Puzzling Mysteries

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

Our whole life is solving puzzles.

Erno Rubik

Maggie with puzzle

  When I was in the pet store picking up dog food and biscuits I saw some puzzler toys for dogs. I couldn't resist. Yes, I agreed with the packaging on the toy; Maggie needs some mental stimulation. This toy was a 3 in one puzzler. I hid the treats beneath the green cups. The goal was for Maggie to move the cups around to find the treats. Well, I either have a genius dog or this toy was too easy. BAM! She solved the puzzle STAT! 

Maggie with bone puzzle

Then I filled a different puzzle with treats to test her genius-ness further. BAM! She did it again! I choose to believe I have a genius dog. I told Maggie she was a genius. After all, kids grow up to what they think you believe they are capable of.... I believe Maggie can solve any of life's puzzling mysteries. I think I'll get her a Rubik's cube next....

photo credit

Wet Ground Mysteries

Maggie's pawsability thought for the day:

"I think, at a child's birth, if a mother could ask a fairy godmother to endow it with the most useful gift, that gift should be curiosity."

Eleanor Roosevelt 

Maggie sniffing the wet ground

  Yesterday the wet ground from the rain peaked Maggie's curiosity. Any water on the ground sets her nose off. As a mother, I couldn't resist Maggie's pleasure in sniffing. I relaxed the leash and let her go ahead. Her head automatically went down. She sniffed and sniffed and sniffed with Sherlockian tenacity. I credit this sniffing to her gift of curiosity, but with an added enhancement. This enhanced gift was reinforced through her early "human scent tracking" training as a puppy. The first element used in Maggie's training was water. Simply put; a water trail was laid down with sprayed water in different line configurations. As the water trail was placed the person who laid the trail walked on the water line to leave their human scent. Maggie then "tracked" the trail with her nose to the ground with a long leash line behind her and me on the end. Eventually, I gave up her tracking training to concentrate on her dog obedience skills. Perhaps the fairy godmother's endowment of the gift of curiosity continues onward? Any water on the ground gets Maggie excited, and the game's afoot.