They know & get into routines like we do.

mine all know our schedule and start whining when it's time for their evening walk, dinner or nightime meds LOL. my dog sandy is extremely clever in getting what she wants. when her sis tracey takes her toy or chippy she sometimes runs to the back sliding doors, whining, pretending like there is something they MUST go out for. tracey drops it, runs to the door and sandy runs back lol and retrieves her stuff... if she goes out in the backyard and leaves a chip behind, she is first at the door in and runs to her chip, she's sooo silly! ~ liz

Oh they know, and yes I agree they are smart ! In the evening, one of my horses can hear me go in and out the kitchen door and she starts calling out for her dinner, and she cant even see me.

They are smart little buggers. When out two dogs were alive, our son would bring dog treats for them. Max, the larger dog would wolf his treats down, but Merlin, our smaller dog would take his to the side of the room, set it down by his feet and wait until Max had eaten his, then Merlin would slowly lick and nibble his while Max had a fit, obviously forgetting he had just had treats. Merlin seemed to enjoy teasing Max.

LOL Dotmom!

Once Buddy was on the bed. Murphy ran down the hall, Bud jumps off to run see what's up. Murphy double backs and get his spot on the bed. Highly calculated.

Sometimes I think they are smarter than me. I know I'm outnumbered, and if the cats' bowls even start to get low, they meow as I walk by. If I surprise them in the morning and get up earlier than usual they are like...what?? But I swear they can tell time. My antique grandfathers clock is at the french door where they all sit when it strikes in the morning.

You'll never hear ME saying they can't reason! I absolutely believe they can.

All anyone has to say is the word "Big Rig" and Izzi is ready to go for a ride on my golf cart. Say the words, chewy, chewy and boy she comes running fast. If she hears me rattle my keys, she knows I am leaving and she gets all excited. Sure they know what the words or sounds mean.

Sue

I had poodles when I was young and when I walked to the living room closet, they would get very excited. That is where my shoes and their leash was kept. It was unconscious training. If I let the oldest one get to hungry she would bring her feeding bowl to me. If I didn't get up she would bang it against the wall. One day the bowl must have been in the sink for washing so she brought me her water bowl with water in it. You can bet I got right up. LOL I had not thought about reasoning, but that is exactly what she was doing.

My cat Rocket goes by the grandfather clock too. I used to think they got up with the sun, but somehow they all know what the actual hour is! And Rocket can be in the farthest room in the house, but if I open a can of his food, there is a big "thump" and he comes running!! They all are tons of fun.

I was dogsitting the GK's doxie mix, which I'd done many times before. Scooter has a tiny water bowl, which I was always good about refilling. Until I wasn't. And he picked up the empty bowl and started banging it against the wall to get my attention. He figured that out all by himself.

Roxie definitely has us trained! She uses that long nose of hers to push her water dish out into the middle of the floor to let us know when she's out of water. She has a FIT if somebody knocks on a door (or a WALL!) but she has learned quickly that when she hears a doorbell no one is here. She goes to my mom's room to see what she needs! LOL

When she was really little one summer I'd take her out every time I hung out clothes. The next summer - sure enough! I got the clothes basket out and she went WILD. She remembered that that basket meant a LONG trip outside.

I've read somewhere that a smart dog is the equivalent of about a three year old child. Told my mom the other day that Roxanne is about four! LOL

When my store was in a mall the mall would annually have an adopt a pet day where the humane societies would bring in animals and set up to try to find homes. Of course I could never resist walking through the cages and checking out the animals, give them some attention and tie my stomach in knots that I couldn't take home the bulk of them. They had the wire cages and they were a couple rows deep. I heard quite a commotion in the one area so I went back to check it out and there was this little white poodle and he was a dog on a mission! He had his paws through the front of the cage and was working on the latch. It was a lift up and turn to unlatch the door and that dog had it down. He was able to lift it up but couldn't get it to make the rotation or that door would have been open! I sat and watched him about 5 minutes and couldn't help but laugh. I never really liked poodles but that one very nearly came home with me. He really impressed me. Sure hope he got a great home.

