![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Fun with dogs
According to urban legend, dogs can't see colors, but I'm not convinced of that. Out and about this morning, Lucky zeroed in on a bright blue Pepsi can lying in a field of weeds. It's possible that he was attracted by something else -- the shininess, maybe -- but it certainly stood out to *me*, a bright and not at all natural blue, and he was definitely going for it visually.
He picked it up and carried it back to the house. In addition to being a fossil-hunting dog, Lucky is also a trash-collecting dog. Cans and bottles are the exact right size and shape to be carried in his retriever jaws, and he's never happier than when he's carrying something. If he finds an appropriately-shaped piece of trash on our walks, he'll cheerfully carry it home for me. It's very cute.
He's also discovered the joys of gourds. Last Christmas I got a bag of gourds for decoration, but never really did anything with them, so Orion appropriated them as shooting targets. There are now gourds, riddled with bullet holes, scattered around the yard. Like Pepsi cans, they're just the right size and shape to be carried in a retriever's mouth, which means that Lucky keeps finding them and bringing them back to the house.
He picked it up and carried it back to the house. In addition to being a fossil-hunting dog, Lucky is also a trash-collecting dog. Cans and bottles are the exact right size and shape to be carried in his retriever jaws, and he's never happier than when he's carrying something. If he finds an appropriately-shaped piece of trash on our walks, he'll cheerfully carry it home for me. It's very cute.
He's also discovered the joys of gourds. Last Christmas I got a bag of gourds for decoration, but never really did anything with them, so Orion appropriated them as shooting targets. There are now gourds, riddled with bullet holes, scattered around the yard. Like Pepsi cans, they're just the right size and shape to be carried in a retriever's mouth, which means that Lucky keeps finding them and bringing them back to the house.
no subject
The can was far enough away that it was just a spot of color in the field. I can definitely believe he could orient on something like that by smell (I've seen him do very impressive feats of scent-finding) but it *looks* different; he has to cast around to find what's making the smell. In this case, he was obviously going for it by sight.