My dog is so dumb

[pluckyduck]

How dumb is he?

My 5lb poodle is so dumb, jumping out the window of a moving car seemed like a good idea.

He's okay, miraculously! Just badly bruised. We are so grateful, let me tell you.

Apparently, Don was driving with the window open and Reggie, who was sitting on the passenger side, saw another dog. He lept over Don and straight out the darn window.

Don managed to half catch him (caught his leg), but then lost him so Reggie did go out of the car. Fortunately, Don was only driving about 25 mph at the time -- says it is a miracle he didn't run over his own dog. Stopped the car, dog's crying of course..blah blah. No blood, just a lot of crying.

Don just got back from the vet and Reggie didn't break anything. That's good because the last time he did something dumb, he got caught in a fence while trying to "defend his property" (from dog that was about 75lbs). That was surgery and a cast for 3 months.

Andrea
whose Poodle thinks he's a Rottweiler

[Mrsfitts]

Our 17 yr old Poodle/Terrier that just passed this month pulled a stunt like that -the last time we ever let him have full range of "Down Window" unattended. He was a High Jumper in his prime, and thought nothing of jumping in or out of a car window -he was only 15 lbs at the time. The time he jumped out while we were driving home was when we just got back from buying him a vanilla ice-cream at Baskin Robbins, and before we got home, He HAD to GO!
(He might've been a little pampered...)

I'm now left with two dogs that just don't compare. One is too afraid of going for a ride, and when we used to try to take him for a walk, he was like a toddler on his back two feet going "Mommy! Pick me up!" the whole time. LG -the brain damaged dog we found as quasi-road-kill is so grateful for us taking him in (he was living with feral cats near the mall and was mal-nourished as a stray) that everytime we try to take him on a leash, he digs in all 6.5 lbs until we turn around to go back to the house, then he leads the leash!

Dogs! Gotta love them, and your vet love$ you too!

[emeleel]

My mom ran over our dog once - and he survived! He was a fairly large part Keeshond dog, and his "thing" when we came home was to meet us at the top of the hill that led down to our house. We lived on a dirt road (rural Georgia) and this one particular time it had been raining. He jumped out of the greenery by the side of the road and STOOD THERE, looking right at us. The road was slick as glass and my mom just could not stop.

Two things saved him: it was an Econoline 150 van *and* my mom had put 6 ply tires on the thing - extra thickness, extra height. Plus, he managed to roll right between the tires and stay straight down the middle, and the tires didn't get him

We couldn't find him that night - I was devastated, of course! - but the next morning, he was lying behind the house, one scratched ear and a slight limp.

[magenta321]

Our foxhound was such a spaz in the car that she would deficate all over the place, hyperventilate, and stand and spin the whole time we would drive. To help her while she was hyperventelating, we would open the sun roof, and open all the windows in the car so she would feel like she was getting air. Well, genius that she is, she wanted out of the car, and lept out the window on the highway. She crossed three lanes of traffic, and ran down the median! My mother stopped the car, and the two of us ran after the dog. A business man in a suit going the opposite way saw what was happening and helped us in the chase. Then a few police cars pulled up to help us. We finally caught the dog, who was covered in feces and blood (from hitting the pavement while leaping out of a car going at least 60 mph), and took her to her origional destination -- the vet.

So no, it's not just poodles.

And Foxy, despite the scrapes, was fine. Spazzy as ever, but fine.

[tpierzina[$]]

...before my wife sees it!!!

Maggie, my 55 pound black lab, loves to ride with the windows open and say "hi" to every dog and person she sees. My wife is always afraid she'll jump out. I think she would be too chicken, but I wonder sometimes if she might forget herself and leap out in a frenzy of barking.

Do most folks let their dogs loll out the window? It sure seems like it, but maybe I'm wrong.

I'm glad all of your stories have happy endings. I would be lost without my Maggie....

[conradd]

OMG, poor Reggie!! This is why I do not drive with my window rolled down when Harley is in the car with me. I can just see her doing the same thing.

Our biggest problem is that she insists on being on my lap whenever I"m sitting down. At home this isn't much of a problem (unless, like now, she's trying to chase her tail), but when we're in the car, it's not a good idea. Late at night though, when she's exhausted and whiny, I just stuff her under my sweatshirt and she falls asleep. There's just room for her between me and the steering wheel, but if we ever had an accident she'd be smooshed.

I've seen doggie seatbelts . . . anyone ever used one?

Deb

[queenofallevil]

Yep...it isn't just your dog!!!

When I was a kid, we owned a miniture schnauzer who pulled this exact stunt. Mitzi was always a very well behaved doggie when the window was down...she'd just happily stick her head out, like most other dogs do.

One afternoon however, as we were returning home...she saw our house as we were coming down our street and decided she would "beat us to the door" by throwing this same stunt....jumping right out of the window while the car was moving, evil-doggie-kenevil style.