Then there's a golden retriever of my friends. Bubba was a big old clunky dog that had a personality and temperament that few could dislike. I had heard about the things they trained him to do but never saw him in action. One day I was working on their business computers and Ken was telling me some things about it, reached to get a cigarette and the pack was empty. No problem, he crumpled the pack, tossed it in the garbage and said "Bubba, get Dad's cigarettes". The big old dawg lumbered up the steps and I chuckled, since I had heard about this but never saw it. He looked at me and said, "He'll bring them and he'll bring the right brand." Sure enough, here comes Bubba down the steps, walks over and hand him the cigarettes. Right brand, slightly damp. He got a pat on the heat and a thank you and went back to his rug to relax. BTW, their cigarettes are kept in a drawer in the kitchen and both brands are in there together. He knew Mom's brand and Dad's brand. They had taught him to bring a beer too but that didn't work as well. He'd bring it all right, but it was cold in his mouth so he'd drop it a few times on the way, sometimes down the steps. Kinda foamy... Just as well, he quit drinking soon thereafter.

If you ask me it's only the dumb animals that call them dumb animals.

I was at my daughters visiting when she had to go out for an appointment. As she left, she told me that her beagle, Ruby, always gets fed at 4 pm, but that she would start harassing me to be fed a good 10 minutes early. Sure enough, at 3:45 Ruby positioned herself on the floor in front of me and tapped her feet a few times hoping to get my attention. That didn't work, so she did a couple circles. No response from 'grandma' so she did an elaborate dance running to the end of the room accompanied by a few more circles. Again, I ignored her. Her next effort to get my attention was a the very firm grip of her teeth on my pant leg, giving my leg a good shake. Of course, I burst out laughing, she had won! Don't tell me they don't think and reason!

Oh, gazania reminded me of Bud!
We keep his catnip in the entertainment unit.
Every nite, between 6:15 and 6:45 he goes and rattles the knobs so we could give him his drugs. It's absolutely amazing, he doesn't go near the cabinet any other time of the day.
I even put a video on you tube of him doing it. :D

One night I was dog-sitting "Johnnie", a doxie, for a friend. While waiting for his pick-up about 10 P.M., I decided to entertain him in the kitchen/breakfast room by throwing a tennis ball a short distance, that he would bring back to me. Repeat, repeat.

My own dog "Stumpy", a sort of doberman/shepherd mix, was sleeping on the floor nearby, and every so often he'd lift one eye, looking somewhat disgustingly at us as if we were interrupting his sleep with the commotion.

Finally I guess he had enough. He got up, caught my throw to Johnnie in mid-air, took the tennis ball over to the backdoor, poked his head through the dog-door flap, threw the ball down the back steps, walked passed me & Johnnie with a look as if to say "I took care of the matter!", went back to his original spot & promptly went back to sleep.

Needless to say, I was astounded that Stumpy had reasoned that situation out himself---to his satisfaction--- as there was nothing "rote" about it.

I LOVE these stories. Like Cynic said, who ever dubbed them dumb animals, never had any interaction with them. Thanks for the good chuckles this morning.

I have 3 cats and my Lucky has developed constipation issues...the vet said to start mixing some fiber in his food.
They all get canned food first thing in the morning on their own plates.
The first time I gave him the fiber was priceless!
He started to eat, sniffed it, and pulled away while the other 2 scarfed away at theirs.
Squinting his brow he looked back at his plate, then looked at the other 2, back to his plate and over once again at them eating away. Then up to me.
I swear, if he could talk he would have said "Mom, why does MY food taste funny?"

My Rottie understands different forms of banking. If I pull out the checkbook and write a check she pretty much ignores me. If I go get some cash out of our stash area she ignores me. But if I make out a deposit slip and go get some cash she goes bonkers and a gets the Lab up and excited too. Cash plus check slips means a trip to the bank in her mind. They love going through drives-thrus. After the bank and any other errands they expect and often get something off the dollar menu at Mickey D's or Jack in the Box.

The Rottie also knew when it was time to feed the tortoise. She would nudge the vegetable bin if I opened the fridge in the late afternoon for any reason. Our tortoise died 2 weeks ago. The dogs understood it right away. No more nudging the vegetable bin.

