Do you ever wonder just how much your dog actually understands? I’ve long suspected it’s far more than she lets on—and that obedience is, frankly, optional.
This week, I got proof.
Yesterday morning my mare came in missing a shoe. This is not rare. She has perfected the art of pulling them off, and my farrier—who possesses the patience of a saint—usually comes out to tack it back on. That is, if I find the shoe. If I don’t, we’re looking at a more expensive and time-consuming remake.
Naturally, the morning it happened was bitterly cold and howling with wind. I scoured the field, checking all the usual “shoe-sucking” hotspots: by the gate, on the hill, near her favorite rolling zones. Nothing. So I escalated.
I grabbed a metal detector (which tells you everything you need to know about my life) and began a second, highly disciplined grid search of the same three acres I’d already covered. Still nothing. Zero. Shoe: vanished.
The forecast promised a foot of snow and ice within 24 hours. If I didn’t find that shoe soon, it would be lost until spring—or possibly absorbed forever by the earth itself. That night at dinner, I lamented my fate and expressed serious doubts about ever seeing the stupid thing again.
At this point, my dog Sitka—who is always nearby—lifted her head as my husband laughed and said,
“Too bad you can’t teach Sitka to retrieve lost horseshoes. Now that would be a useful trick.”
The next morning, with a major storm looming, I headed out to feed horses and prep the barn. From inside, I heard Sitka barking nonstop on the back deck. I assumed she’d decided warmth was preferable to farm labor and had abandoned me for the fireside.
When I went back into the house, we discovered Sitka had dropped the missing horseshoe neatly by the door.
Coincidence? Maybe. Perhaps it smelled interesting. Or perhaps—just perhaps—she’d been listening the whole time and decided to help.
I’ll never know. But she received enthusiastic praise, multiple treats, and a permanent promotion to Most Useful Creature on the Farm.
And I’ll never again underestimate what my dog understands—especially when there’s a problem to solve and snacks on the line. 🐾
