Wednesday, August 12, 2009

My Dog and the Doggy Days of Summer










Oh EXCELLENT. Some good news to report at last. It turns out my dog Kerouac is almost as smart as my robot.

Or as intelligent as a two-year-old child.

Researchers have found that dogs are capable of understanding up to 250 words and gestures, can count up to five and can perform simple mathematical calculations.

"Obviously we are not going to be able to sit down and have a conversation with a dog, but like a two-year-old, they show that they can understand words and gestures."

Of course after spending a few days with my brother's two-year-old son I have to report that isn't saying much.

GIMME GIMME !!!!! Bang. Crash. WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!

But then I'm still TRAUMATIZED.

So the day Kerouac understands that rolling in a dead fish after going swimming which he LOVES...
















Means going swimming in the tub....which he HATES.



















I think I'll call him a genius eh?

On the other hand Kerouac says the day I understand why he doesn't eat his delicious crunchies before I finish my steak.

He'll call ME a genius....



The Dog and the Butcher by Jonathan Holt from Jonathan Holt on Vimeo.

Yup. The doggy days of Summer.

May they never end...


4 comments:

JJ said...

Aww, sweeeet! Poor Kerouac had to get a bathie... I see he's standing still like a good boy, though.

Labs rule!

Anonymous said...

My favourite part of the study was smart dogs don't care about 'equity', like 2 year old humans do, just the number. 2 bikkies vs 2 raw pieces of meat? Not so sure about that.

Dog lovers weren't surprised by any of it though. I would have said my dog (RIP) knew over 100 words and could count to 4.

Simon said...

Hi JJ....poor Kerouac? Do you know how stinky a rotten fish can be?
How about poor ME? :)
But actually it is funny when I think about it.... afterwards. You'll notice Sebastien takes the photo and I do the scrubbing.Ahem.
But you're right Labs RULE. They'll dive right into the iciest lake. But put this one in a nice warm tub and he's so miserable you'd think I was trying to drown him...

Simon said...

Hi Toe...well I don't want to put down my doggie but when I found out he was that intelligent I must admit I was surprised... :)
BTW...and I tell this one to anyone who loves dogs. Did you know that you can tell how happy your pooch is by looking at which way it wags its tail. If it goes to the dog's right it means he or she is REALLY happy. If it goes to the left not so much. And of course if it goes both ways it's CONFUSED.... :)