by JUDY THOMPSON, OHA CANINEINSTEINS LIVING WITH
M ost dog owners I know think that their dogs are smart. Maybe so. But Papillons are smart! Crazy smart! In October of 2014, I wrote an article for Top Notch Toys entitled, “How Smart Are the Toy Breeds?” I shared the research published in The Intelligence of Dogs: Canine Con- sciousness and Capabilities by Stanley Coren. Coren used data correlated from questionnaires sent to Obedience judg- es. He ranked 133 breeds and described those in the top ten as understand- ing new commands in less than five exposures and obeying a command the first time it was issued 95% of the time. Papillons ranked #8, the only Toy breed in the top ten. I was not surprised. I am still rolling on the floor laugh- ing about a big news story that hit the media recently. It seems research- ers in Budapest trained 13 dogs to lie motionless in an MRI scanner so that their brains could be studied while they listened to their trainers’ voices through headphones. Dear reader, you will not believe the results! It seems dogs really do understand some of what we are saying! Really! I could have saved them a lot of time and trouble, had they only come to my house to observe my Papillons. They would have learned that they have a very substantial vocabulary. For this piece, I am not going to rely on published studies. I just want to share my own experience living with Papillons. Please indulge me for a bit while I brag about my fur babies. I know every Conformation dog knows how to gait and self-stack. But my Papillons will self-stack on command with a wave of my index fin- ger. At the conclusion of the down and back, my current Special will cock his head for expression at my verbal cue.
They know all the Obedience commands, such as sit, stay, come, heel, down, stand and wait. Moreover, they know most of those commands with hand signals alone and no verbal cue. My Papillons are titled in Rally (Advanced and Excellent) and know the numerous stations that need to be correctly performed in the ring. That would include a come front, an auto-sit, a finish to the right and a finish to the left. They can be sent over a jump and return to a heel position. They can do pivots, figure-eights and backs. One of my Papillons is trained for Canine Freestyle and can do an entire routine to “Singing in the Rain”. He weaves between my legs as I walk, circles around my legs in both direc- tions, jumps over my leg and even jumps over another dog. He is also learning Agility and so when approach- ing an obstacle, he will go through a tunnel, over jumps, through a tire, weave through six poles, walk over a teeter and wait on the table. I’ve noticed that more and more dogs in Agility competition are Papillons. They are perfectly suited to the sport as their intelligence is only matched by their enthusiasm. They know lots of tricks. They can spin and twist in both directions, touch a target, turn on a touch light, jump through my arms, roll over and jump up to take a treat from my mouth. They know how to take a bow, speak, give a high five, put paws up and get in a basket. One of the more challeng- ing tasks to teach a dog is to mirror your movements. My girl can do the Hokey Pokey. I put out my right foot and tap it, she puts out her left paw and taps and vice-versa. Then she spins first on the ground and then on her hind feet. That same little bitch did some Tracking training. She can find a glove
that I dropped a hundred yards away by tracking my footsteps. I’ve also taught her a tiny bit of herding commands. She knows “Away to me” and “Come by”. Sadly, I have no livestock for her to herd for I am sure she would love that. I once read that dogs have a very limited sense of time. Ha! Every dog I know can tell when dinner time is approaching. My Papillons are no exception. I know, too, because that is when they become really affectionate and I get lots of puppy kisses. They lie at the front door when the time gets close for Dad to get home from work. And somehow, they know when a television show has reached its conclusion and I am about to turn off the TV. I haven’t figured that one out yet, but before I reach for the remote they are already jumping up. Like lots of dogs, they know what it means when they see me with a piece of luggage. I have learned to hide my suitcase until the very last minute. But they also get very excited when I take off my watch, something so much more subtle. They know that is the first thing I do when getting ready to go into the pool and they get ready to wait poolside for me to throw nice, wet, juicy tennis balls for them to catch. I am delighted with how much I was able to teach them. But in addition to me teaching them, they have taught me a few things, too. They taught me to step away from the computer and go out- side to play, the benefits of a long walk and showed me how to greet everyone we meet enthusiastically. They taught me what different barks mean. The “Someone’s at the door!” bark is quite different from the one that means “Isn’t it dinnertime?” So they understand my language and I am learning to under- stand theirs. I just wish I could teach them to answer the phone.
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