My Doggies

You should read "The Art of Racing in the Rain." Its a great book. Ever since I've read it, I have been more convinced than ever that dogs understand exactly what we are saying. Yesterday was proof again. I was explaining to Rex that we were taking Professor to see Leah and leaving him home. I didn't want him to feel bad so I was telling him that Professor would have to ride in the car for a really long time and wait in the car while we ate and shopped. While I was saying all this, Professor ran and hid under the couch and I had to drag him out when it was time to go! I wasn't completely honest with Rex, though, because Professor had a wonderful time. I don't remember if I blogged about this before, but another time that proved that they understand english was when Leah gave Rex this little cat toy that was a small, squeaky mouse. Rex was obsessed with this mouse. He kept it with him and played with it, squeaked it, licked it, cuddled it, etc, for about 36 hours straight when I realized it was way too small for him and he was going to choke on it. I waited for an opportunity and when he left it for a second to get a drink of water, I took it and hid it on top the fridge. He came back in the room and madly searched for it everywhere. I called him over to me and explained to him that I'd taken it away because it was too small. He looked at me, barked furiously at me a few times, then stopped looking for the toy, and layed down dejectedly. Proof.
Rex and Professor like to sleep with me. If you've ever owned a Shih Tzu, you know that they prefer to sleep near feet. When its cold out, one sleeps strtched out cuddling my shins and the other, my calves (I sleep on my side). Friday night when I couldn't sleep, I read my book for awhile. Rex got annoyed and came over and hit the book with his paw. When that didn't work, he laid down on my face so I couldn't see the book. Last night, Rex started scratching and it was shaking the bed. Normally, if I lieft my head up, both dogs pop their heads up to look back at me. So I looked at Rex and he looked back. Professor was upside down with all four paws spread out and his head tilted back and he didn't even open his eyes to see what was up. I told Rex to follow Professor's example and go to sleep. He hopped over the pillow and Professor and curled in a ball on my chest and laid his head on my chest. I rubbed his ears for awhile and we went to sleep. He didn't stay there long but it was sweet. I love my little doggies.