We knew a long time ago that Ray loved to clean out our yogurt containers, and it had become a regular treat for him. Whenever we reached the bottom of a container, Ray was close by just waiting to get his tongue into it!
The other day was very typical. We had lunch around noon during which time he lay on the floor close by, just in case we needed his assistance! For dessert I opened a yogurt container and, after taking what I wanted from it, gave it to Ray to clean it out. What I had not realized was that, while I was distracted with Ray, Carol had gone into the refrigerator and taken out another yogurt container which was also nearly empty. She simply took what she wanted and left the container on the counter knowing that Ray would like to take care of it.
An empty yogurt container will keep Ray occupied for quite some time as he chases it around the floor. He will eventually trap it between his front paws but then, as soon as he starts twisting around to reach those “hard to get” areas, he generally loses control of it and chases the container around the floor once again. As remarkable as he is with using his paws, an empty yogurt container will still keep him busy for at least 5 minutes!
The first clue we had, that something was not quite right, was after lunch when Carol and I were chatting. We noticed that Ray was just standing a short distance away and staring at us. We carried on with our conversation as Ray holding eye contact is not an unusual situation however, when I looked up later, he was still staring at us. A few moments later, he turned around and we thought that he was going to go and chill out somewhere but no. He now seemed to be staring at the kitchen sink area.
Ray does odd things like this on a regular basis, and it always gets our attention as we try to work out what he is trying to tell us. In the absence of any conclusion, our general “last resort” comment to each other is the rhetorical “Who knows what he is up to?”
We carried on talking and, when I looked over at Ray, he was once again standing facing us. Seemingly as soon as he realized that he had my attention, he turned and faced the kitchen sink cabinet again. He turned back to me and repeated the process but this time, when he turned to face the sink cabinet, he moved closer to it such that his nose almost touched the counter top … and then everything was explained. Close to the edge of the counter top, was the yogurt container that Carol had put on one side for him!
I had one of those “Duh!” moments (slaps side of head)! Ray was successful in his goal to get the second container but he must wonder, sometimes, what planet we are from!
Oh the patience Ray has!
“Duh” moments, eh! I may have some of those “Duh” moments sometimes as well! 🙂
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🙂
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My pup also loves getting a yogurt container to clean out. I’ve even blended up apples and yogurt and frozen them for a summertime treat. He’s a big fan!
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We stuff Kongs with fruit, peanut butter etc and freeze them up. Rays love them!
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One of these days he’ll get you guys 100% trained. Maybe. No doubt. 😉
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Hmmmm … doubt it! So many teachers and others have tried with me and quit totally exasperated! 🙂
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I dunno…Ray seems like an exceptional instructor. 🙂
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I’m sure he wonders if he’ll ever be able to properly train you. Our cats are not quite so polite. When they want me to go somewhere they are vocal and do the tappy dance. It works.
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Well as long as he doesn’t give up on us ….. everything will be fine! 🙂
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He knows he hit the lottery!
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Such a good smart boy..similar to the turkey story..a few years ago i baked a glazed maple syrup ham for xmas..go figure it is usually 1000 degrees in the shade here that time of year but the Brit heritage is old…anywho..we eat outside..i too had carved the ham and then sat it at the very back of the stove top..while we were outside eating i heard a sound..i came in to find Forrest giving the ham mouth to mouth resucitation..he was known from then on as the hamburgler 😉
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The reality is that so many humans cannot resist temptation, so I guess we shouldn’t expect much different from our canine buddies!
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Exactly 🙂
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Hahah.. At first, it sounded as if there was something wrong in the area around the kitchen sink! But then even I had that ‘Duh’ moment while reading further! 😛
“but he must wonder, sometimes, what planet we are from!” – Yes! He must be thinking what kind of ignorant people we are!! 😛 😛
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Bless Ray!
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Hi Ritu. He tries so hard to get his messages across to us and his success rate is very good! We love having him around! 🙂
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Its like our Cat, Sonu Singh!! They have their ways!!!
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Good boy Ray, not to pinch.
I had two dogs that would be ‘watching TV’ as the turkey cooked overnight for Christmas. In the morning, I took it out of the oven and pushed it to the very back of the worktop out of reach, then went back upstairs. I was only gone about 10 minutes, but when I got back, a turkey drumstick could be seen sticking out of Toad’s mouth whilst Babe was sitting innocently on her bed as if to say ‘I had nothing to do with it!’. The meat was still on the turkey as the bone had come out clean, but there was no way Toad could have reached it, he was too small!
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Ray has had a number opportunities to help himself to things but, apart from a few isolated instances, he has exercised quite impressive self-control! 🙂
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Pat by proxy. Good lad!
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Woof! Thx Di! Woof! Ray
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