Both dogs know how to manipulate each other away from what the other wants. The Lab barks at something so the Rot will go investigate if he wants her to move. She in turn fakes him out by teasing him with his favorite toys if she wants his spot on the sofa. She is never interested in his toys at other times. They have their own tastes in toys and know which ones are for who when gift time comes along.

I think they're a whole lot smarter then we humans have ever given them credit for...the cat runs from nowhere when I open the coffee table drawer where her treats are...I can bang the dog food bowls together and they'll both come running from two floors up...

I think yours definitely have your number JAS!!

Oh Salgal,
My cats get canned food as well in the morning. They have their own places to eat, all in the kitchen.

Bud is the fussiest. He'll eat one flavour one day, then the next he won't. When he gets something he doesn't want, he'll sniff it, then just sit there, with his back to me, not moving, until I change it out! LOL

My house has threedoors to the outside, the front, back, and one off the kitchen. I never use the kitchen door, so it is kept permanently locked. I generally let my dog out the back door to do her business. One day she went missing. Somehow she had gotten out the gate. A neighbor phoned that they had her in their yard. (My dog wears an ID tag). I went and got her and brought her in through the front door. That night when I shouted to the dog "Let's go out" she ran to the front door rather than the back. She had learned a new way out.

Vala, I have three poodles and they do the same thing. If I don't have food in the bowl I will find the bowl sitting in another room where I have to walk around it--just a gentle reminder from Masha. If the water bowl is empty Star will bat it around til I get in there and fill it. They are so funny, makes me laugh every time.

Conway, the Sexiest Pug in the World, gets a big beef soup bone for a treat once in a while. Usually while I'm making/eating dinner. He knows he can't bring them out onto the carpet/furniture. I finished dinner one night and went out and sat on the couch in the living room. Conway brought his bone right to the edge of the kitchen floor. He looked at me. Looked at the bone. Looked out into the living room. Cocked his head sideways. Marched behind the couch, where his toy box was, grabbed his biggest, fluffiest, "humpy bear" and dragged it up onto the couch next to me. Went into the kitchen, grabbed his bone, dropped it on humpy bear's chest and lay across the bear happily munching on his bone. I swear he looked at me as if to say, "Hey, it's not touching the furniture" When he got done, he took his bone back into the kitchen and dropped it on the floor next to his food bowl.

My cat will be waiting at the front door for me and If I don't bring a piece of cooked fish from the buffett I'll really hear about it!!

Of course they can reason. I could probably give a dozen examples right now and a hundred if I took time to think of them all. One is mealtime. Gary and I tend to sit on the sofa and eat. We have one of those coffee tables that has a top that lifts up to dining table height. Our puppy girls aren't allowed on the sofa while we are eating. As soon as that table top goes down when we finish, up they come!

I hate to say it, maybe somebody already did - it's not reasoning, it's behavioral modification/conditioning. Like Pavlov's dog...

Behavioral modification/conditioning might account for some of the behaviors described above, but I'd have a hard time attributing all of them to learned behavior. Plus, I believe Pavlov's dog applied to un-self-conscious behavior (salivating - an innate, often reflexive, response) not self-conscious behavior (taking a specific conscious action based on prior experience).

Oh my gosh, it took me close to 30 minutes to read this post because I was laughing so hard! Cynic, your story about the dog and cigs was classic! I have heard stories but this is the first time it has been actually confirmed. I am so glad the dog kicked his beer habit.

I am "trained" by 13 of the little monsters. Each one has his/her own quirks and heaven help me if I don't pay attention. I have just been penned in my two cats who are reminding me that the water bowl level is too low for their liking. They have to have it up to the very top. The dogs were in just before their dinner and must have drank some. I best get up and take care of this!

Trish

I hate to say it, maybe somebody already did - it's not reasoning, it's behavioral modification/conditioning. Like Pavlov's dog...

I'll buy that for coming when the dishes rattle. Not unlike going to the refrigerator. I'll buy it for using a certain tone of voice for "go for a ride?" "Treats?" or the like. That's not unlike "sit", "stay" or other commands. I'll buy it for looking for a treat when you come home, when you do it regularly since, not unlike spoiled kids they get used to getting their way. I'll buy it for the ones who say their animals "can tell time" because they look for their food at the same time every day. Many get hungry at the same time. It's not unlike people attributing some of these "psychics" that tell them that someone they knew died recently, gee, how did they KNOW????

