OK, I had a pen in the back yard, about forty feet
from the house. When I would go out the back
door with Max (the dog), he would figure we
were going to the pen and run away. Long
chases, etc.
One day I picked up a doggy treat on my way
out the door, figuring I would lure Max down
the path, throw it into the pen, and close the
gate.
Max looked up, saw the treat in my hand,
ran down the path into the pen and turned,
waiting for the treat.
Consider the strategy. Max believes I want him
to go in the pen. He realizes I will give him the
treat if he runs into the pen. So he does.
You can’t have strategies like that if you
don’t know you exist. You have to
be self-aware, to be able to think about
yourself. You have to be able to think
about what somebody wants you to do.
You have to be able to think about
what they will do IF you do
something.
Max was a person. We are approaching
human intellgence.
Have you ever wondered why they don’t make cat flavoured dog food, or mouse flavoured cat food?
As for dogs, I find that mixes are generally more intelligent and have fewer health problems. My Scuba (Doberman/Labrador mix) lived to the ripe old age of 15 1/2 and was never ill a day of her life apart from one problem caused by bad quality dog food (no, it wasn’t cat flavoured). It is very rare for Labradors or Dobermans to live that long. My Mom had two of Scuba’s daughters. Their father was a Kleine Münstländer, a German hunting dog. They also lived to around 15 with no health problems.
BTW, never keep two puppies from the same litter unless you have an adult dog to help you keep them in line!
Oh leave me alone, Slood. I’m sick!! (whine, whine)
And you know, that was really really mean of you to take my typo and quote it. Now when I fix it, it’s still going to be there. No bubble wrap for YOU!
