I don’t usually do this, but I’m going to explode if I don’t get it off my chest.
I’m sorry, she’s just dumb. Brainless.
I’m talking about Dulcie. My dog.
Let me start by saying she is utterly adorable. This is her as a puppy:
She has grown up a good bit, is now 11 months old, the fluffiest, cutest little bundle you’ve ever seen. She cocks her little head to the side and looks up at you and you just want to pick her up and cuddle her.
Then you walk in the other room, see that she has eaten a lamp, and you don’t trust yourself to go near her.
It’s not just she’s-a-puppy annoyances like the fact that she has literally chewed every windowsill in my kitchen down to bare wood. Or that we cannot let her roam the house because, even though she goes potty outside regularly, she will still “go” the moment her feet hit carpet. She’s not being bad, I firmly believe that, and it’s not like we haven’t taught her–and taught her–and taught her.
She’s just not that bright.
It wouldn’t be so bad if the older dog, Cassie, wasn’t just about the smartest dog I’ve ever seen. Truly, she is remarkable. The kids will say, “Cassie, want to play hide and seek” and she’ll go under the table, wait til somebody counts to ten, then look through the entire house to find the girls. She does a ton of tricks, including dropping flat on her back if you point a finger at her and go “bang.”
Dulcie is the same mixed breed. But she apparently got none of the poodle smarts from the mixture.
We went to Florida a few weeks ago and left the dogs with some friends. When we got back, our friend said, “Wow, Dulcie is the cutest little thing, isn’t she?” He got this kind of sheepish look on his face and added, “But she’s not the brightest dog in the world, huh?”
It’s not just the puppy annoyance issues. We’ve tried teaching her some of the tricks Cassie was doing by 6 months. Nada. Zero.
We play with her. “Dulcie, go get the ball!” She comes back with a dead bug. Or a leaf. Or she just wanders off and forgets we were playing to begin with. (Picture Dorie from Finding Nemo with a lot of fur.)
Anyway, just had to get that off my chest today. Believe me, I love her, but I have learned a big lesson. Just because a dog is the same breed as another super smart dog doesn’t mean she won’t end up as dumb as a rock with fur.
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Warm wishes for a Happy Birthday go out to Plotmonkey Pal, Jennifer P, today! We hope you have a fabulous, fun-filled day!
Leslie Kelly used to say she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up, but then she discovered Nancy Drew books. Being a flashlight-under-the-covers-nose-in-book reader throughout her childhood, she couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do as an adult than continue to lose herself in fictional stories. Her real life marriage of 20 years to the man of her dreams is a constant reinforcement that happily-ever-afters really can happen…and that they’re worth writing about. Living in Maryland, Leslie spends her non-writing time laughing a lot with the above-mentioned romance hero and their three daughters. Though an author of more than thirty sexy, contemporary comedies, she has recently branched out to write dark romantic suspense under the pseudonym Leslie Parrish.
Destiny
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Once Upon A Valentine
Through The Night
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Awww, Dulcie is a sweetie, and I’m sorry she’s not so bright, but I know you can’t help but love her anyway. I wish there was a way she wouldn’t eat everything in your house, then it wouldn’t be so bad.
Happy birthday to Jennifer P!
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Aww. Well, you gotta love ‘em anyways. Extremely adorable. I’ve had my share of very….dim brained animals, believe me. And they’re so dumb, you can’t help but love them. Hope yours gets better.
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Happy Birthday Jennifer!
Oh, geeze, Leslie I’m so sorry. I wish I had the answer for you. Have you ever watched The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic channel? The guy is amazing. It sounds like she doesn’t know who the pack leader is. Have you thought about consulting a professional dog trainer? Anyway, good luck. An undisciplined dog is not fun.
Have a great day all,
Cher
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Leslie- I feel your pain. Believe me. Right now I am sitting here with 4 dogs- 3 of them mine and the other the newly adopted one our son got yesterday. Three are now in the backyard but the Bobble Head is hiding under the desk.
Bobble Head? Yeah, the new doxie looks like one- his head is so much bigger than his body, or at least it was when we got him. It’s not so bad now. However, he isn’t the brightest crayon in the box. He didn’t know how to walk upstairs but he learned. After a few tumbles down them. He jumps from half way up and off the bed instead of using the stairs. He can not be more than 6 inches from me. Mind you, he is supposed to be hubby’s dog. Yeah, right.
He chewed on the posts of our bed. My dark Cherry bed. grrr… and hubby’s night stand. He loves shoes.
The other doxie is outside riding herd on the big boys and eating apples. She doesn’t share. She hoards them. Literally, she has a pile of apples that have fallen or the squirrels have dropped on her head. She eats them all day and wonders why she is fat.
Charlie is smart and he smiles alot. He is my big baby. He is happy to have another playmate his size again- Carlos who we had to have put to sleep used to play with him all the time but hasn’t felt like it in months. The new guy, Blue, is his size (not weight) and they are dancing around the livingroom right now. I will probably get bruised. I just know it. But he was smiling yesterday when they met for the first time and is a happy camper.
And we won’t even get into the cat who thinks he is a dog. And that I just plain call him stupid. Raining out? He has to sit in the window and get wet.
Dulcie is still a sweetie, but um, the look in her face is more Paris Hilton than Einstein, isn’t it? Good thing she’s got someone like you to love her.
I am going to try and take a shower without too much company.
haha
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I should do a daily blog on my animals, the way others do them on raising kids. It would keep me busy and there is never ending smiles and laughter because of them.
