The Value Of Dog/s Part 2:

 

Dogs have so many traits and abilities that many of us humans wish for or try to achieve but fall short in. Part two addresses three more of these traits.

Unconditional Forgiveness:  Dogs seem to have the ability to forgive without judgement, or conditions and just want to be our friend again and let the offense go without holding a grudge. They tend to live in the present and not yesterday or tomorrow. They simply just move on from the infraction whatever it may be and not dwell on the past. That ties in with  the first of their values as pointed out in loyalty in the first part of this topic.

Protective Instincts:  Dogs have an ingrained protective instinct that they will protect those who they love. Sometimes some that they don't know as well depending on the risk factor. I don't want to get ahead of myself on this subject, but they are intelligent and can assess dangers ahead of most humans. They will put themselves in harm's way to protect their family or those they love. Sometimes to the point of their own death. It has been said and I believe it that only two people will die for you: Jesus or your dog. 

Intelligence:  Many underestimate the intelligence of dogs. Dogs can learn up to 250 words or symbols. I have always taught our dogs with both words and hand signals. When they get older, they tend (like us humans) to lose some or all of their hearing. That is when the hand signals come in very handy. It all tends to be what you want them to learn. We talk to our dogs all the time and it pays off. 

I have taught one of our dogs his right from his left and to tell basic time. in a very rudimentary way. I would point to a time on the clock to tell him when I would be back and he would be looking for me as Carol would watch to see what he would do. He would be waiting at the door. Not all breeds are of high intelligence but most would surprise people if they would be paying attention. 

Dogs are the consummate friend of their family.