Monday, April 18, 2011

Are Your Dogs Creative?

I came across this page a couple of weeks ago but only got around to reading it today and what a wonderful, thought provoking post I found it to be.  It's what I would call long, which is why I didn't read it immediately.  But I hope you will have a read of it and let me know what you think.  And I'd love to know what creative things your dogs do:)

Frankie is more creative than Beryl, which is to be expected as he was only 10 months old when I got him and has been living here for a bit over 2 years now.  Beryl was 3 1/2 years old when she came to live with us (a year ago) and I very much doubt any sort of creativity is encouraged in Greyhound kennels:)  He's the first one to suss out any sort of 'thinking' toy I get them but Beryl is getting better at thinking about things with practice.

Here's a recent example of Beryl's creativity when she found something to amuse herself with while waiting for me to take them for a walk!
Beryl's abstract art!
It's not like she didn't have plenty of stuffies lying around to play with.  Can you see Frankie in the TV screen?  He looks rather horrified.  Probably because he's more inclined to amuse himself with mobile phones and remote controls, which I think I've finally learnt to keep out of his reach, touch wood!
Madam is quite pleased with her efforts:)
I love to see Beryl have fun and get into mischief, even when it results in a mess for me to clean up!  If you ever come visit don't expect a tidy house, we have a messy, happy HOME:)  And I bet yours is too!

An example of Frankie's creativity is where he likes to eat his meals.  He soon discovered that Beryl didn't appreciate him going to check out what she's got.  I expect her coming to check his meal out would have resulted either in him letting her have it or some unpleasantness between them.  So he figured out that if he eats in her crate then it's all good for everyone:)  It took me a few nights to work out his plan.  I'd be calling him for tea, and would take their food bowls into the loung room, wondering where he was and he'd be lying in her crate waiting for me:)  I shut the door and everybody is happy and I don't have to stand around and supervise and growl.

So, tell me, what do your dogs get up to that surprise and amuse you?

8 comments:

houndstooth said...

Oh mercy! Well, Bunny has been modeling for me all of break, and she has begun to anticipate what she thinks I will want her to do. But it's the way she'll flop over and give me a funny grin that cracks me up and melts my heart. She's the one in our house who really likes puzzle toys, too.

Morgan is about patrolling the house, and she's come up with some creative solutions to our plans to keep her from barking at the windows. Those include rearranging chairs, jumping on tables and standing on the back of the couch.

Lilac figured out that all she has to do is bark at us! Eventually, you'll do anything she wants to get her to stop!

Blueberry will bat those eyes at you and go through her entire list of tricks to get you to give her what she wants.

2 dogs + 1 cat + 2 humans said...

lol I do like your optimism calling them 'creative'! hehe.
The reason we got Snoopy is because she had been through 4 homes before us and none of them wanted to keep her, because she was labelled as 'destructive', which I suppose we could call 'creative' :) much nicer! That said, we have only had her be 'creative' a very few times here - she must love us!

Sue said...

I've come home to this scene. Don't mind when it's just a paper or magazine, but I was rather miffed to come home to some craft projects strewn around and teeth marks on them.

I think because Song was in racing kennels for so long (five and a half years), she doesn't know how to play. She has toys, but they are usually used to cuddle:)

genji said...

Beryl, cutting up the magazine is easy. Piecing together the ransom note is the hard part :)

Luckily, I have a very uncreative bunch. Lazy like their daddy I guess.

Mr.Mischief said...

Creative with crafts, no...but Oberon knows how to open door knobs even if the lock in the center is used..I taped him with a webcam the first few days to see how he handled being left alone(always had another dog or person home in his past places)and saw him turning the knob with his mouth and tongue, and opening the door! Needless to say, the deadbolt is kept locked at all times now..lol

georgia little pea said...

Oh gosh, where do I start?! Georgia used to be very creative in the mould of Beryl. She would be especially struck by inspiration every time we left the house, which is why we didn't for almost a whole year. These days, her creativity lies mostly in getting us to let her up on the bed or the couch, take her for a walk or feed her!

I love those pics of Beryl. They cracked me up. You are a saint. I would have screamed for sure! Is that huge mattress their bed?!

Barbara said...

Oh my, I thought I owned the only dog who ate magazines!!

IHateToast said...

Tamale was creative with wool, and she had a preference for mohair. Expensive hobby.
Fabian's creativity comes out when spongy things and ripped stuffies are around. He won't rip the stuffy on purpose, but once the white blood is exposed, it's just nose in, tufts out. It's the same with spongy things. Nip, rip, spittewy, repeat. He makes piles.

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