Posted on 01/24/2011 9:24:38 AM PST by afraidfortherepublic
I suspect that many dog lovers are struggling with last week’s news that a border collie named Chaser learned the names of more than 1,000 objects and can retrieve them on command.
They are looking at their dogs and wondering, how many words do you know, Bowser? Probably not that many, and I worry that this is particularly painful for Amy Chua, the author of the controversial “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” a book that promotes fierce, relentless and demanding parenting, and also talks about her love for her dogs.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Doggie ping?
Oh, those Border Collies and Shelties! My Golden just sighs and turns to other endeavors...
My Saint is furniture.
How Many Dogs Does It Take to Change A Lightbulb?
* Golden Retriever: The sun is shining. The day is young. We've got our whole lives ahead of us. And you're inside worrying about a stupid, burned-out light bulb?
* Border Collie: Just one. Not only that, but I'll replace any wiring that's not up to code.
Would make a good documentary.. about Chaser.. to prooove that is true..
lol.
BUMP
Too, too true...! ((grin))
Our Chihuahua has taught us to give treats on demand.
I’ve seen some dogs do this on TV — but not 1000 objects. Sometimes it is a trick. Watch when the trainer dumps the objects out of a bag and then asks the dog to fetch them one by one. The dog is identifying them by the handler’s smell as the handler picks up each toy, puts it down, and then asks the dog to fetch that object just handled. Doggie is using his NOSE, not his ears to identify the object.
But, I know dogs that know a lot of language. I had a Golden and we used to spell in front of her because she knew the words “walk, bone, bird” so well and she’d get too excited if we decided not to do the activity we just mentioned. “Look” would send her tearing to the big window in the back of the house. She passed away after 15 1/2 years and my “new” Golden pretends he doesn’t know any words...but he does. He’s just very subtle about it — sort of like the hunting dog in the story.
A Jack Russel’s comment on changing a light bulb would be:
“Can I kill it for ya, huh huh? Can I kill it?”
(not our guy - but the marking are very close)
BCs are scary smart! I’m waiting to see a bumper sticker that says “Your kid may be on the honor roll, but I have a Border Collie!”
We spell in front of my Lab, as well — “walk”, “ride”, “outside”, etc.
BTW, knows at least 15 words. If I worked with him, I’ll bet I could get him a lot more. Not 1 000, though. Heck, 1 000 words is more than the average Obama voter knows.
Oops! I meant to say:
“BTW, my cat knows at least 15 words.”
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