Old Dogs and New Tricks

Last night, I walked into the dining room to see if Lilly was pestering Rose, as usual, by staring at her while she ate a bone in her crate. She was in fact doing this very thing, in a lovely down position - ON THE TOP OF THE DINING ROOM TABLE.

Now, Lilly was trained in agility at an impressionable age, which is a sport in which dogs basically jump on, walk all over, and jump off complicated pieces of furniture. And, even younger, she learned from the cats that on top of the back of the living room couch was the best place to lie. And now that we have a table in the living room she does occasionally get up on top of it - she can walk onto it pretty much directly from the couch.

But it was only a few days ago, after nine years of living in this house with this furniture, that for the first time it occurred to her that if she jumped up on a chair, she could reach something on the dining room table. I don't know why she never realized it before or what inspired her at that moment. But I guess the next step was an easy one. I don't even have any idea why she thought it was useful to be on top of the table to watch Rose - it certainly doesn't put her closer to her. I don't know what the advantage of the aerial view might be.

Whatever it was, though, everything has changed. I fear our lives will never be the same.