In March of 1879, in the small town of Ulm in the German empire, a young boy was born who was not considered to be extraordinary in any way. He took somewhat longer to develop intellectually than his peers, and there were concerns that he might never amount to much. But, time passed and before too long, the world knew the genius of Albert Einstein
In March of 2010, in the small town of Hopkinton or Holliston or Middleborough or some neighboring town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a young puppy was born who was not considered extraordinary in any way. She took somewhat longer to develop intellectually than her peers, and there were concerns that she might never amount to much. But, time is passing and soon the world will know the genius of Rozi.
Yes, it seems like it was only a few months ago that little Rozi was eating anything that didn't move, from leaves to pins to napkins...wait, she's still doing that. Well, it was only a few months ago that it seemed as though the only thing that Rozi cared about was filling her belly. That, and crying when she wasn't given a treat even though she may have felt that she deserved one (for walking down the stairs, sitting on the couch, or jumping on the chair). But, very recently, a new aspect of little Rozi came to the fore: Rozi may be a genius!
Now, we all know that many dog owners believe their dogs are amazingly intelligent creatures; Rozi had none of that pressure in this house. But, she's always been a good dog, and even though she can't do the tricks that Izzi can ("paw" still baffles her), she does sit (when she's promised a treat) and she sometimes rotates her head in a very cute way when you talk to her. This is either her trying to get some insight into the words that you're saying, or she may have little marbles in her skull and she likes the sound and feel of them when she does this head-tilting thing.
And, yet.
Recently, some toys were purchased to make 'having a treat' a more challenging experience, one that neither puppy was particularly excited about. They have one toy that is round and that spins like a roulette wheel, and that has little cups in the circle. So, when a treat goes in one slot and the toy is twisted a little, a puppy has to push the whole circle to get to the treat. The puppies like the toy, even though they wish it were easier to have treats and not have to work so hard, but until the Maltese domination of the earth happens (now scheduled for 2027) there's not much that can be done about this. Both puppies can get the treats pretty quickly and so even though it's fun, it's not much of a challenge.
So, a second toy in the shape of three stacked bones came to the house. Again, by rotating the toy, one of three levels of treats can be eaten. The puppies both figured it out pretty quickly and have been the beneficiaries of its contents.
Then, yesterday, the new wooden toy was put into play.
The toy (see the picture) is tougher: treats go under a wooden "hat", which is then put into a track and which does not spill out its contents until the hat is pushed to an open area at the end of the track. Confronted with this new toy, both girls were a little confused. Sure, there was the smell of a treat, but where was it? The wood of the toy was good to chew on (or so thought Rozi) but the treats were not making their presence known. Not easily, anyway.
And, then Rozi figured it out! By either pushing the hat with her paw or her nose, she pretty quickly had all the hats knocked over and was chowing down. And, as mentioned, she also then could take one of the hats to the rug to chew on that for a while.
Meanwhile, Izzi was left to try to get scraps left behind from Rozi's success.
Yes, that's right: little Rozi may just be a genius! The toy is listed as "level 2" and to be honest, everyone thought that anything over "level one-half" would be a challenge for the big-boned girl, she came through in an amazing way! Now, she can mow the thing down and have treats within seconds.
We're going to try to get a video of it and will post it later, but for now, we want the new found genius to save her strength.
Meanwhile, Izzi continues to be unsuccessful at catching either a bird or a squirrel in the yard, often doing so with the audience of Rozi who remains in the house .Who knew that one was an athlete and one was a student? And, who knew that it would be Izzi who was the athlete....
..and Rozi who is the genius?!!??!!
Arf, Yip, Yip, Yip,
Izzi and "Madame Curie" Rozi.
[Note that today's message was not written by either one of us, because we do not have the perspective of the tall creatures in the house. So, we've agreed to let a guest writer handle the blog. For today only. If this continues, someone may have to deal with some serious face-licking and having their chest sat on while they sleep. Not a threat; just the facts.]
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