Thought this was rather interesting.......

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,504508,00.html

Awesome link, Carol. For years, I have been saying/believing that they are capable of communicating and understanding so much more than we give them credit for...but everyone thinks I'm nuts. If you allow yourself to think inside limits, you're going to miss out on so much with your dogs. I test my dogs' intelligence and problem solving all the time. It's hugely rewarding. I often wonder why people even like dogs if they really think they're so limited in their capacity to comprehend us...kinda defeats the point of the relationship, IMO. I forwarded it to my Dad, who is always laughing about 2 of my dogs' antics (they're not all that smart, but 2 definitely are)...like the most recent "unlinking" of chain link by Caleb. The dog is just about uncontainable. So far, a crate w/padlock works. That's it. If Mom makes it so I cannot simply climb out, I will just unweave the barrier itself. Brute force is for idiots...and dogs.

I will never be able to put that kennel panel back together. Rather than just pull it like many dogs would do, he removed the horizontal bar at the bottom, and then worked at unweaving the individual wires to make a lovely 2' high hole. I guess it's better than ruining his teeth...grrr. I feel like every day is "Can I outsmart my dog today?" day. Tough on the self esteem.

I've also always known dogs were highly intelligent and communicative. No one could have convinced me otherwise. It's hard to deny something you've seen over and over, in fact it's downright foolish.

Lear knows something I've never shown him. When the water isn't coming out of the hose very well, he goes exactly to where the kink is, picks it up with his teeth and throws it to unkink it. If it kinks again somewhere else, he does it again. He didn't even seem to need to figure it out, it was automatic - he just knew. He heard the sound at the kink and put 2 and 2 together. I was shocked actually.

When I bring home a new toy, it just takes my naming it once and he remembers it when I ask him to find it later.

My last GSD, Sierra, could untie knots in rope! My dog before her, a hunting dog mix, could also untie knots! To do that without fingers, just teeth and paws, is remarkable.

The first time you see your dogs do something like this, something that takes extraordinary brain power no matter what the species, you can't deny their intelligence.

Cool article Carol... this is one of my favorite parts of the article: "Border collies like Rico and Guinness would probably be happiest watching over their own herds of sheep. "They simply want to work," says Range."

Jenni
Most people don't believe you because most dogs aren't as smart as Caleb or Sandy's dogs (pretty impressive, by the way). And if their dogs came close to being that smart they would probably get in big trouble, so the dogs never develop or use their thinking skills.

Debbie, I absolutely don't believe that. I think that people limit their dogs by not thinking they're capable. I could give a ton of examples like Sandy's...(BTW-WOW-Lear not only looks like Caleb but sounds like him too). Actually, that might be a fun thread-the smartest things our dogs have done. Along the same lines as the hose, Caleb will use the ice dispenser in the fridge door...saw my ex do it a few times and started doing it himself as soon as he could reach. What a mess on the wood floors, lol. He continually turns on my outside spigots...yet can't seem to turn them off . At 13 weeks (Lordy, what a horrible age...) he flooded my house by unscrewing my toilet valve until water shot out of the wall. He's a nut for water, and stupid me thought there was nothing in the bathroom he could destroy...wrong! He was thrilled with himself. Me, not so much.

He leaves my house if I don't lock him in w/the deadbolt...all my knobs have tooth dents. I'll never forget the time he brought me this nasty, nasty old tennis ball to throw. I said "yuck, go get a stick or something." He looked at me a second, then trotted over to a tree limb I'd cut, and broke off a small branch. I was totally in shock. I can ask him to find another dog (or cat-but I have to be more careful w/that one, lol). He continually drops his ball directly in the path of my lawnmower, so I have no choice but to grab it and throw it. Who's training who here?

I knew he was no dummy when he was 8weeks old and a ball went under my car. Rather than go after it directly, he ran around behind the car and waited for it to roll out. Not so impressive for an adult, but at 8 weeks, 2days away from his littermates, I thought that was above-average problem solving. Now, he takes toys away from my little puppy and puts them up high where the pup can't reach...like flower pots on my coffee tables, etc. If only he'd use that intelligence for good, and not evil.

I firmly believe we are the greatest limitation placed on our dogs. What would it hurt for people to try to communicate on a higher level than "sit" and "stay"? I think they'd be shocked at the resulting bond. There's absolutely no down side.

Sandy, we must make sure they never meet. It could be very dangerous.

 Quote: jenni williams

I think that people limit their dogs by not thinking they're capable.
I firmly believe we are the greatest limitation placed on our dogs. What would it hurt for people to try to communicate on a higher level than "sit" and "stay"? I think they'd be shocked at the resulting bond. There's absolutely no down side.

Words to live by, or at least, words to live with your dog by!

 Quote: jenni williams

...I firmly believe we are the greatest limitation placed on our dogs. What would it hurt for people to try to communicate on a higher level than "sit" and "stay"? I think they'd be shocked at the resulting bond. There's absolutely no down side.

So true. I absolutely think the same way. In fact if most people are just doing the basic levels of a relationship with their dogs, I hurt for the dogs. They're capable of so much more, and they have so much more to give and best of all they have the desire and longing to give it. That's what I thought we were talking about in all the threads that bonding was mentioned. I can't imagine bonding without that desire to communicate, both the dog with a person and person to dog. That's what bonding means to me.

 Quote: jenni williams

Sandy, we must make sure they never meet. It could be very dangerous.

Let's live dangerously. I was hoping we'd meet at Carol's.

YAY....I am glad to see some people "planning" on coming. I have been jotting down some ideas and will get them on the blog soon.

Jenni,
How far are you from Salem IL?

I am glad to see the discussion about this article.