I have a friend who’s convinced her dog’s the dumbest dog in the world. She tells the dog that regularly and shakes her head in dismay over “dumb” things he does.
I ask her all the time for examples of his dumbness because I have yet to see him do anything dumb. She never really gives specifics, though. She just kind of skirts my questions and reaffirms that he’s dumb. I guess she expects I should just take her word for it.
Now don’t get me wrong. I happen to like this friend very much, which is why she’ll remain nameless. She’s not much of a computer person, and I know she doesn’t read my blogs, but on the off chance she one day gets the urge to Google her name, I don’t want her to find this being representative of her Google efforts.
She’s a nice person, and she’s a heck of an animal lover who’s rescued one and reunited two strays with their owners in the last few months alone. However, when it comes to her dog, I hate to say it but she’s the dumb one.
Her dog has one of the most gentle, loving natures of any dog I’ve ever met. He’s also a heck of a runner. He used to accompany my friend’s husband on his morning runs. Whether it was a weekday six-mile run, or a weekend 12 to 20 mile run, that dog was thrilled to be out there logging the miles. And never dragged a step to boot.
When we’ve watched him, he’s played with some of Murphy’s toys and been super respectful to the cats. Which reminds me of something my friend used to say that she considered him dumb for.
“He wouldn’t know what to do with a toy if you gave him one.”
I think that was the trouble. She never gave him one.
Now I’ll admit he’s not interested in all of Murph’s toys like his buddy Tucker is when he comes to visit. But he did find a couple he thought were pretty neat and he played with those.
He also learned really fast where I kept the Scooby Snacks. A truly dumb dog wouldn’t pick up on that. Or know how to give me the look I can’t resist to pump me for treat handouts.
I even offered to let her use the Pooch IQ kit to test her dog’s intelligence and find out if he really was dumb. She refused. I think she’s afraid to find out he’s actually a genius and she’s not helping him live up to his full potential.
Courtney Mroch writes about animals great and small in Pets and the harmony and strife that encompasses married life in Marriage. For a full listing of her articles click here.