But... explain to me how that poodle was like Pavlov's dog as he was working on opening the cage. While you're at it, explain the dog grabbing the ball, tossing it outside and resuming naptime. Behavioral modification? Conditioning? Nope, not quite. I'll buy from a telemarketer before I'll buy that! Methinks your attributing anything and everything stated to BM/C looks a little Pavlovian to me! ;)

trishaw, I forgot to mention another part. A black friend of ours was over there one day and a similar situation, out of smokes so Ken said get dad's cigarettes and off went Bubba. Robert looked at Ken and said "If that dog comes back with cigarettes I'm turning WHITE!!!" Bubba did. Robert didn't!

After my brother's separation, he called me a couple times and asked if I had been to his house while he was gone. I hadn't. He said someone had been in the house. He thought it was his wife but didn't notice anything gone so he was confused. I suggested changing the locks which I told him to do immediately (long story). So we did. He called me again a couple days later and asked if I'd been there. No, and I reminded him that I didn't have a key. What was bothering him was the TV was on when he'd come home. He wrote it off as forgetting it the first few times but it was too often and he made a point of checking it before leaving. He was nervous about her coming into the house and cleaning it out or something while away. Even asked me to stay there at times or cruise by when I'm out. Then one day he called me and said the mystery is solved. He was lying on the couch watching TV, decided to take a nap so he turned off the TV, set the remote on the floor and got comfortable. His one cat immediately got of the recliner, walked over to the remote and started pushing his paw down on it in various spots. After 5-6 presses, CLICK, on goes the TV. His cat then hopped back in the chair, and watched the rest of Grizzly Adams (his favorite show, BTW). This could be conditioning. He was conditioned to watching TV, and modified his behavior to go press the buttons since that would turn on the TV... Classic Pavlov? I think not!

Similar story with my old partners and her heated electric throw/blanket that the husband would constantly be yelled at for leaving it on (funny... *he* never used it! How could *he* leave it on?) while they were gone.... Well, need I tell you the rest of this story? :D

Critters.... they're not just for breakfast anymore!

After Quincy's seizures, for some reason he would not take his meds. He gets them in a piece of cheese. Pill time had become his favorite times of day because, since his weight gain, the dogs don't get regular treats anymore. So, everyone gets a bite of cheese when Quincy gets his meds.

But, for a few days, Quincy did not want to take his meds so I had to trick him. If he watched me put his meds in the cheese, he would not take them. So I had to put the pills in the cheese earlier, then later would get the cheese out of the fridge and give the other dogs their little bite. Then, with the cheese-pill, I would slip Quincy his.

All I'm saying is, if he saw me get his pills, he wouldn't take the cheese. If he didn't see me, he would.

Now, I'm not saying that he was blaming the pills for his seizures. Or, is he? LOL

I will agree that a lot of the things posted here are not reasoning, but learned behavior or learned response. However, that doesn't mean that animals can't reason. Of course they do. They think, they figure things out, they act. Anyone who says otherwise just hasn't paid attention, IMO.

My dog understands many English words. "Go out". "Come in". "Bad kitty". "Want chow?" And I can't understand a bit of her Dog Language. Now, who's smarter?

These are just hilarious!!! I know my animals are all smarter than me!! Who waits on who????

Ohhhh, I just have to mention this!

Just this minute, Bud was "knocking" at the entertainment unit for his catnip.
Hubby got off the chair to get them for him. He no sooner got off and the cupboard door opened, when Bud jumped on his chair and curled up, looking at him!!!! Hahahaa!

Reminded me of Kim-Okla post about her one of dogs tricking the other.

I just remembered back in 2000 when we had our big ice storm. It was freezing the cats usually slept under the covers with me however I also had one of those cloth igloo type cat beds kind of a half vertical round I had put a towel over the opening to keep the cold out. One of th cats was hunkered down in it leaving no room for the other two. I waatched Sammy as he tip toes over and very carefully put one foot in a t a time and waited then the other foot etc until he was all in and stayed there for quiet a long time