Dogs that are Too SMART

[Mama Bear]

i picked up Tank as a rescue dog at 14 months.. and at that time he seemed dumb as a box of rocks with a bunch of missing rocks if you know what I mean..... now he is 6 years old. He can open both sliding glass doors as well as regular doors.. and knows how to unlock many locks. I broke down finally and put dead bolts on all the doors of the house 4' high as his nose is only 3' high. I am praying this will help.. but omg, when did he get so smart.. and when will I have to stop worrying about waking up to a sub zero house because he let himself out and didn't bother to close th door after himself..

Does anyone else have dogs ( or other pets ) like this? I am beginning to know my local locksmith WAY too well if you know what I mean...

 

[Chimensch]

Ha! If I had a dog like that, rather than a dead bolt, I would have put an automatic closer on the door. I really appreciate a dog that can let himself out and let me sleep. My Bichon is also way too intelligent for her station in life, but in a different way. If you offer a dog treat to most dogs, they enthusiastically grab for it. She, instead, smells the treat, smells my hand to see if what I'm eating is better and finally looks up at the shelf to say, "No, I'd prefer something else, please". Or, if she needs to go out when its raining or cold, she won't come when I call but just looks at me as if to say, "It's raining, if you want to go out, be my guest, but I'm staying here, thank you very much".

 

[azmark]

I have an Aussie Shepard and a Great Dane. They are a lethal combination; brains and brawn

 

[Mama Bear]

Ha! If I had a dog like that, rather than a dead bolt, I would have put an automatic closer on the door. I really appreciate a dog that can let himself out and let me sleep. My Bichon is also way too intelligent for her station in life, but in a different way. If you offer a dog treat to most dogs, they enthusiastically grab for it. She, instead, smells the treat, smells my hand to see if what I'm eating is better and finally looks up at the shelf to say, "No, I'd prefer something else, please". Or, if she needs to go out when its raining or cold, she won't come when I call but just looks at me as if to say, "It's raining, if you want to go out, be my guest, but I'm staying here, thank you very much".

Now, see! This is exactly what I mean!!!! Tank is limited somewhat.. he is very good at letting himself back in... but won't actually let himself out. They do have automatic doggie doors that have battery collars that will trigger the dog door up and down and I am thinking of this next. It means cutting a huge hole in an exterior door or wall tho and I am putting this off because of that.. but I think it is one of those inevitable things. I fell asleep once.. (ok more than once.. sigh) after letting him out.. and he just let himself back in again.. but didn't close the door after himself.. and I ended up with a really COLD house.. and a small snow drift in my kitchen. He was very proud of himself tho..

 

[Mama Bear]

I have an Aussie Shepard and a Great Dane. They are a lethal combination; brains and brawn

HA!! Perfect combination of brains and brawn.. and they teach each other things too don't they!?!?

 

[TonyH]

I have a Jack Russell Terrier that frequently posts on my behalf here on the B&B. His small paws allow him to type well.

 

[DavyRay]

I had a dog who seemed lacking a few rocks. I started keeping him with me as much as possible. He rode in the car with me. I took him on visits to friends. After a few weeks, he learned to communicate. He was possibly the smartest dog I have known. He, too, was good with latches. I would come home from work to find him outside whichever gate he was supposed to be behind.

 

[BigRich]

I have two Boston Terriers and they are the embodiment of Pinky and the Brain. Abby is sweet, pretty, and simple minded. Mac is a whole other story. He started early by being able to scale dog gates by climbing them like a ladder and he hasn't slowed down a bit over the last 6 1/2 years.

 

[stobes21]

If he's smart enough to open the door then he's definitely smart enough to learn to close it too. You just have to teach him.

 

[NorthALABeeKeep]

I have a Jack Russell Terrier that frequently posts on my behalf here on the B&B. His small paws allow him to type well.

How many words per minute can he type? I bet its a lot!

 

[TonyH]

How many words per minute can he type? I bet its a lot!

He's very fast!

 

[azmark]

I have a Jack Russell Terrier that frequently posts on my behalf here on the B&B. His small paws allow him to type well.

I heard those son of a guns are can be a handful

 

[Mama Bear]

If he's smart enough to open the door then he's definitely smart enough to learn to close it too. You just have to teach him.

Yes, you would think so... Unfortunately there is no teaching Tank anything he is not interested in learning. He is obedience trained.. but that took some doing and only with professional help from a very large strong man. I can't think of anything that would interest him into doing this. He is 200 lbs of Very Stubborn Dog. On the other hand he will go down to the lake and fish for hours at a time in the summer.. he does have some attention span, sometimes, but he gets bored easily and is too big for me to hold in place.

I have a friend with a 240 lb St. Bernard who likes to let himself into the neighbors house and watch them sleep.. i should consider myself lucky....

Jack Russels are notoriously clever dogs... I believe he could post LOL

 

[-dave-]

pfft, my dachshund's been shaving with a straight since i got him

 

[commanderkeen]

Unfortunately there is no teaching commanderkeen anything he is not interested in learning. He is obedience trained.. but that took some doing and only with professional help from a very large strong man. He is 225 lbs of Very Stubborn Man. On the other hand he will go down to the sea and fish for hours at a time in the summer.. he does have some attention span, sometimes, but he gets bored easily and is too big for anyone to hold in place.

I fixed it so its a description of me, just came to mind when I was reading it. LOL

My grandpa had dogs, the last 2 were both short-haired german pointers and both would regularly open doors and stuff. The most recent one would take over my grandparents bed, lay its head on a pillow and snore the loudest out of the three. She would also come into the sauna with us and sit on the top bench. I swear that dog thought it was human, but I wouldn't call her smart by any means. The first one was smarter but really shy. Loved em both just the same, great dogs just like any that have been brought up with discipline.

 

[tpoof]

my dog is so smart...
that when you throw a ball for her..
she looks the other way and pretends you never threw it....
Doh!

 

[CraigarTA]

I have a Pomeranian Poodle mix and one of his tricks is opening the laundry room door when it isn't latched shut going out and then opening it from the other side to come in and his best is finding new ways of getting out of the back yard.
Which fence boards to squeeze through, how to climb a 5' hog wire fence and jumping over a 4' picket fence.

He does all this weighing in a mighty 9 pounds and a vertical jump of at least close to 3'

 

[joel]

This thread is worthless without pics....

 

[Mama Bear]

I fixed it so its a description of me, just came to mind when I was reading it. LOL

omg LMAO!!! Now, I see what the problem is..... ducks and RUNNNNSSSSSSSSSSSS

 

[slcsteve]

This thread is worthless without pics....