Who was the smartest dog you've ever owned? What clever thing did they do, once or consistently? Were they a mongrel or a purebred?
(Shhhh…don’t tell this to the other three dogs or else I will be in big trouble!)
Three weeks ago, we adopted a 10-week old shepherd mix (see update below). She has already learned from the others how everything in our house works as well as some other things I have taught her. Took us 10 days to housebreak her. Knows her name as well as, sit, stay, down, and come. Goes in and out of the dog door (if you hold it for her since she is still too little to push it open). Plays fetch like a trained retriever. Walks in the woods with the rest of the pack and I like she has been doing it her whole life. Has hiding places all over the house to escape the other two when they are chasing her (Moose leaves her alone). She also wrestles on more or less equal footing with Romi and Icicle in spite of weighing 16 lbs vs. their 60–65 lbs. She has moves that I have never seen any other dog make before LOL. She is a dedicated thief of slippers, socks, and underwear in rooms that she shouldn’t be able to get into, nor that you are aware of her entering or leaving. Can find a dryer sheet placed anywhere in the house and shred it before you even knew she found it.
All of this at 13 weeks old. And then she looks up at you and steals your heart, so you forget all of the mischiefs she has been up to, followed by snuggling up next to you for her nap. She has all of the tricks of my three-year-old shepherd/husky after only being with us for three weeks. I am afraid for the future… ;-)
This is Nala…Queen of all she surveys!!!
PS: When she wrestles with the others she sounds exactly like an Ewok, which goes perfectly with Icicles’ noises which sound like a Wookie. Going to be quite an adventure when she grows up LOL
3/1 UPDATE: Thank you for the lovely comments and upvotes. We figured out what Nala was along with shepherd….she is a cat…LOL. Loves to stand on the couch and launch herself upward in a graceful parabolic arc onto the top of her brother in an attack that can only be described as textbook Cougar. Couple that with the fact that she is 100% puppy when she is running around like a maniac, but when it is quiet time she is also 100% focused on curling up in your lap or snuggled up next to you. I have never met a dog who thrived and sought physical contact as much as she does. No idea how this combination of canine and feline chromosomes happened, but each and every day I realize that when she picked out my wife to be her partner, it was one of the best days of MY life…PERIOD.
4/14 UPDATE: Turns out that my smart little puppy is rather devious as well…she takes things (usually rawhide chews but sometimes toys as well) and hides them in nooks and crannies behind furniture or under the stairs. We will wonder where something is and then it magically appears to be played with and then disappears again when she is done. I am sure the others could use their sense of smell to find these things if they cared but they seem content to let her play her games. Of course, this was quite a shock to my son when he sat on three rawhide chews that had been wedged into the corner of the couch by my little smart devil dog LOL!
9/28/20 UPDATE: So I am at the dog park with the pack of wild beasts the other day and was chatting with a nice woman who had just moved to NY from Tennessee. We were talking about Nala and she said (with her slight southern accent) “That sure looks like a Mountain Cur to me…” Well, a little research later and BOOM! Guess we finally know :-) She’s almost full grown now at about 52 lbs and not nearly as tall/big as we had anticipated. And her coloration has changed a lot since she was a puppy as well. I am thinking that the lady was spot on!
The drawing is from an article about Mountain Curs, and that is exactly Nala’s body shape.
Here’s the rest of the pack for those who were wondering…Moose, Icicle and Romi (L to R) :-)
And here is a bonus picture of my brilliant puppy at ~6 months old (5/6/20)