It’s almost the first anniversary of I Still Want More Puppies, so
I’m sharing some of my favorite posts with you this week.  The post
below originally appeared on July 10, 2010.  Hope you enjoy!

 First, if you are a dog owner (heck, even if you’re not), you must go read this blog post over at Hyperbole and a Half.  After realizing that her dog doesn’t know how to go up and down stairs, the author decides it’s time to see if her dog is… challenged.  (Let’s call it that.)

Although I love Bella dearly, I’ve always been aware that she’s not
exactly the brightest of pups.  While she can successfully navigate the stairs, some of the other behaviors in the post seemed similar to Bella’s daily activities… particularly the random acts of licking throughout the house.  The floor, the wall, the cabinets, the dresser… you name it, Bella’s licked it.  Once while on a walk, she even licked a goose.

Other parts of the post hit close to home as well.  My favorite sentence: “But when turning her head at an extreme angle fails to produce a life-altering epiphany, she usually just short-circuits and rolls on her back.”  It’s like the author is talking about Bella.  Bella tilting her head at an angle (we call it the puppy face… or the extreme puppy face, depending on how severe the angle) and rolling on her back (affectionately, and perhaps inappropriately, known as “having a seizure” in our household) occur with frequency throughout the day.

So, after reading this post, I decided that maybe I should try some of the tests on Bella.  The blanket test was out (throwing a blanket over the dog and seeing how long it takes her to get out) – I’ve seen this happen to Bella on many occasions.  I’m not sure she could find her way out even if I gave her a map.  She usually  just gives up and takes a nap under there.

Instead, I decided to try the treat under a cup test.  The test involves getting your dog into a sitting position, letting her sniff a treat (we went with Snausages because Bella loves them in a way that defies description), and then placing the treat under a plastic cup while the pup watches.  Then you see how long it takes the pup to get the treat out from under the cup.

Watch the video below to find out what happened (and try not to judge  – it’s the first time I have ever attempted to edit a video):

I love when she looks up at the window, as if considering the possibility that the treat grew arms and legs, found a treat-size grappling hook, and climbed up there somehow.  Although the results were not encouraging, Bella didn’t seem to mind.  After all, she got two Snausages out of the deal.

Thank goodness she can get by on her looks.