We are going to check a place out for boarding them today. The paperwork asks you to describe your pet(s).
Yeah, right.
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Dulcie sure is cute, though.
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:happy2: Thank you for the wonderful laughs this morning!! I know, it’s like Janelle’s story yesterday. It isn’t really funny, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be, but I couldn’t help but laugh. And she is sooooo cute. Maybe she’ll come around…maybe.
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Happy Birthday< Jennifer!
Oh les, you’re killing me. B/c Bailey just ate a pair of expensive shoes. I had them one day. The only pair in the store that didn’t kill my bunyon so I had to spend the money on them. Chewed them. For no good reason. I have one delicious smart boy and one insane crazy flying nun dog. I SOOO understand!
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I definitely can feel your pain. I finally allowed Sierra to get a new dog. Well, in the past week he has chewed through the power cords on Xander’s Play Station and Nintendo DS, and last night he destroyed my printer!
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Happy Birthday Jennifer!
Of course I am a genius !
Never chewed anything but the 100′s of
toys or chewies I get. Did I mention I trained in 4 days.
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Leslie…I feel your pain, x10. I have 7 month old Newfoundland puppy. He doesn’t just “piddle”, he floods! I’m not a morning person. He’s standing over me in bed at 5:30 a.m. EVERY morning. After just getting a drink. He unerringly finds my ear. Shoes. Rugs. The wooden rockers on my antique Eames rocking chair. You tell him “NO!” and he looks up with big brown eyes and WHIMPERS for god’s sake! Yeah. Boone’s a trip. Add my “standard” Papillion (Tucker looks just like a Papi but weight close to 50 pounds), my Siberian Newf (don’t ask…*giggle*) and the One Cat Who Rules Them All…
I have a book on the drawing board about a middle-aged woman who makes a cross-country road trip with a Newfoundland and a cat. I’m taking notes…
Have a great day, all! And Leslie? I’m glad I was still in a tank top rather than dressed. I made the mistake of reading your blog while
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My dog is almost 9, but, boy, do I remember those days. :giggle: I really thought he’d been, um, dropped a few times, but he ended up being the best dog ever. Fingers crossed that Dulcie comes around, too. She’s too cute to get frustrated with.
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Oh I’m sorry but I just had to laugh. Poor Dulcie!
Happy Birthday Jennifer!
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Give Dulcie until the age of two.
I bet Dulcie is smarter than you think.
My vet has a chart on the wall that says that a dog of 12 months is like a preteen in human years.
My mom and day thought their puppy Belle wasn’t that bright but she hit 2 years old and now she is the smartest dog ever. (She really is)
I think dogs are just like people sometimes it just takes them a little longer to mature and grow up.
Any way waht Dulcie might not have in smarts she has in the cute department.
:flower4you:
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Just be glad Dulcioe isn’t a kid! I mean it could be worse, right?
Ok I know that is not so PC but I had a kid at school yesterday who did not know his name!!!!
Hello? Are you kidding? Nope and no learning disabilities either…..
Sorry for the rant.
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Oh, Leslie, that has to be both frustrating and funny at the same time, LOL!
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Gotta love them… Every animal has their own personality! :flower4you:
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oh so sute ,
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Happy Birthday Jennifer!
Leslie, Dulcie is so cute! Maybe she’s trying to get attention. My 2-year old lab mix will hunt for my shoes if he’s bored and I won’t play with him. Then he’ll come and find me with the shoe in his month and as soon as I chase him he’ll drop it and get a toy! So maybe their not as dumb as we think its just their way of getting us to pay attention. Good luck
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Happy Birthday Jennifer!
Leslie, Dulcie is so cute! Maybe she’s trying to get attention. My 2-year old lab mix will hunt for my shoes if he’s bored and I won’t play with him. Then he’ll come and find me with the shoe in his mouth and as soon as I chase him he’ll drop it and get a toy! So maybe their not as dumb as we think its just their way of getting us to pay attention. Good luck
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Hello everyone…Cassie is a really cute dog…so adorable…she still has time to learn so don’t worry too much…
Have a happy birthday Jennifer…I hope you do lots of wonderful things…
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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Les, I meant to write Dulcie…I was thinking Cassie when I wrote my previous post…
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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Leslie, Dulcie may not be bright but she has the corner on cute! :giggle: Hopefully as she gets older she will get smarter!
I hope no one minds me putting this out for everyone. Yesterday on Oprah the show was about child predators & how the Internet works for them. It was a hard show to watch as you heard some of the things that these predators do to children even infants. At the end of the show Oprah asked everyone to contact the senators in their state to ask them to vote yes on Senate Bill 1738, the Child Protection Act. There is not much time before this bill comes to vote so please contact your senators at once. For more information go to Oprah’s website and you will find a link for more information along with a letter that you can copy and use. This bill would give law enforcement the funding to pursue & prosecute these offenders. You can contact your senator by email, mail or telephone. Just do a search on the senate or if you know their names and you will find a link to their senate website. I not only emailed my senators but I emailed the two presidential candidates as they are both senators and should be concerned about this problem. Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox.
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Aww Dulcie is cute
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Happy Birthday, Jennifer!
Dulcie is really cute – and it’s a good thing since all she has is her looks.
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She is very cute that should go a long way for her. Hang in there she might change. She just might be a slow learner.
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She is absolutely adorable. Too bad she is bad. LOL.
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LOL. This is why I prefer cats. She’s so smart! And entertaining.
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