Farley here.

So this week my human is reading The Genius Of Dogs: How Dogs are smarter than you think.

Well I could have told her that. Kristina keeps reading me tidbits that I already know.

Here’s what I do when I need to tell her something:

• Tap on floor with my nails during the night if I need out. That seems to wake her up, but not my male human though. He sleeps through everything. If she won’t wake up I breathe in her face. First time I did that she seemed a bit startled. Humans don’t like to be woken up with someone breathing in their face I guess.
• Whack my water boil against sliding glass door when I need water. Seems to really get her going at 3am.
• Stare at cupboard, then at Kristina, then at cupboard where my treats are kept. She knows this means she should open the door and hand me a treat.
• Give her my most intense stare when I’m hungry. I can even do this in a run by stare and she knows it’s my “feed me stare.”
• Press the top of my head on the sliding glass door when I need outside quickly (if there’s an emergency – I don’t like to throw up inside.). Kristina wants me to bark in this case, but that’s too undignified for me. I’m not a barky kinda guy.

I can even ask Kristina questions with just a look.

When we’re hiking, if I come to a place on the trail where I have to make a choice on direction, I look back at Kristina and she points, telling me where to go. I’m a big eye contact guy, but I do know words too.

If we come across strangers, I glance at Kristina. If she waves away from the people, I don’t approach them. If she says “okay” I run and greet them.

Kristina says her last dog was more word oriented, and that I do better with hand signals. Whatever . . . I’m still a genius.

How do you communicate with your humans?

Woof Woof.