27/08/2026
When your dog knows exactly what you're asking… and decides to negotiate 😂🐾
My eight-year-old collie, Dekoda has always been a clever but very sensitive little boy. He’s also, on occasion, a bit of a boundary tester… and today, he decided to see just how much he could get away with. 😂
Tea time in our house comes with rules. The dogs go to their mats or beds, and that’s where they stay while we eat.
So, Dekoda decided he needed a drink of water. Fair enough. Off he went, had his drink, then proceeded to have a little poodle around the kitchen.
“Back to your mat and settle.”
And he did.
Well… sort of.
Rather than actually settling on his mat, he settled beside it.
Just a little bit closer to me.
Just a little bit closer to the possibility of food.
Coincidence? I think not. 🤔😂
So there I was, eating my tea, chip on fork, when I turned to him and told him to get on his mat.
He looked at me.
Studied me.
I swear I could actually see the cogs turning.
He then very slowly extended the paw nearest the mat…
…and placed it neatly onto the mat. 🐾
Then looked at me as if to say:
“There you go, Mum. Paw is on mat. I believe that concludes the matter.” 😂
Now, trying to keep a completely straight face while holding a chip on a fork was possibly the hardest part.
Because honestly, you have to admire the sheer cheek of it.
But I told him, “No. All of you on the mat.”
And eventually, the rest of his body followed. 😂
It made me laugh, but it also reminded me just how incredibly clever these dogs are. They don't just hear what we say — they think about it, interpret it, and sometimes… creatively reinterpret it to suit themselves!
Dekoda wasn't being naughty. He was testing the boundary, very carefully and very deliberately, to see if the rules had any loopholes.
Apparently, today’s loophole was “one paw counts.” 🤣
You have to love the intelligence, the sensitivity, and that cheeky little brain ticking away behind those eyes.
Living with a collie certainly keeps you on your toes.
Because sometimes you’re not training the dog…
you’re negotiating with a very furry lawyer. 😂🐾❤️
