A late afternoon nap can be oh-so rewarding. It improves digestion by napping before dinner, allows your sense of taste to reboot, and prepares for the rest of the day’s activities and the main feast of the day, “Dinner Time!” Yes, I know the nutritionist wants you to eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunch, and a pauper at dinner. I have tried that, and I wake up hungry in the middle of the night, so I eat a snack at 2:00 am, hungry like a bear. The words “Dinner Time” are like magic around our house. We say it three times daily for the dogs; they truly know the words “Dinner Time.” It’s much too complicated to tell them breakfast, lunch, and dinner time. Upon the utterance: “Dinner Time!” the dogs jump up, get excited, and, in fact, dance around the space they get served their meals.
It has always been interesting to see how many words our pet dogs can learn. Many educators have suggested that they don’t really understand words, just the sounds, and make a connection to an action based on the sounds.
My first dog “Penny” learned to pick up over 20 different toys by command. She knew how to play with a ball by rolling it back to me when I rolled it to her. We played this game for 15 to 20 minutes; she was intelligent and responsive.
Dogs are very communicative and express themselves through body language, facial expressions, sounds, and actions. Social media platforms are full of cute pics of dogs smiling and awkwardly talking like George Jetson’s dog “Astro.” Some dogs sing to music, often in an otherworldly voice. Some would call it howling. Some learn to dance with music and, in fact, put on some awesome dance expositions, such as “Heelwork to music,” a form of obedience with their trainers. I have always been amazed watching dog agility competitions; they learn what moves to make, to go over through, and under obstacles at high speed. They look happy when their trainer is happy.
In the book “Intelligence of Dogs,” Author Coren defines three aspects of dog intelligence: instinctive intelligence, which is what the dog was bred for herding and hunting; adaptive intelligence, which is a dog’s ability to solve its own problems; and obedience intelligence, which is a dog’s ability to learn from humans. I would like to add one more: Emotional Intelligence!
Our dog “Chloe,” my daughter’s once-in-a-lifetime dog, was tuned into our entire family’s emotional state. Chloe could pick up on our emotions and energy. If one of us was sad or crying, she would stay with us, use her nose to prod us to pay attention to her, and she would snuggle or interact with us until we felt better. She would not stop until we would smile and hug or pet her. She was an amazing animal, very loving. Even the day we had to put her down due to illness, she was comforting my daughter and me. She knew what was happening and wanted us to know it was okay and that she loved us.
Many of us say goodbye to our dogs and tell them how long we will be gone. Many humans have long conversations with their dogs; they are really good listeners unless they are hungry or want to go outside.
My daughter named her “Snowy” because it was snowing outside when we picked her up. Her name could have been Sunny, Rainy, or Hail. This dog was so protective of my daughter that when we set off some legal non-flying fireworks years ago on a Fourth of July at our house, I was lucky to catch this protective dog just before she was about to throw herself on the fireworks to protect Chris.
My little dog, Princess, focused on keeping me company when I was sick for months. She would sit on the couch with me, only leaving to eat, drink, or go outside to do her business, then right back to laying at my side. She was very comforting.
When the end of their lives comes all too soon, some of us take a break from dog ownership. It is very painful to lose a family member, and our dogs are included in that category. The house seems lonelier without dogs. After a grieving period, many dog lovers begin the journey again. Some decide not to, but they live in our hearts!
All four of these dogs are waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge. In the Woody Allen movie Sleeper, they say a line: “Dog spelled backward is God, makes you think.” I am not suggesting that dogs are God or any supernatural form, but I have often thought that they may be sent by God to help us live our lives. They have sure helped me and my family!
“Remember, every day is a gift! Some are more fun to open than others. – Joel
Author of: “The Guinea Pig In The Freezer”. joelmvernier@aol.com
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