My Dog Is Smarter Than Your Dog

Sometime ago I heard a story about some hunters who were sitting around the campfire after a hard day hunting. Eventually the conversation turned to their dogs and who had the smartest one. Also sitting around the fire was an older friend who was listening intently as the guys laid it on thick.

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The first hunter started the bragging about his Irish Setter. “Take my setter,” he said, “When I send him to the store to buy eggs, he knows me so well that he refuses to accept them unless they are fresh.”

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Not to be outdone the second hunter boasted, “That’s nothing compared to what my springer can do. Why, he knows when I need more cigars and without me asking, he goes to the store to buy them, and he will not accept any that are not my favorite brand even when the clerk tries to confuse him with inferior cigars. And not only that, he  wouldn’t  smoke any of them until he gets home, and I offer him one.”

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The older friend sat listening intently, but saying nothing, as the others talked up their dogs. Finally, one of the hunters turned to him and asked, “Have you ever heard about any dogs as smart as ours?” 

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The man thought for a moment and then responded, “just one—my brother’s dog. I think he may be a little bit smarter than either of your dogs.”

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Both hunters were surprised by this answer and simultaneously they asked, “How?”

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 “Well,” replied the man, “he runs the store where your dogs shop.”

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This fun story reminds me of parents who proud of their children's accomplishments, and enjoy talking about them, maybe even to the point of bragging. One parent may start the process by saying something like, “My three-year-old son can pitch a baseball fifteen feet from the plate and it will be a strike seventy percent of the time!”

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The next dad starts thinking about his boy and bursts out with, “Oh, yeah!” My two-year-old son can shoot six out of ten free throws on a four-foot basketball standard from ten feet away!”

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Not to be out done, a third father might promptly brag that his four-year-old son can spit into a tuna fish can ten feet away two out of three times.

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It’s not just fathers who engage in braggadocio behavior. I have heard mothers do the same thing. “My baby was potty trained by her sixth month birthday.” “My eight-year-old daughter was invited to dance in the City’s annual Nutcracker production. My fifth grade daughter was the lead singer in the school’s holiday play and her teacher told me that she did the best job of any student she has ever had.” 

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As parents it’s natural to want to share our children’s achievements with others and our children like to hear positive strokes from their parents.

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Thinking about this reminds me of a Sunday dinner conversation that our family had after a church meeting when I was a young teenage boy. It had been an open forum meeting, and a man had made his way to the podium and spent several minutes speaking in a boastful way about his children and how perfect they were. Other parents, presumably not wanting to be outdone, followed suit. And before long the meeting was taken over by parents boasting about their children.

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At the dinner table that afternoon, Mom asked Dad why he never talked that way about his kids. Dad’s comment has remained with me ever since. He explained that he didn’t want to put his children under extra pressure because of comparisons or expectations we may or may not be able to live up to. Day in and day out he simply built up our confidence by treating us in a way that let us know he respected us, recognized our unique talents, and was proud of how we were growing and developing.

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In reality what difference does it make if our child sings better than someone else’s child, or throws a baseball beyond their age level, or is potty trained before everyone else’s child? What is important is for our children to know that we love them and are proud of their efforts and support them.

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As parents we can get so carried away with what we brag about that it can be nearly as funny as the story of the smartest dog above. Are we helping or hurting our children? Let’s think about it!