talking to our dog
even though she only understands
some
english words and vocabulary
and seeing her head
tilt
to try to understand everything we’re saying
we’re trying to communicate
when all we’re really trying to do
is get her to get a toy
to bring to us
so we can all play
but her ability to remember where any toy is
is far worse than her understanding of language
so we say the name
and sign the sign
and she looks around
just past the toy we have in mind
confused
and whimper-barks for help
stamping her little puppy feeties
until we stand
and point
and grab
and then she gets so excited
for doing it right/for being able to play once more
and we all do it
all over again
and again and again
every morning
and every morning
it brings me such
joy
dog toys
October 6, 2025
the puppy
croodling up next to her brand new toy —
a highland cow
with five squeakers
and a witch hat
and a vibe of playing
i’ve never seen her do
with any
other
toy
is it love?
is it play-acting her hunting instincts?
do we care that much?
no —
we just like to see her
happy
March 1, 2023
we are teaching our puppy
the names of all her toys
as well as the signs for them
(some official ASL
some a bit made up by us)
she knows her Pizza so well
and Ring
and Smile
and sometimes she can remember Monster, Bear, and Fidget Spinner,
we’re still working on Pumpkin, Triple, Scarecrow, Blanket, and Pie,
and wherever her Ball is, she knowns that one, too
the hope is to get her to fetch each toy
by name
by silent sign
to prove how smart of a dog she is
but so far, she has simply taught us
how much she loves that
squeaky Pizza.
