Learning to talk

Many times I look into Maddie’s eyes and swear she is going to speak to me. Real words, not Dog. Rob, of course, always makes fun of me when I say this, but the intelligence in those big brown eyes is staggering. I just know there are thoughts there waiting to be articulated.

So when I saw Maddie’s horoscope for this week, I laughed out loud.

“It may seem that your Gemini pet is actually trying to TALK to you this week. It seems to be a lot more noisy than it usually is. All you can do is pay close attention and try to figure out what it’s telling you. Apparently, it’s important.”

As Maddie probably won’t pick up English this week, I had better learn Dog pretty quickly. Although as she is smarter than either one of us, she may have an easier time with English than we will with Dog.

My Gemini

I really never thought this would be a topic about which I would ever write. Horoscopes and pets? Really? I don’t really believe in that for me.

But I stumbled across a pet horoscope while doing research about pet insurance, and I was intrigued.

Maddie was born June 1, making her a Gemini.

Here are a Gemini dog’s traits —

• Talks a lot . . . barks, grunts, etc. — Maddie has become quite vocal. While most of her barking occurs outside, she does a lot of grunting and moaning, and sounds Rob calls her monkey noises.
• Is very active. — Um, yeah.
• Enjoys learning new tricks and tends to learn them quickly; at the same time difficult to train, firmly believing she knows what is best. The impatience can be overcome and she will soon be learn a battery of tricks. — She does learn quickly, once she settles down and listens to what you are asking. It takes oodles of patience to teach her, but it’s great when that patience is rewarded.
• Is rather thin in build. — So far. We keep thinking she’ll fill out. But maybe not.
• Has very expressive and sparkling eyes. — I swear to Rob one day Maddie will speak to me. There is so much in her eyes.
• Is very agile. — I really want to take her to agility training in the spring. She can run, and jump and she’s getting very good at catching a frisbee. Earlier this week, she nearly jumped on the kitchen counter. Rob said her hind legs actually went above the counter.
• Prone to flit from one activity to another within short periods of time. — We’ll play with a toy for a little bit, then she’ll want to go outside. Then she’ll chew on a bone for a while. Then it’s time to go back outside. Then we’ll lay in one spot. Then move to another. Then want to go outside. Yep, this one fits.
• Does not possess a particularly big appetite. — For her food at mealtime, not really. She has stopped eating her breakfast on a regular basis. Sometimes even dinner is just picked at and not finished. 
• Easily able to communicate feelings. — Maddie not only tells us things through her large brown eyes, but she has head positions that let us know what she wants.
• An eternal puppy, quickly bored and requiring constant attention. — Oh yes, she wants all the focus in the room to be on her.
• The only time an owner will be absolutely sure of the whereabouts of the Gemini dog is when she is attached by a leash. — Absolutely. 
• Loves to ride in cars and run in the park. — Maddie adores car rides. She sprints to the door whenever we tell her we’re going for a ride.
• Oozes charm and quickly wraps her owner around her dew-claw. — I don’t think it took her a day.

Your pet can also get their weekly horoscope. Here’s Maddie’s for this week:

• So much back and forth and up and down you will see in your Gemini pet this week! Don’t even try to keep up because it’s impossible. Just sit back and watch. You’ll be so highly entertained that you’ll want to do little else but watch your baby.