[Dailydrool] Smart hounds

[Kate Lawson via Dailydrool]

There was a thread on Facebook DD about the many communication words, not necessarily commands, that our hounds have learned that allow them to participate more fully in their families routines. It was interesting and got me thinking about skills that mine have learned not so much for their fun but for mine. I was wondering if others' hounds had their special skills.
There is one in particular that has always intrigued me because each hound has learned it so easily and it contributes so significantly to my enjoyment of our daily walks. We live in an urban neighborhood with sidewalks and I am one of those heretics who walks multiple dogs (2 or 3) and uses multiple 16 ft Flexi leashes so my kids can roam a bit. So there are many opportunities for them to become hung up on obstacles: trees, mailboxes, signs, trash cans, etc. Whether they are puppies or seniors when I get them, they learn to  navigate the correct path around obstacles so as not to hang up the leash. And on the rare occasion that they do hang up (squirrel!!!) I just have to say "come back" and they know to follow the leash backwards to get un-hung. This seems like complex thinking to me but they learn it with just gentle guiding pressure on the leash as they approach an obstacle. Over time they do all the thinking themselves.

Kate Lawson, Hank & Daisy (we love to walk)
clawson at cfl.rr.com

Kate