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Look he has his bad behaviors, as all dogs do. Being half Doberman he's got the "high strung" nature of the breed and barks at the drop of a hat or the jingle of a key, or the squeak of a shoe, or a mosquito passing gas, but he's a good dog.
Bo and I didn't get along at first. I don't think he liked me as well as he liked everyone else in the house. He adores my husband and sons and I think just the fact I was female had a somewhat degrading effect on Bo. After sons moved, Bo found out that if he wanted attention, I was the one who was going to give it to him. Now he and I are buddies and he loves to come sit by me and put his head against me. He loves it when I brush him and comb him. The only thing he really doesn't like is a bath. You'd think being half lab he'd love the water, but that is not the case.
You know they say you can test a dog's intelligence by a very simple test. Show your dog the treat you intend to give, then cover it with a blanket or a newspaper and see if he figures it out. For our younger dog, it took him a while. Sammy was so dumb and sweet, but he never did figure it out and pretty much forgot the treat as soon as it was gone. Now Bo? Please, he had it uncovered and eaten almost the second I dropped the covering over it.
Why is he scary smart? We have an older dog who is almost blind. She's sort of the grand dame of the group. Being pretty much blind, she gets lost outside when we go out. One day on impulse I said to Bo, "Can you go get Lilah and show her the way in?" Now that's ridiculous and I knew he had no idea what I was talking about, but he picked up on it and was over there in a flash, showing her the way in. That's when I knew, he was not an ordinary dog.
The other day we were going outside and he was carrying a chewie. He was told to drop it and it was placed up on the window ledge and forgotten. After coming inside, he checked pockets, hands, tables -- running around like a crazy dog. Suddenly, we realized what he wanted. A family member opened the door and retrieved it from the ledge. He took it in his mouth a promptly layed down and chewed it till it was gone. If you hide something, he will find it. Sometimes I ask him questions like, "Would you like for me to comb you?" And even though I've never taught him the word "comb" he gets into position to be combed.
It's sort of eery, but at the same time refreshing to have a "smart dog" around. I just wish he was that smart when the smoke detector goes off! He hides in a corner. Oh welll, you can't have everything!
(Bo is in back on this photo)
