Lilly and I spent the better part of the weekend hanging out together outside. Even a border collie as intense as Lilly, eventually loses her sense of self consciousness when we’re just bumming around for hours on end. You see, having one of us around outside can be a novelty at first, but as time goes by, Lilly resorts to her natural behavior. And, I LOVE watching her just be herself. Sometimes, it’s super sweet to see her poking around. Other times, I realize just how smart she really is.
Recently, I heard about this chimp who collects rocks in the morning that he then wings at zoo visitors who annoy him later in the day. It shows premeditation and planning, which is pretty cool, not to mention funny.
Maybe I had this on my mind as I watched Lilly do her thing this weekend, but here are two examples of some very deliberate behaviors that I found darling.
Choosing Sticks
In order to play fetch around a ball-obsessed Ginko, Lilly instead gets excited about finding sticks for us to throw. Often the ones she chooses initially are WAY too long for a safe or practical game to ensue. And, she knows it.
Several times on Saturday, I watched her pick up a long, brittle branch that fell off of one of our trees. She tested both ends for sturdiness, then held the bigger end her in mouth, angling her head up to get better leverage, then she stepped on the middle to snap the stick into a more manageable size.
It’s probably no harder mentally than manipulating a food-delivery toy, but she did it with such deliberation that I was astonished.
Being Bossy
It’s no secret that a border collie at play — at least mine — is a bossy, bossy creature to behold. It’s a noisy affair at our house because Lilly also likes to bark at Ginko when he’s trying to play.
Other times, he gets fed up and quits. Several times this weekend, I’d see him walk away from a toy for this very reason.
A dejected Lilly waited hopefully each time, but when he did not return, she would pick up the toy and begin prancing around. Once she got Ginko’s attention, she would drop the toy at his feet so that he could play with it.
This isn’t the same as her parade of toys with her best friend Katie recently. (Scroll down to the Extra Cute Report.)
Her only goal in giving the toy was being able to sass Ginko ago. And, bless his heart, he fell for it time and again.
Granted, these amazing feats of dog intelligence don’t measure up to a planned attack of a chimp, but the clear purpose of her actions in the moment seemed VERY smart to me.
Now that you mention it, Ginko does trick Lilly into leaving a bed or
toy unattended so that he can have it. So, I guess it all comes out
fair in the end. Perhaps the funniest part is when Lilly returns and
realizes she’s been duped. The look on her face is priceless.
Now that you mention it, Ginko does trick Lilly into leaving a bed or toy unattended so that he can have it. So, I guess it all comes out fair in the end. Perhaps the funniest part is when Lilly returns and realizes she’s been duped. The look on her face is priceless.
I don’t doubt it at all. I am convinced that L can scheme with the best of them. When the puppy curls up in his favorite bed, he grabs a squeaky toy and prances around squeaking it. When she comes running over to play, he drops it like a hot potato and runs to lay down in his now vacant bed. When Z has a chewie that he wants, he’ll run to the sliding glass door and bark. When Z runs over to see what the fuss is about, L dashes back to retrieve the abandoned chewie. I’ve seen him do it so many times – he’s one sneaky little booger.