Dogs are keen observers of humans.  We also are astute at reading a situation and responding appropriately.  Thanks to many hours dedicated to watching Mom and Dad, I now have a good grasp on what words, phrases or sounds they commonly use that mean fun is about to happen.  Now every dog knows the obvious words of walk, fetch, car ride, and dinner.  We even know the spelling of not so fun activities like V-E-T and B-A-T-H.  In fact, the average dog knows approximately 165 words and when combined with body language can anticipate what humans are about to do.  However, here are a few less obvious words and phrases that are trigger words for Asa and me.

Talk to you later: This phrase is most often associated with Mom and fetch.  Each day she calls Grandma at approximately the same time.  Based on my observations, I know the phrase “talk to you later” means the conversation is over, and Mom will be looking for something to do.  Therefore when I hear it, I will immediately grab my ball and head to the door to go out to play fetch.  I’ve trained Mom to obediently follow me outside.

All right: “All right” is a transitional word that can mean many things.  If said in the right context, it usually implies that Dad is changing gears and about to take us for a walk.  But it’s all about observing the clues of the conversation.  In the wrong context, it is a waste of time for me to get excited, or even lift my head from my nap.  For example, sometimes “all right” just means he’s half-listening and agreeing with whatever Mom just said.  However, if Dad says “all right” while standing up from his desk, that is his clue that he is done working and wants to play.  It’s important I pay attention though.  You wouldn’t believe how many times in a day Dad will say this one word in a variety of contexts.

*Bing*:  It doesn’t have to necessarily be a word to trigger a response from us either.  Asa has figured out that the “bing” noise the TV makes when being turned off is also a transitional sound that fun is about to happen.  It could mean anything from we’re heading out for neighborhood patrol, to it’s time to go upstairs to work in the office, or even simply we’re taking one last trip outside before bed.  No matter what though, it signals a change in activity.  So Asa always jumps to his feet when he hears it.  I’ve even seen him jump up from a sound sleep, tail wagging, ready to go, in response to this “bing.”  In fact, Mom and Dad call it Asa’s alarm clock.

D-U-M-P: Sometimes Mom and Dad try to be sneaky and will spell words.  But “dump” is one word I can always recognize.  After all the town dump is my favorite place in the whole wide world to visit!  Usually Dad takes me, but every once in awhile he claims the car is too crowded with recyclables to include me.  This is when he’ll spell the word D-U-M-P.  But they can’t fool me, and I’ll start doing my happy dance at the back door in anticipation. Ok, so my enthusiasm has led me astray sometimes.  There have been occasions when Mom and Dad were just discussing future plans, and were not actually heading to the d-u-m-p at that moment.  I end up looking silly dancing at the door those times.  However, hope springs eternal, and I can’t help but react.

I’d Like to Place an Order for Pick Up: This is by far my favorite phrase because it guarantees a car ride is in the near future.  It only gets said once a week in our home, but Asa and I are always ready when we hear it.  We’ll go charging to the door, filled with anticipation for this important hunting and gathering food trip.

These are just a few of the words, phrases and sounds that Asa and I know.  We can’t reveal all our secrets in case Mom and Dad are reading this and try to change their predictable ways.