Talking Dogs

We just saw the movie "UP" by Disney/ Pixar, in 3D. Great movie for families! In the movie, an "adventurer" goes off in pursuit of a giant bird, and is followed by an old man with a dream. To make the movie really fun, a young boy, a wilderness explorer (think Boy Scout) hitches a ride with the old man. I'm sure you've seen the trailor where the old man sets his house afloat into the ozone with hundreds of helium filled balloons.

Well, when the old man and the boy get to the mysterious land the old adventurer talked about years before, they encounter not only the mysterious big bird (don't think Sesame Street), they also encounter a talking dog. That's right...a talking dog.

Turns out there is a gigantic HERD of talking dogs! All trained by the old adventurer, who, it turns out lives there and is still in search of the bird. The dogs "talk" through use of a device attached to their collars. And, they are often distracted by the usual doggie things like - squirrels and balls.

Here's a thought - if you could talk to your dog (I know, you already do...we all do) and your dog could talk back...really, in English (or French or Japanese, whatever) would you like that? What would your dog say? Right now, as I sit here in my daughter's house in Colorado, we're (she is) dog sitting, so we have two dogs running around the house.

They're smart dogs. Active dogs. Fun dogs, and very annoying sometimes. I mean, think cold, wet nose in places you aren't expecting a cold, wet nose! I have been watching them closely - and I'm thinking they talk to each other. Not with words, or even by barking. They communicate using eye-contact, posture, and just intuition. It's uncanny to watch them play and either dominate or be submissive, according to how they feel at the time.

Koa, the new dog, seems more dominant than Twiggy, the house dog (see Twiggy above, Koa to the left). But, I wonder how true that is. I wonder if Twiggy is just too smart for Koa. Both dogs love to play tug of war with a toy my daughter bought just for that purpose, and Twiggy lets Koa win pretty often...I really believe that - she let's Koa win. Koa, on the other hand, is used to lots of people attention, she's from a home where she is top dog and gets to sleep on the sofa. So, she is continually after one of us for a belly rub or a pat on the head.

One day I looked at both dogs and said, "So, do you know we're talking about you? What have you got to say for yourselves?" And they both blinked and looked away, then rose, ever so slowly, and left the room. As if they couldn't be bothered.

Hmmm...I wonder if they're up to something...??? If only they could talk...