She was okay too.....didn't even get a scratch. Taught us never to have the window down once we got close to home though...

Val

[pluckyduck]

So I don't have the only dumb dog, eh?

Deb, my friend Jen has a doggie seat belt and uses it. I thought she was nuts when she bought it...well shame on me.

To say that we were shocked that the dog would actually jump out the window is an understatement. Reg rides everywhere with Don, so he's in the car probably a couple of hours everyday. Don't get me started on what a sight it is to see a 6' 2" 45 year old man baby a 5 lb poodle.

Yes, Don had gotten in the habit of letting Reggie stick his nose out the window, which I had told him wasn't a good idea. Of course, I'm just a nagging woman. . Don always held him when he was near the window though, and was pretty confident he could handle such a light dog.

The problem was the dumb dog wasn't anywhere near the window when he decided to go after the other dog. No time for Don to react, especially since he was driving. A miracle that the dog didn't get run over, but also a miracle that Don didn't have some kind of accident trying to catch the dog as he was going out the window. One more time: Thank you, God!

The lesson to me seems pretty simple: at the very least, don't leave your windows open large enough for the dog to get out.

Reggie, btw, is doing okay this AM. He's stopped shaking, and seems to be enjoying his painkillers.

Andrea
who doesn't think her boys would jump out of a moving car but has always used child safety locks to prevent that

[amykhar]

My dog was dumber than your dog (Glad to hear he's ok Andrea. Somebody's gotta keep the buffalo out of your neighborhood)

MY dog tried to jump through a CLOSED house window to get a squirrel. She was a big dog, and she broke the window and cracked the storm window.

I think she learned her lesson from that because she never tried it again.

Amy

[quasar]

All of our dogs have always been fine in the car. In fact, the last dog Bandit (a black Standard Poodle) was so happy in the car that you could sometimes not realize he was in the car with you until after you left the house.

My favorite and most dramatic example:

My parents live in upstate NY, half way between Poughkeepsie and Albany. I went to college in Chicago. My dad used to drive me each year. We usually left a bit early and took side trips on the way (ever tried to cross to Canada at Niagra Falls with a station wagon stuffed to the gills with all your worldly belongings? I don't recommend it). Well the last year we did the Niagra Falls-Toronto-Detroit-Chicago route. We almost had canine company Bandit had snuck into the car while we were packing and curled up under the passenger side dash on the floor. If he hadn't scared me when I stepped on him and freaked out (he didn't care) we would have never known he was there.

Bandit did, however, like to jump. He once squeezed his was through the bars of our second story deck and jumped. He landed on his feet and then ran off. I was home alone and he didn't come back for hours I was pretty scared because the last dog that ran off got shot by deer hunters (irish setter).

Janice

[vania]

These stories make me nervous!! I always HATE driving behind someone whose dog is hanging its head out the window or, even worse, a free-roaming dog in the back of a pickup truck! It's always stressed me out b/c I could just see one of the dogs jumping out and into the path of my car!

Now I know my fear is justified....

vania

[Mrsfitts]

Originally posted by vania
a free-roaming dog in the back of a pickup truck! It's always stressed me out b/c I could just see one of the dogs jumping out and into the path of my car!

vania

Here in California, a dog has to be tethered in the back of a p/u truck -he can't be free roaming (too many idiots killed their dogs that way on the freeways) And tethered, not leashed because of the possibility of hanging.

We never had windows all the way down when we were going above 35 MPH, and now it doesn't matter since neither dog can reach the window (one is too busy whining and shaking, and the other is curled up sleeping)

After Freeway's one escape attempt in a residential neighborhood, he was always held when the window was open. If he was riding "Shot-gun" he only got the window 'nose-high'.

[sylvanb]

Originally posted by quasar
ever tried to cross to Canada at Niagra Falls with a station wagon stuffed to the gills with all your worldly belongings? I don't recommend it
Janice

Yes, I have (well, actually, it was Windsor, I was moving from Detroit to someplace as yet undecided in Mass.). My Honda was jammed with stuff, and my cat (sorry to intrude him into a doggy thread) was tethered in the front seat. The Customs guy said "Where is your home?" and I said, "You're looking at it." He was nice, he waved me right through.

[mtomm[$]]

I am also a poodle owner. Have had two jump from moving car windows. Amazing claims they are very intelligent dogs!

[slick4591[$]]

Yikes! Glad he only had a few bumps and bruises, Andrea.

[dancingpotato]

A few years ago, my dad and I went to pick up my uncle's dog, who was spending his time alone somewhere else. I opened the window just about big enough for the dog's head, and she seemed to be enjoying it. I looked out my window for a while, after about 10 minutes I hear this horrendous gagging, wheezing sound. I turn around and notice that the dog had stepped on the window button and was getting choked by the window which had closed on its throat. Stupid dog.

[pluckyduck]

Originally posted by mtomm
I am also a poodle owner. Have had two jump from moving car windows. Amazing claims they are very intelligent dogs!

