Smart Dog

German Shepherds are known to be smart dogs. Our 11-week old puppy is proving that he is one smart pooch. Not only has he learned all the standard tricks like sit, down, come, shake, and stay, he managed to turn on my son's Nintendo DS that was lying on the floor AND open the sliding door using his leash. I thought I was being brilliant by attaching his leash to the handle while I went into the other room. He figured out that if he moved the bird cage and dragged the leash, he could open the door. When I arrived in the room a few minutes later, he was sticking his nose out the door.

The dog even knows to go into his crate when he's tired. He opens the door and plops himself down on the blanket.

"Mom," my daughter commented after watching the pooch tuck himself in, "That dog is smarter than me. I'd be staying up all night!"