How does he know

[Sam I Am]

I have come to the conclusion that my dog Sam is smarter than me!  How did he learn that if he holds out long enough he will get his favourite treat, how did he learn that whining incessantly will drive me crazy and of course I will take him for a walk regardless of the weather , How did he learn to look at me with those beautiful liquid brown eyes and basically get what he wants. How could he pretend to ignore my come here command when he remembers all the hand signals when he went to puppy class. How does he know to come and comfort me when I am very upset.  How does he know that it is the exact time to get up, to get fed a go for a walk? 
 

conclusion…..he is smarter than me!

[Dogcoat lady]

That’s okay.  He’s fun to hang out with.  Humbling aren’t they.

[bradl]

Cairns are excellent trainers. Sigh. Gotto go, somebody scratching the door to be let out. 

[Catalyzt]

Spike knows a LOT of things he couldn't possibly know, or that I have no idea how he learned.

A few weeks ago, we went out for a late morning walk, and he began barking wildly-- not that uncommon.  What was unusual: He was looking at the sky.  

I noticed, vaguely, that there were a few birds circling around.  This didn't strike me as at all unusual, and in fact, I barely noticed-- we have plenty of crows, owls, doves, even ducks and geese sometimes.

"Dude, those are just birds," I explained to him, I thought, reasonably.

He looked at me irritably, barked at me, stared up at the sky, barking directly at the birds, and then looked at me and barked again, like, "Oh, really?  Care to take a closer look, Mr. Wildlife?"

So I did.  And noticed they were red-tailed hawks.  Not a likely threat for a Cairn, but I looked into it a bit: certainly a potential threat to puppies or any mammal weighing less than 6 pounds.  On very rare occasions, they may have attacked dogs as large as Spike, though some of these reports could be apocryphal.  

Sorry, pal.  Good eye.  

Maybe that was encoded in genetic memory or something?  I can't think of another explanation, unless he was attacked by one before we rescued him, or he witnessed an attack.  Maybe something about the way they circle and fly?  

[Dogcoat lady]

I have no idea, but that same response comes from Norrie when I turn onthe ceiling fan.