Wow! Two other poodles out the window. I had no idea they could do such a bonehead thing.

Yeah, poodles are always consistently in the top couple spots for intelligence. Here's one list I found in a quick web search. It's consistent with other lists I've read over the years.

I gotta say, Reggie is the third poodle I've owned in my life is by far the least intelligent (seems to me). I know mothers shoudn't compare their children, but he's a dog . Just don't tell Don or Reg I'm talking about him like this.

BTW, Reg is also the least "poodle like" of the three. He's very friendly and very social and much less high strung. His vet has remarked on a number of occasions that he's a "very good poodle".

Just not very bright.

Andrea
whose dumb poodle is currently high on pain meds and acting very weird

[poseidon]

Hmmmm...

Border Collie as #1 smartest dog? Cocker Spaniel as #20?

While I'd agree with some of this list, and I admit I'm partial to cocker spaniels, I'm not sure what planet a border collie is listed #1 as (well apparently it's Earth).

My folks have a border collie and I've seen domesticated turkeys that are brighter than that dog. There was another at the horse farm where I boarded my horse that had the brains of a turnip.

OTOH, Oscar isn't what I'd classify as a genius, but he's about as bright a dog as I've seen. He picks up stuff pretty quickly, it's very difficult to fool him (such as tossing a ball yet not really tossing it -- many dogs will look for the ball that wasn't thrown), and even taught him Agility Training in under five minutes. His brother, who my best friend owns, is smarter than Oscar (although much more neurotic).

Then again both of them use their tongues for toilet paper. Icky.

They also have a collie listed as #16. I'm sorry, but collies are about as smart as bricks.

The one thing I will credit the list for being correct on is the Afghan Hound. Sometimes they need help realizing their an animate object...

[jnbmoore]

We've got a setter/lab mix that has an epinion written about his stupidity

why?

While giving him left overs -- pasta no sauce -- he bit his tongue

He was bleeding all over self

doofus hit an atery and would have bled to death

except we got him to the ER and he got EIGHT stitches

Does he win????

and who can insert a brain in him?

Bridgette

[lambchops]

Dumb dog stories...okay here goes....

Story #1
I grew up with dogs, but it wasn't until I was 16 that I got my first puppy. Annie was adorable (she still is), but soon after getting her we realized she was a bit OCD. This daschund (mini, red, short haired) was actually psycho. She gave herself epilepsy. Yup. You heard that right. She shook a rope bone with knots on either end until she quite literally gave herself brain damage according to the vet. We now give her phenobarbitol and valium.

Story #2
My aunt & uncle have a dog named Lucy. Lucky is a rather tall and rather stupid cockapoo. My family always is on the water as are our dogs. So, they brought her out on the boat like they had millions of other times. Well, this time Lucy decided it was appropriate to jump out. What made it really bad was that she was tied in the boat, so when she jumped she was literally skidding across the water. She was fine when it was all said and done.

I've got a million of these

[elzora]

I've been afraid of our Silky Terrier doing this as well. My hubby lets her stand on his lap and stick half her body out the window and I keep telling him she might decide to jump. Of course, he doesn't believe she would. Considering she has attacked German Shepards and other large dogs, (she has that large dog complex thing going on) and she is very aggressive toward other dogs, I think she would jump.

I'm glad nobody's dogs got seriously hurt, but it is also good to know that dogs will do this!

[queenofallevil]

Okay.....there's a dog of mine that was really dumb.....

Before I moved to Sweden, I was living out in the Texas countryside. I had a very HUGE, very stupid dog named Baldur.

He was a Great Dane, (Black out of Harlequin) and had a nose for trouble. One day, while we were outside in the summer, he found a HUGE wasp nest near the house. (I never knew it was there....but it was about the size of a bowling ball!) For some reason or another....he thought it would be a good thing to eat.

Needless to say, there wasn't much I could do. Poor guy had a heart attack within minutes, and died.

The real irony about him was he was a super-intelligent animal, but just lacked common sense. Once, I took away something he was chewing, (a nail file) and put it in my bedroom nightstand and closed the door so he couldn't get it again. A minute later....he came right back to where I was sitting in the living room, showing off. Yep...he was chewing the same nailfile.



That was the day I discovered he had learned to open doors with his mouth. Since I was sitting by the bedroom door, he took a different path to the bedroom so I couldn't see him do it...he went throught my kitchen, opened the door to my laundry room, opened a door from there to my master bathroom, and then opened the door from there into the master bedroom to get the nailfile on the nightstand. ALL THOSE DOORS WERE CLOSED. He whipped through them in less than a minute.

Smart dog...but still dumb as a pile of bricks.

[wickedgood]

My lhasa apso walked into a sliding glass door three times in a row (it was the part that didn't open.) I guess he didn't believe it was really there. I know that they have a hard time seeing, but THREE times in a row?!

Boy is he dumb!

smiles, Shari