N is for Nutsy

A few years ago I read an article about an amazing border collie named Chaser who had a documented vocabulary of over 1000 words. Her owner was a psychology professor who assigned his graduate students the research project of teaching Chaser to recognize words. They ingeniously started with teaching her the names of her toys.

It was impressive, and even though we had named all of our dog's toys before that, the article cemented our commitment to making sure she knew which was which.

Of course a new puppy means new toys, and each one has to have a catchy name. That's how we've come to spend our play time calling for Mr. Peepers, Chewy Bone, Monkey Bear, Piggy, and Nutsy the Squirrel.

Does Lucy know the difference?

Maybe, but she definitely likes to hear them squeak.

Life Lesson: What we learn with pleasure we never forget.