The Other Side of The Door

E=MC2

Gracie, formerly Naughtiest Puppy in the World, is no Einstein. She's not even Einstein's slow brother, Irving.

She is sweet. She loves everybody, and is trainable with repetition. Most of us are.

Rocky is something else all together.

Not just a pretty face.

We noticed early on, he seemed able to figure stuff out. Were all dachshunds like this? Was it his hound heritage? Or were we just growing older and slower as we grew older and slower.

A smart dog can be a challenge and a lesson in humility.

Rocky is not my first dog. I'm used to terriers. Even the dumbest terrier has a cunning that exceeds the ability of normal dogs, so I figured I was up to the challenge of a smart little wiener hound.

Maybe not.

Rocky is eight months old. He learned how to ask out and back in a long while ago. Gracie never has, and she's five years old. She asks out, then waits patiently for us to let her back in. Or, maybe she doesn't want back in. Who am I to say?

Yesterday, Rocky scratched at the door, looked up, saw me watching him, kicked the door again and when I let him in, he ran down the hall and scratched at the bathroom door.

I opened that door. He ran in, looked around, out, then scratched at the hall closet door.

I opened that door. He looked around in there then ran to another door. I could almost see that little wiener brain working. If she's behind that door, what's behind this one?

Try to keep up, human.

Yep, I opened all the doors he asked at because I wondered -- what was he looking for?

Was he emulating George Mallory -- because it's there?

Maybe The Other Side of the Door is The Last Frontier.

Perhaps he's looking for the Tardis.

Either way, I realized as I followed the little dog around, exactly who, in this relationship, is Einstein's slow brother, Irving.