Wednesday, October 29, 2008

The Latest Adventures of Sopha Dog


Well, until the horses arrive there's not much to mention about what's happening at the ranch other than the antics of the other animals present. I probably have mentioned Sophie too much already, but just had to share a few things she's been up to.

Some of you already know that I've been having some bad back issues here lately, and needless to say moving didn't help that at all. The sciatica has been the worst of it, and my refusal to lie around with an ice pack on my back and leg have only made matters worse. I HAVE been trying the last couple of weeks, though, to sit in bed, ice my back and in order to force myself to sit still I've taken up crocheting. Not sure how sad this will sound, but my newest project is crocheting sweaters for Sophie. She's got short hair and definitely wants let back into the house much faster now that it's gotten colder out. I looked for some jackets for her but they were both ridiculous looking and expensive, especially considering she's a farm dog and will surely tear up any non-utilitarian garment she would be wearing. I know a crocheted sweater probably won't be exactly durable, but it will be cheap and easy to make, washable, and a lot less ridiculous looking than outfits with frills and lace and glitter.

So I'm sitting in bed the other night, watching TV, icing my back and crocheting, and the remote falls on the floor beside the bed. My back is screaming this day and getting up means trying to save my stitch, get out, get the remote, and try to resituate my pillows, blankets, and ice pack. I noticed that Sophie (who lays beside me in bed) saw the remote drop and she's still looking in that direction. So I tell her, mostly as a joke, "Go get it, Sophie. Get the remote!" She looks at me and then looks towards the fallen remote again, so I ask her again to get it for me. What does she do? SHE JUMPS DOWN, GRABS THE REMOTE AND BRINGS IT BACK UP ONTO THE BED TO ME!!! I couldn't believe it! She's really incredibly smart--her main problem is she has the attention span of a fruit fly. At that moment she was slightly sleepy so she was much more focused than she usually is. It was really cool, though. I hope as she gets older I can teach her to do many more fun things.

She does love to play keep-away. She'll pick up a toy and egg me on to run after her. Of course she's a lot faster than I am so she will stop, put down the toy, and the minute that I'm almost about to get she picks it back up and runs off again. She also knows what "Go get your toy" means. We were sitting on the bed last night and I tell her to "get your toy" and she looks around, spots her blue chewy, jumps down, grabs it, and brings it back up on the bed so we can play. She'd be brilliant if she could just stay focused for more than .5 seconds!! LOL.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

That is to cool, GOOD GIRL SOPHIE!!! With my luck my dogs would go get it, and then run off and EAT it! :-)

horserazr said...

Sophie is a shepard cross which means they stay puppies a long time, they don't normally mature until they are 2 years old. They are also some of the smartest dogs out there, so I am not surprised by her actions. You, my girl, will need to be patient and teach her things slowly but surely. One day she will no longer be the child but she will be the momma, after all, she is already taking care of you, huh? Good luck with her and all your problems. There is but one way to go... That way is UP.