I literally have no idea what this dog does and does not understand

So, the other day, we (the household, Elka included) were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. Night Watch, for those interested. It's a Russian urban fantasy film based on the first of a series of books by Sergei Lukyanenko. Very much worth checking out.

But I digress.

(this is a blog stock photo, it's not warm enough yet to have the door open, not by a long shot. But this is approximately where she was on the couch, anyway)

Conversations with Dogs

Every time we have a "new" person, they must acclimate to Elka. I don't mean in the "we let her do what she wants and so they have to deal with it" way. I mean in the "this dog is as intelligent as a toddler and that can be kind of mind blowing at times" way.

Elka tries very clearly to communicate with us. I sort of get the impression that a lot of Dobermans, and other intelligent breeds, do as well. They want to get their point across. And because we've always talked so much to Elka, her comprehensive vocabulary is pretty good. I've never tried to count how many words I think she knows. I don't mean cues or commands specifically, I mean words in general.