My dog tends to surprise me quite a bit. Last night I was thinking about giving her a treat and I looked down at her and got ready to ask her if she wanted a treat and before I opened my mouth, she ran over and laid down in her treat spot and started wagging her tail. Yes she has a spot on the carpet where she lays down and waits for the treat.

In the mornings, I get up at 5 and go into my computer room to drink my coffee and read the news on the internet. She gets up with me and has a chair she jumps into and goes back to sleep. If I get up to get more coffee, she just lays there and doesn't even lift her head. When I get up to start getting ready for work, she immediately knows and runs into my daughters room to go back to sleep. I can't figure out how she knows the difference. It's the same when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. She just lays there and doesn't move. When I am getting up to start my day, she gets up and runs ahead of me. She knows the difference.

Dogs are smarter than people give them credit for. What does your pet do that surprises you if you really think about it? Dog, cat, goldfish, whatever.

I do have a couple of questions for Magnum with his K-9 also. I was thinking about this last night. Does your dog go home with you at night? Is the dog able to turn on and off the working hours from home hours? Does the K-9 interact with your family as a family pet or do you keep them separate pretty much? I have seen shows about K-9 officers, but hearing from someone who actually has one will probably be a little different. Any other tidbits that you want to tell us would be great. I just think it's cool.

It is amazing how much intelligence and personality dogs can have.

I haven't had a pet in years, but growing up, I had a dog from the time I was around 8 who lived to be around 18 years old. Maybe because I was the youngest, she seemed to latch on to me as her best friend out of the family. She got along fine with everyone else, but she always slept with me, and usually would sit next to me if we were all in the living room.

If I were sitting there, and she was lying on the floor or couch somewhere, I could just change my expression, and she'd know it was time to play, and we'd actually play a form of tag. She'd chase after me, gnawing at my pant leg in a mock attack, then I'd chase after her for a little bit, and then switch it around again. All I had to do was change my expression, and she'd know it was time to stop chasing and she'd just follow me around calmly.

She also knew my Dad was the alpha male. If she was lying on a chair that he wanted to sit on, all he had to do was lean down and stare at her, and she'd skulk away. That never worked for anyone else.

Pets pick up on habits really fast. My best favorite kitty comes into the bedroom most every morning about 5:30 AM or so. Starts scratching the carpet, clawing furniture, anything to make noise. Sometimes he'll jump up onto the bed and just stand there in my face, or do head butting.

He wants his cat treats. And he knows that as soon as I get up I'll wander into the laundry room, he'll jump up onto the washing machine and he gets them. It's routine. We do it every day. Then, in the afternoon, around 2 PM or so, he'll come around and start yowling and crying. Wants supper. Supper isn't normally until 3:30 but he tries to push the time up. I resist that as much as I can, but mostly I give in.

Nothing really surprising about any of this, other than their sense of time and routine and rhythm is pretty darn good.

Our Cocker Spaniel willingly comes to us when called most of the time. But when she doesn't want to because she's curled up with a blanket, or laying on the bed, or sunning herself outside on the patio, she starts to cry then starts howling a mournful cry. If she is in the mood to respond to your request, the same thing doesn't elicit a sound. Damned spoiled brat.

I blame Beach.

My cats, Casper and Merlin used to disappear for about half an hour every morning after breakfast without fail. They loved to sit motionless, and stare at my neighbours family through the window, while the they were getting ready for the day. My family's morning routine is evidently less thrilling than my neighoburs.


Casper died at the grand old age of 8 months, and Merlin stopped doing it. Remembering it still brings a smile though :-)

I think all of our pets are spoiled brats. I know mine is. If something happened to her, I doubt I would get another dog. It just wouldn't be the same for me.

I do have a couple of questions for Magnum with his K-9 also. I was thinking about this last night.

Does your dog go home with you at night?

Yes

Is the dog able to turn on and off the working hours from home hours?

Yes, when I go to work I put a work collar on him, he knows when it's on, he works... it's all habit with K-9's.


Does the K-9 interact with your family as a family pet or do you keep them separate pretty much?

Yep, plays with the other 2 dogs, 3 cats, birds, and hamsters.

Our old lurcher Ali used to make me smile. In the winter we'd get up while it was still dark for walks, but he wouldn't commit until he was sure (he liked his bed!). Obviously he didn't know what time it was, so I could be getting up for anything at any time of the night as far as he was concerned. Unless I put my trousers on, then it was all hands to action stations. But only a particular pair I wear for walks. Otherwise, no reaction.

Our current longdog Ted knows that if both of us go out of the front door with him it's not his usual walk, and gets very excited. If it's both of us and we turn right out of the door, he knows he's going to the in-laws (and lots of scraps of food that's been saved) and goes bananas, pulling us all the way there.

He also has a laser pointer that we have lots of fun chasing the dot round the living room with. It lives in the coffee table. It took about 3 play sessions to latch on to the concept that if something comes out of a coffee table drawer, it's red dot time. No matter what, open the drawer, and take something out, he's alert, and scanning the floor for that pesky dot. Not mastermind stuff, but we've had him nearly three years and despite active training every day, I can't teach him to retrieve his frisbee.

He's pretty much mastered catching it though!


Dogs are just flat out cool.

I find that pretty amazing. It's like he puts on his uniform and knows that it's time to go to work. If you ever feel like taking the time to write more about this stuff, I would love to read it.

Thank you for answering my questions, pretty cool stuff.