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Heh, in regards to what I see on a lot of dog-related forums which question the intelligence of certain breeds... I thought I should share my little experience.

Some of you may know that I foster a guide dog pup, a black Lab by the name of Gena. Some of you don't, but it's OK, now you do. ;D
So, because she's a guide dog, she can go into shops and other places normal dogs can't. I don't really want her to become a latté queen (seriously, when she's paired up with a blind person, she'll be able to tell them every type of coffee there is, she's been to so many cafés O.o) so we took her to the botanic gardens (my city is called the "garden city" for a reason, that reason being that there are over 700 parks and reserves) where she can walk around. She hasn't been fully vaccinated yet, and she won't be able to walk on footpaths for 6 or so days, but she can walk in these gardens because normal dogs can't go there, so there isn't a risk of there being an unvaccinated dog running around.
Anyway. We took her there yesterday and today, and today she found a pinecone, which was very interesting to her (she loves seeing new things). She sniffed it for a moment, then started walking on again, where she found another pinecone. Recognizing it, she picked it up and placed it next to the first one.

You might not think that's clever, but to me it's amazing that a 12-week-old puppy who hasn't even seen a pinecone before can match two of them up together. I mean, my mother is a speech/language therapist, and spends months getting kids to do this kind of thing, but the dog can do it on her own!

So, that's the story for the day. ;D

(Note: Sorry about the lack of pictures. Photobucket is STILL being an idiot, but I promise I'll get them up as soon as I can! Stay with me!)

That's so interesting, that dogs can show this desire for order and organization. It reminds me of an awesome book I read called "Dog Works," about dogs who ritually construct odd patterns of various sorts and arrange objects to their liking.

LMBO, my room is always messy and... well, to sum it up, not organized. I tried getting Gena up here to clean it, but she just ate whatever could fit in her mouth. O.o It's amazing she hasn't died of kidney failure yet, the stuff I fish out of her mouth (and the stuff I haven't managed to retrieve...)
But I want to see if she can match anything else up, the little rascal. xD



Yeah, that's what I was thinking too... I have a copy of that book, and it really proves that dogs aren't as mindless as they're thought to be, that they don't just do what people tell them to.

Oh, and another thing... Gena, in true Labrador fashion, has worked out how to open the cupboard which has the food inside it. xD My older dog has slept in that room for what, 2 years, and hasn't even thought about opening it.
Gena learns in a week.

awh, yay! I love Labradors. They are wonderful doggies =D I want to see the pictures sooo bad. Lol. Did you post this on FP? I haven't saw any topic about her on FP. ;-; On FP, I hear a lot of bad things about Labradors. It's kinda.. annoying. It's great to hear something good about them, because I really like them.

Ya, I posted about her on FP ;D I also copy/pasted this topic on there too.
And it's great that not everyone on FP thinks they're all puppymilled, overbred, "worse-than-pitbull" (seriously, that argument is brought up SO much) monster dogs. Apparently you need an Exoticcountrian Raredog to be "cool" there, or else an underrated breed like a Rottie, Staff or APBT (not bashing those breeds, I do like them).

But now I'm ranting. They (Labradors) are beautiful dogs, and amazing when from a good breeder (I'm proud to say both Gena's parents were trained as guide dogs).

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l141/ ... 1198454829

That's quite an old picture, from when we first got her. She's about 8 weeks there, and she's 12 weeks now. But you get the idea xD She's more leggy now, and her muzzle's a bit longer.
Note the Golden Retriever hair on her muzzle from my other dogs.

I know, but when I say to someone "my dog is a Labrador" they say "oh... you know how overbred they are?" which completely eradicates the happiness in me announcing I have this pup. Keep in mind that this is from people who supposedly know a lot about dogs. Either way, they apparently don't know enough to know that there are Labs and Goldens being carefully bred. This is why I like talking to people IRL who don't know much about dogs - they're always nice. xD

Plus there's the 'ole "Pit Bulls are nice dogs - Labs are so much worse!" argument I get a lot. No breed is worse than another, and Pit Bulls and Labs are both great breeds. Again, "dog experts" feel the need to downgrade a breed in order to make a point.


Wow. I'm ranting again. Sorry xP

Yeah, it's a great book! Dogs, mindless? As IF! XD;

LOL, clever Gena! That's why I'm grateful my dog treat cabinet is up where they can't reach it, and the food bins in the garage. My little pup's smart as a whip too.

Labs are alright but there are so many of them.. and I've found that a lot of people who own them can't control them. Most of the labs in the village are boisterous and crazy.. also, I see a lot of overweight ones.

My cousin has a chocolate lab and he's crazy. He's not neutered so he regularly strays and runs off on walks. He gets my little sister and I into trouble a lot. He's crazy and because he sees us as kids (even me at sixteen xD) he likes to chase us around the garden but then when we start ignoring him he tries to regain the attention by chasing and mouthing the chicken, stressing them out so they get sick. My Aunt and Uncle blamed my sister and me for 'getting him wound up'.

I know that labs can be very over-excitable.
Saying this, the guy down the road has two labs, one was attacked by the nasty dalmatian (under-trained and mainly owned as an accessory). Anyway, they're really intelligent and amazing beating dogs. Very well-trained and obedient. Guess it depends who's hands they're in.. as with all dogs.