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Fenway did something interesting today.
To begin with, Fenway is fairly leggy for a basset which, in combination with the standard issue long basset body, means that he is able to reach places no basset has ever reached before which would explain where half of my lunch left on my desk disappeared to this afternoon when I stepped out of the room. Beckham, on the other hand has little stumpy Oompa-Loompa legs and and has to jump to just get up curbs so the desktop is pretty much terra incognita to him.
Traditionally, prior to going out for one of our many walks, Fenway becomes obsessed with his rawhide chew du jour and insists on carrying it in his mouth when we go outside. Invariably, if he does take it outside, he will leave it on the lawn or in a flowerbed while we’re out because he’s stupid easily distracted. Back inside the house he realizes that he is chewy-less and there is hell to pay because he doesn’t know what to do with himself and he runs around like an idiot and mrs tbogg won’t let me give him Nyquil so I can get some rest. So I generally take the chewy from his mouth and throw it on the floor or bed or whatever is handy before we we go out. When walkies are over he bolts for the front door because he wants to get to it before Beckham does.
Today, when I extended the invitation to go out (like they would refuse), Fenway grabbed his chewy and started dancing around the room with it in his mouth. When I called him over to both take it out of his mouth and hook him up to his leash, he ran over to my desk, and plopped the chewy far enough up on the desktop that Beckham couldn’t dream of seeing it much less reaching it. Then he ran over to go out. I realize that this isn’t exactly otters using rocks to break open shellfish or monkeys creating rudimentary tools but, for a basset, this is practically MENSA stuff.
Maybe I can sell him for research.
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This is genius on the level of a throw-a-bone-into-the-air-and-watch-it-become-a-satellite-style cosmic shift in intelligence. I suspect alien involvement.
What is Mrs. TBogg’s interpretation, same or diff?
Funny. I used the same “MENSA” description on my beloved mutt a few months ago when she managed to unwind herself (and her leash) from around a tree.
Then she came home and ate cat poop.
Which makes Fenway smarter than most of the dittoheads
Fixed it for ya. Fenway is teh smarts!
Now keep in mind that I did not physically SEE this behavior that seems to indicate that Fenway actually has a brain, so I am somewhat skeptical. He has given no prior indication that there is any significant brain activity beyond that required for basic life functions and this sudden change is therefore somewhat suspect. I also think it indicates potential alien involvement….or maybe he’s actually learning things. No, it’s definitely aliens…..
Having grown up with dogs and seen it all, I’m convinced dogs reason and plot. Often they wait for their humans to leave the house before they get up to criminal mischief like breaking into the cupboards and eating the roast or the butter that’s left on the counter to thaw, by dragging a chair over, jumping on the seat, and from there climbing on the counter, grabbing the thang, climbing down and…um, forgetting to return the chair to it’s original position. Short attention spans.)
Just be thankful Beckham has oompa loompa legs. My God, there’s no telling what he’d be capable of if he didn’t.
you may want to thnk about changing the password on your computer … and hiding the credit cards … just sayin’ …
Or you could rent him out to Red State. He could be the “Dr. Bunsen Honeydew” to Erick Erickson’s “Beaker.”
Kind of like this
Next time Fenway is in the pedicure sling, check carefully to see if he is evolving opposable thumbs. Has he shown any signs of knowing how to make and use fire?
He grabbed your lunch from the desk, and he left his chewy on your desk. Desk=food place.
I think dogs can reason at least that well.
Don’t tell the republicans. They’ll want him to run against Arlen Specter.
Old Dog loved his spot on the couch in the TV room. Young Dog kept stealing it. One evening while Young Dog lounged on the couch, Old Dog grabbed one of Young Dog’s toys, stared at Young Dog, tail wagging, then dashed into another room. I was shocked. Old Dog barely deigned to look at Young Dog, much less invite her to play. Young Dog chased after him. Old Dog promptly dropped the toy, loped back into the TV room, and jumped onto the couch. Hogging the whole thing, of course.
He also would grab a sofa cushion in his mouth, set it on the ground, lie down and put his head on the pillow.
The smart old boy died in January. We miss him terribly.
Sorry Beckham, it’s just Basset natural selection. It’s like the hungry, short-necked giraffes.
Clever Fenway!
CCinNC, I have a similar story. Our foxhound mixed breed dog Wendy is pretty smart. She has a designated area on one of our sofas.But when the whole family is home and all the seats are taken, she has to lie on the floor. One evening when we were all watching a movie on tv, she got up off the floor, walked to the door and scratched to be let out. My youngest son got up, walked to the door, and in that instant, Wendy whirled around and jumped up on the couch where he’d been sitting.
She pulled this trick another time when I had a sandwich lying on a plate on my kitchen table. She watched me eat a bite, then begged to go outside. I got to the door, she turned and ran for the kitchen. I caught her in time and suggested she go to Pen State, which is what we call her crate.
Donnah, Wendy is too smart.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/…..inpictures
Crufts Basset blogging.
This reminds me of our late lamented feline Fang. She once was let into the house without us realizing that she had a baby rabbit between her teeth. Her first action was to sprint over and drop the prize into her food bowl, laying claim to said bunny as her own. She would do the same if she managed to grab something of the table (like a chunck of cheese) that was too big to just swallow whole.
So I for one am a believer in the genius of Fenway.
Fenway has you and Mrs TBogg wrapped around his little claw – I think that indicates at least cat-level intelligence.
Oh, TBogg, thanks for the biggest laugh of the week.
I love all the stories, dog and cat both.
One more? My first cat (when I knew nothing about cats) was well aware that she was “not allowed” on the kitchen counter. One day I came home from work to find the dish sponge – from next to the kitchen sink — placed in the very center of my bed.
The message couldn’t have been clearer if she had written me a note.
Or contemplating subjects/antics for a future column.
Oh, I don’t know…
My wife, back when she was single, was living with a roommate with a Siamese. One day she did something, I don’t remember what, that got the cat miffed with her. She turned back the covers on her bed that evening only to find the kitchen sponge shredded in the center of the bed under the sheets.
CCinNC, that is a beautiful story.
I once had a Siamese my roommate hated. She used to lock her in the closet when I wasn’t home, so the cat pooped in her shoes. You should have seen the look on her face when she slipped her tootsies into the shoes. This same cat learned to use the toilet – flush and all – when she had her kittens. They were at the very tiptop of the house, in the clawfoot tub of a seldom-used bathroom. She hated to leave them alone to use the litterbox so she figured out the toilet system.