take the truck, she is howling!!!  She associates the truck with adventure.  I absolutely love trying to figure out how she knows what she knows!!!

[Stacy]

This is exactly what I'm talking about! I can barely keep up with what day of the week it is. How does Myla know that it's Friday? I had always heard that dogs don't have any concept of time, that they just live in the moment. Then I watched a documentary where they were doing studies (I can't remember the name of the film) that showed that dogs could differentiate between different periods of time. They never act like they hate it when I go to work, but I wonder how they understand the difference between a 30 minute errand a whole day of work. 

There are so many things I wish I could ask them! It's funny, I think they speak more English than I speak dog. And again, I wonder who is really the smart one in this relationship. 

[Star and Goldie]

when my daughter goes to her dads she comes home at 6:00. Without fail, everytime, Goldie will sit in front of the door right at 6:00 or a few minutes before staring at the door, wagging her tail and wimpering waiting for her bestie to come walking in. It's the strangest thing. I'm like how in the world does she know what time it is? Lol. It's the cutest thing though. 

[Carol and Truffle]

I am a "lurker" here to most threads, because as you can see from my 'name' I don't have a 'doodle yet (have a deposit paid & hoping for come-home-day to be around Mother's Day)

But I find this thread soooo interesting. And some of the comments bring to mind:

- I will have my daughter & son-in-law's 8-year-old mini-dachsund in the picture; she comes to our house frequently for visits & we babysit her when parents are out of town; folks at my work love her when I take her to work & I plan to take my pup-to-be in to work as well; workplace will not settle for losing contact with the min-dachsund LOL

- also daughter & s-i-l are due to have their first baby in August - if I get a 'doodle in May, then what a fun time to incorporate mini-dachsund (who may be jealous), 'doodle, & new baby. 

-I absolutely recognize all of the sensitive juggling to be done getting all of the players to accept & incorporate each other into their personal spaces! My pup will come FIRST !!! Not to worry :)

[Wendy and Myla]

Six years ago I was doing exactly what you are doing - lurking until I got to pick up my Myla!  I learned so very much on this site!  I think I read every post there was - I was going backwards on the forum.  You are going to have a very busy year - new puppy, new grandchild and all of that loving!  It's amazing what you don't even think about!  Have fun!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I find it amazing that my two doodles know exactly when it's 4:30 pm, time to eat. We can tell what time it is by their behavior. They sit right in front of us, staring, and just getting in our faces.  How can they tell time?  They know the sound of their treat bag opening, the food bowls clanking, one runs when he hears or sees me go near the cabinet that has their medications, brushes and ear cleaning items, the other one comes rushing in waiting for something to come out of that magic cabinet.  

There are so many other little things that show that they are in tune with us, too many to list. We must be pretty predictable ! 

[Stacy]

I wish they could tell us. There are so many things I would love to hear their thoughts about.