MY RUSSIAN BEAR:

As I watched Bear, my English cocker spaniel, digging again like an obsessed badger, I got thinking about his being 5 years old and still not really trainable. It's like he speaks a different language. I know dogs don't speak, but you'd think after all these years he'd at least understand "No!"

"No, Bear, don't dig on my trail... You are digging my path up. Go get a stick." He does seem to understand, "...Stick!" and will usually stop digging unless digging up a stick, find one, and go back to being the leader on the trail proudly carrying his prized possession of the latest stick.

I was reminded about the dumb blonde who said she couldn't adopt a Russian orphan because she wouldn't be able to understand him once he began to talk. I thought to myself, "Maybe some animals are like that blonde thought... just speak a different language no matter how long you try to get them to understand your words."

...I can see him starting his obsessive digging again.

"Hey, Bear... NYET!"