do you ever forget your dog is a, er...dog?

[booyhohoho]

i was just playing with WB and he started pacing so i got up and said "do you want out?" and took him to the door. it was only when he trotted out and i saw he had four legs i remembered he is a dog and not a person who understands what i was saying. i am loopy aren't I?

yes

Of course dogs understand what you're saying.. our dogs certainly do! 'Do you want to go out?' usually has them legging it towards the back door.

I catch myself saying please and thank you to them though sometimes, which is going a little far

thank god it's not just me

Icould i have full conversations. "ok, beep beep pet, til i get my coat on. good boy. now, where's your lead? do you know where i left it?"

just incase that makes no sense at all. beep beep means, 'excuse me, please move out of my way' in kiddie/pet language in this house

I come downstairs every morning and say 'Hello darling. How are you? Did you have a nice sleep?'

To my dog

rofl.
my friend was at her parents house up in bed and Bobby the dog came in to snuggle for a while.

when friend came down, she said to her dad that she'd had a lovely cuddle with Bobby upstairs, dad replied "oh really, he never said"

@ the dog not mentioning his cuddles.

Well, in my defense I do have a 3yo and my way of speaking to a toddler or dog is very similar anyway

tbh, there wasn't much difference between them when DS was two - level of understanding appeared to be much the same

At least the dog didn't wee on the floor though..

yep, that's my defence too. i have an 18 month old. same level of intelect.

and my dog does wee on the floor

I thought the other day about how I am never, ever alone, I am never lonely because there is always someone awake with me when I am awake, he might doze but if I am up, he is up. He is much, much better than a DH or DP!

So yes I think I do forget he is a dog, he is a real companion to me and just gives so much to my life. He is a star.

I don't have dogs; I have fur children.

agree shimmery. getting my dog was a deciding factor in leaving EXP (not the deciding factor, he was a mega arse aswell but thsi was part of his arseiness) and i definitely made teh right decision in taht respect

Yes I guess I forget he's a dog. But although he obviously doesn't understand everything I say, he does understand a fair bit, a few words and a lot more from body language and tone and from watching us, i.e. he seems to 'know' when something's going on, he got all excited when we were packing to go on holiday, or when we're upset and worried he seems to pick up on that. And he 'talks' to us in non-verbal ways. I wish sometimes he could talk, I'm sure dogs could learn how to if they had the right anatomy to form words, just things like 'thirsty', 'need out', 'paw hurts' etc :).

I often tell him I love him, which is something I've rarely said to any human...

@ Bella and others: I say things like that to our guinea-pig. We also have conversations about shortages of lettuce and whether it is too cold in the house or I ask him whether he would like a carrot.

I am a mostly normal, professional woman, by the way. Really. Honest.

this is sooo reassuring to know.

My dog gets treated better than my kids!
I am always talking to
him. When I
scratch behind his ears, I'm always asking him if that's nice. When it's bedtime, I'll say 'come on then, bedtime. Do you want a wee first?'
I'd have a huge shock if he actually replied one day lol

I don't forget he's a dog, but I do talk to him. Dogs do answer if you say something like 'do you want a wee' - by going to the back door.

They understand exactly as much as they want to of our jabber, I think - and even more they understand context. If we talk about going for a walk on a nice morning he'll start going bananas. If we discussed it the previous evening, well he'd carry on snoozing because clearly we wouldn't be about to do it at that moment.

Forget?
I know for sure he's not a dog, he has a huge personality.
And body to match.

Yeah, yeah summersoon. We believe you. Honest

I have a 9yr old with ASD, ADHD and learning difficulties and in many ways I do talk and treat my 15 month old lab the same way. Neither of them can be trusted around the biscuits or an open door!

I aim for firm, consistent reactions from me and don't expect perfection from them. Have questioned at time if my mad lab could do with a dx of his own but he is the most lovely natured, over friendly boy.