Tag Archives: Love

Our Dog Understands Everything We Say and Here Is How I Know

He listens to our conversations!

Our most handsome Chewy — photo by the author

A Little about Chewy

We have a dog. He is a mix between a Chihuahua and a Dachshund, a Chiweenie they call them. His name is Chewy, and he is 9 years old. He was the runt of the pack and has been with us since he was 5-weeks old. For us, he is family, and we treat him like so. Chewy is a smart little guy, and he understands what we talk about. It happened on more than one occasion and here is my proof.

What Not to Say at Home

At least once a week, my family and I enjoy an ice cream treat from the Twistee Treat nearby. Chewy enjoys it, too. Every time we take him along with us, he gets a free pup cup. Unfortunately, we cannot say the name at home because he whines loudly for us to take him. The prohibited words are ice cream, helado, mantecado (we’re bilingual so he understands both English and Spanish), that cold thing, the frozen thing — he associates these words with the delicious sweet treat from Twisty Treat. Therefore, when we consider having ice cream, we dance around the words with either spelling or other related things if we don’t want him to ride along. Of course, we always bring him a pup cup, anyway.

He Is a Nosy Little Guy Too

One night, my son and I wandered outside to take Chewy to do his business before heading to bed. It was a beautiful, clear, starry night with a full moon. So bright and energetic that it caught our attention as soon as we stepped outside. My son and I commented on how beautiful the sky seemed — the glowing stars twinkling and the full moon so bright. We had spent a good 5 minutes out there, so I figured Chewy had completed his business. I searched for him in the yard but did not see him. He was standing next to me, staring at the sky, too.

I thought it was funny that he was staring at the sky and said to him,

“Hey, why are you listening to our conversation?” I said once I got his attention. “Do your business since that is what you came out here to do.”

He then walked towards the grass and did his business.

My son and I stared at each other while laughing. It was as if he really understood what we were talking about.

A Deep Conversation with Chewy

There was another incident that had me questioning myself. Chewy sleeps in our room but in his crate. I tuck him in every night. Believe it or not, he wants his covers over his entire body. Therefore, he will sit in his crate until we come to tuck him in. We never close it, and he sleeps well until about 4 or 5 a.m. when he jumps onto our bed. He snuggles between my husband and me. One night, my husband shifted from his back to his side and Chewy began growling. The shifting around in bed disturbed Chewy’s sleep, and he did not like that. We called him out on it, and he calmed down. But the next night it got worse. His growling was louder and aimed at both my husband and me. After calming him down, we went back to sleep.

The next morning, while I dressed my bed, I had a little chat with Chewy. He was sitting on the floor and stared at me as I said to him. “Good morning Chewy. We need to talk about your behavior these past two nights.”

Yes Mom, I understand — photo by the author

Pointing towards my bed, I said, “This is Dad’s and mom’s bed. This is not your bed.”

Pointing towards his crate, I continued, “That is your bed. The next time you come to my bed and begin growling, I will pick you up and lock you in your bed. So, if you want to continue sleeping with mom and dad, you must be on your best behavior. No growling. Understood?”

Of course, he did not respond and just stared at me with those beautiful puppy eyes. That night before tucking him into bed (his crate). I said to him, “Remember this morning’s conversation? If you jump on my bed and growl at us when we move, I will grab you and bring you back to your crate and lock it.” I said my goodnight, gave him a kiss and tucked him in.


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That night, I heard him, as usual, shake off the covers. Then he jumped on our bed and accommodated himself. When my husband shifted around in bed, I waited for Chewy’s growling, but he did not growl.

“Hm, maybe he didn’t feel it,” I thought, so I shifted around and heard nothing. Not a peep came from Chewy. I placed my hand on him to make sure he was okay. He raised his head but did not make a sound.

It has been about three weeks since this incident. So far, my conversation with Chewy worked, because he has not growled at us in bed ever since. And that, my friends, is why I believe dogs understand our conversations.


Breath In, Breath Out and Stay Calm When Teaching Your Elderly Parents about Technology

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

YouTube Excitement

It’s been a challenging couple of weeks. My elderly father is in town. He is slow-paced in his ways but then again, he’s 81-years-old. Dad is quite smart and even though he is not too knowledgeable about the latest technology, once he learns, he’s unstoppable. A few months ago, he discovered YouTube. It was miraculous for him. As an avid gardener, he began researching anything and everything regarding gardening. Every time I called him, he would give me a lecture on how to fertilize this, and how to water that, and so on.

“You don’t have YouTube,” Dad would tell me.

“Dad, of course, I have access to YouTube. It is everywhere for anyone to access,” I’d respond.

“No, but in my YouTube, I learn how to care for my garden,” he’d reply.

Realizing he did not understand the YouTube concept, I opted to let it be. Dad watched the YouTube videos on his home television but claimed it was hard to navigate the keyboard on the remote. While there is a television in the bedroom he’s using, there is no extra keyboard, but I had an older laptop that was no longer in use. I asked him if he’d like to have it. His eyes gleamed with excitement as a child does. Therefore, I set up the laptop for his use and gave it to him. It thrilled him to learn to use it. 

I Need to be Patient

While sometimes it annoyed me to repeat things, it also made me realize his mind was not as sharp as before and I needed to have patience. I took a couple of breaths in and out to calm myself and patiently taught him how to navigate a laptop. I’m also aware he used my son’s expertise to master his way around the internet.

Upgrade to a Newer Phone

Just a few days ago, while we spent some time together, I noticed his old school cell phone. He told me he has had it for the past six or seven years. I asked him if he’d like to upgrade it. My son had recently upgraded his cell phone and still held on to his old iPhone XS. When he excitedly told me he would love to as long as he didn’t have to pay anything, I laughed but got to work on switching phones. He is still learning his way around the iPhone but is keen to learn and picks up quickly. 

Dad’s Emoji — Photo by the Author

Emoji Fun and Email

Today, I taught him how to create his own emoji. He laughed at it and said it did not look like him. But I could tell he was excited to use it — especially when I heard he sent his wife the emoji.

He also inquired about the E-mail address I created for him. “What is this and what is it for?” he asked.

“That’s your E-mail address Dad?” I replied.

“What does it do?” he asked.

I explained how and what the E-mail is for. I’m quite surprised he understood it so quickly.

“It’s like writing a letter and sending it, but instead of sending it through regular mail, you send it through the internet,” he responded.

“Yes Dad, that’s exactly what it is,” I said, as I looked at his gleaming eyes.

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They Taught Us

My point is, I’ve heard people complain about how their elderly parents have forgotten how to perform some basic things and they have to reteach them. While I was teaching my father how to use a laptop and an iPhone, I realized how fragile their minds are. I had patience in teaching my children, just like my parents had it with me. I remembered how Dad taught me to drive with patience and perseverance. He never scolded or gave up on me. Therefore, why can’t I have the patience to help him in his time of need? Every day he asks me something regarding his iPhone, and I learned to respond to his questions patiently and sweetly.

Therefore, never forget that possibly one day, we will all be at the other end of this journey and will need our children’s help. So be patient and nice while responding to their questions and/or teaching them about something not familiar to them, because they were patient and nice to you.