clever pup

atlas is a clever dog.

do you see this beach towel? that is my beach towel. apparently my towel is larger and softer than the towel I spread out for him. as soon as mine is on the ground, atlas makes himself at home on it. he looks so cute that i can't ask him to move; instead, i sit on his towel.

there are two glass jars in the cupboard under my bathroom sink. one has cotton balls; i use these to clean atlas' ears. one has q-tips; i use these to clean my ears. when i take the lid off the cotton ball jar, atlas starts looking for a place to hide. when i take the lid off the q-tip jar, he does nothing. i still do not have the foggiest idea how he knows the difference, since he is not in the bathroom with me.

when atlas wants to go in a direction that i don't want him to go (and he's on a leash), he pretends that he's not interested in going that way at all. instead, he pretends that he wants to go in a completely different direction. he meanders around in a sort of faux random fashion until he's heading in the right direction (for him) again. i generally know what's happening, but his maneuvers makes me smile so i like to watch it unfold. when that trick doesn't work, he either stands still and looks at me with big sad eyes, or he lies on the ground and looks at me with big sad eyes. both of those tricks work well too.

Comments

[Holly]

Whenever we travel somewhere and both our luggage and our dog is in the back of the car... Tucker does not lay on the nice space we created for him, instead he creeps up and lays on top of all our luggage... drives us bonkers but he will not have it any other way.

Our pups just want to be closer to us and our stuff I think. :)

Tucker does that similar sad eyed thing too when he's really wanting someone to throw a frisbee for him or take him for a walk. He does that to Ben a lot after diner.

[Kim Mailhot]

Yup, cleaver pup. Beautiful too.

[Tracy]

aaawww... Atlas! Pets are sooo smart...they know what's best! ;o) Look at that beautiful boy... be still my heart! :o) Happy Day, Elizabeth ((HUGS))

[Jerry Critter]

It must be either sound or smell. The jars opening may sound different. He knows which one is for his ears. Dogs smelling is extremely acute. The q-tips and cotton balls smell differently and he may be picking that up. You might try putting the cotton balls in a different container and see how quickly he picks up the change.

Dogs eyes can make us do things that no amount of other kinds of pleading can. Some kids are pretty good at it (especially with grandparents), but not as good as dogs.

[Josiane]

Atlas is a very clever pup indeed! :)

[chrissy]

i.ve said it before, but i think that atlas quite simply is THEEE luckiest dog on the planet.
and
YOU, my dear...rock.
loves to you.
miss you.
c

[Se'lah]

now that's love! you go on his blanket. lol.
so cute.

[Kelly]

I love Atlas and I love the way you write about Atlas! He's definitely in the top three luckiest dogs on the planet. (Candidates #2 and #3 are right here.)

[elizabeth @ retinal perspectives]

@kelly: your pups are lucky indeed.

@se'lah: and it is indeed smaller and scratchier. lol.

@chrissy: i am definitely lucky to have him - it only makes sense to return the favor. i hope you're still having a fun vacation!

josiane: how are you, sweetie? has it cooled down at all?

@jerry: no doubt you are right! i totally forget about their sense of smell. i might test this.

@tracy: {hugs} back! i hope you're feeling better & better.

@kim: :)

@holly: awwwww. what a sweetheart. does he think that ben will give in the quickest? ;)

[kerri]

yes, he sounds like a smarty! and i bet he prefers your towel b/c it has the smell of you and he loves u!

[Bullwinkle]

I'm thinking it's sound - the qtips sound different in the jar. Or the cotton balls are further back on the shelf (i.e. you do his ears less frequently).

Dogs are sovereign beings, aren't they? If you asked him to move, he would. But he's happy to be close to you (and, apparently, you don't mind because you took the other towel.)

[Helen]

haha love the photo! brings back memories:) and yes, he is very clever.

[Meredith]

Elizabeth, a few years ago I watched a documentary or t.v. show (? can't remember now) which showed research about highly-bonded dogs "knowing" things it should be impossible for them to know. In one experiment I remember, the researchers sent the dog owners away from the house and told them to drive around in their cars and wait for instructions. At random times, they paged the owners and told them to start for home.

Now they'd set up cameras all throughout the houses where the dogs were waiting. Whenever that dog's owner started for home, in some crazy percentage of cases, like 85%, the dog would stop whatever he was doing in the house, or wake up from napping, and head to the front door to wait for their loved one's imminent arrival, even if the owner was still a half-hour away.

Sometimes it was enough for the owner to think, "Time to head home," and before they could turn the car around, their dog was waiting for them on the doormat.

It gave me goosebumps...

Lovely post. That pic is so sweet. :)

[Gayle]

That is so cute! He's a very smart pup! Love the photo of him on your towel!