The Farmer read somewhere that a
dog can remember and understand up to 300 words. Our trainer told us it is best
to group them in no more than two or three words at a time, for better
understanding. For example, I can point and say “out” and Fergus immediately
backs his caboose up and out of the kitchen or whatever forbidden area he has
ventured into. The Farmer insists on using full sentences: “Fergus Fisher.
Would you please get out of my kitchen…” and wonders why the dog just sits
there drooling.
Since he was a pup I have taught
the Ferg to sit and wait until I am finished filling his food bowl, before he
can eat. I hold up one finger and say: “Waaaaaaait…..” and then I point at the
food and say, “Ok.” I use the same command when I get him to lie down and wait
for a treat. He is very good at following this direction. So much so that when
I took him for our first leashed walk in ages (normally he just runs off leash
in the yard), I tried the “wait…ok” command to get him to slow down and stop
pulling me and it worked. Which is a good thing because he is so strong now he
can pull me along the ice and off my feet in one yank of the lead.
Fergus knows all the basic words to
do with eating, playing and….bathing, which he has actually come to enjoy. It
took us a few months to figure out that he is nervous getting in and out of the
tub because it is slippery. He also doesn’t like the water running while he is
in the tub. He isn’t much for the shower nozzle either. Like a toddler, he
prefers to have his shampoo rinsed with the bucket-over-the-head method.
Followed immediately by a dog treat. If you use this process, he doesn’t run
and hide when he hears the word, “bath.” He actually tried to get in the tub
himself the other day.
Fergus also seems to know the
names of his favourite humans. You only have to say “Paulina” once and he’s up
off his bed, nose pressed to the window or asking to be let outside so he can
sit and wait in the driveway for her car. He can hear her car coming from a
good 2k down the road, the noise of the tires crunching over the icy gravel
much clearer to his ears than to ours. She is the one who gets down on the
floor with him and lets him play-fight and wrestle with her until he is
exhausted. He thinks she is awesome.
Perhaps Fergus’ most wonderful
word in the dog dictionary is “ball.” This is the only toy he has been unable
to destroy. Every other chew toy or stuffie has been de-squeaked, decapitated
and de-fluffed within ten minutes of presentation. Much as I would like my
four-legged child to have toys to play with, I’m tired of throwing money away.
The “chuck-it” hard rubber ball is the only thing worth my dollars.
So we have a closet full of hard
rubber chuck-it balls in orange, blue and glow-in-the-dark (but lose in the
snow) white. I have a plastic throwing arm that I use to pitch the ball much
farther than I could with my own weak, uncoordinated limbs. This is how I
exercise my dog when I don’t have time to go for a walk and the weather is
inhospitable for a hike in the back 40. Ferg knows the meaning of “go get it!”
I work from home one day a week,
and Fergus makes sure that I give my eyes a break from the screen every hour to
throw the ball for him. As a result, he has also learned, “no, Fergus. Mama is
WORKING.” Not his favourite word. To Fergus, it means go away and find
something to play with on your own because I am too busy to play with you.
Unfortunately if he feels slighted by this brushing off, he often goes and
takes his frustration out on the nearest potted plant, lawn chair or snow
shovel, depending on the season.
Approaching two years of age,
Fergus likely has a few dozen words left before we fill up his dictionary. We
shall choose wisely, and perhaps throw a few funny ones in there, for our own
entertainment.
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