Just to note, this is Sterling's diary, not mine, so any annoyance is me speaking is HIS voice. Because he does get annoyed with Opal from time to time. And she thinks Sterling is nutty about some stuff too. They're so funny. And such a joy.
Focus: I am INTENSE. I take the concept of a one-track mind to the next level. For instance, if I'm playing with something and loving it, but it's not a Mom-approved play-item, she'll take it and replace it with either a toy I love or a super-great treat. So what? I want that chunk of concrete. If I can smell the object of my desire, I will stand stock-still, pointing at it, for upwards of 45 minutes. I cannot be distracted. I know what I want, and I will not be dissuaded. It's mine. Give it to me now.
Opal on the other hand is so easy going. If Mom catches her chewing on, say, the boxwood hedge in the front yard, Mom can pick Opal up, tell her "no" and put her down somewhere else in the yard and Opal WON'T GO BACK to the boxwood. Look, I don't chew on hedges myself, but I don't get it! Opal's just like, "Oh, okay. I'll just find something else to do. Thanks for the tip, Mom!"
Food: Opal believes in eating regularly. I'm usually too busy to eat, unless Mom removes all distractions and gives me something with sweet potatoes, chicken and broccoli mixed into it. Just chicken won't do it. Just broccoli or sweet potatoes won't do it. It MUST be all three. That is of course unless it’s my birthday!!! I’ll tell you about that later in this article. Opal, however, eats 4 squares a day (puppies eat pretty often, you know). She knows when mealtime is and even looks forward to it. Weirdo.
Opal has toy issues, though ... let me tell you. She can and WILL destroy a stuffed toy in about 2 minutes flat. Her goal is to unstuff anything that's stuffed. Mom had to give Opal her own toy basket filled with hard rubber toys, balls, and heavy duty rope-type things. The little wack-job isn't allowed anywhere near MY toy basket, which overfloweth with fluffy, squeaky delights. I told Opal to stay the heck away from my stuff. And Mom let me handle this bit of discipline myself. Luckily, Opal got the message and sticks to her own stuff. Well, and it can't hurt that I always put my toys away after playing with them. And that's another thing! The little brat leaves her stuff strewn all over the house! We're dogs, not pigs!
Intelligence: Opal and I are both really, REALLY smart. Mom says
the difference is that I'm scary-smart and Opal is easy-smart. We both
got house-training really quickly. And Opal is smart enough to learn most
commands from watching me and seeing that I get either a treat or lots
of praise for performing Mom's desired behaviors. But Opal doesn't get
into anything! When I was her age, I was busy opening Mom's dresser drawers
and rearranging her socks. By the time I was 6 months old I had mastered
the refrigerator door. Opal doesn't do anything like that. She just learns
stuff Mom asks her to learn. Oh well, guess I'll have to keep covering
the innovation end of intelligence around here. Just pointin' stuff
out, and now its time for my birthday story but my mom will tell that one.
Sterling
Of course, I made Sterling a cake ... which was totally dog-friendly ... and all the dogs LOVED it. Mainly, it consisted of rolled oats, peanut butter, honey, and shredded carrots. I "iced" the cake with low-fat cottage cheese. It was pretty cute. :)
One of the pictures is of Sterling "blowing
out" the candles on his cake. Well, not really ... I blew out the candles
for him ... he's actually tasting the cake. ;)