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I'd like to add, the difference between dogs kept isolated outside, and dogs that live inside treated as part of the family, is always noticable.
My dog knows my name, several of my friends names, my kittys name, knows the name of his toys, knows the meaning of many common words (like 'park', 'walk', 'vet', etc) , and can respond to comments from humans that he has never even been trained to understand, all because he is learning by living with us. A dog stuck outside wouldn't have that opportunity. And this isn't some expensive purebred dog bred for high intelligence. He's a mutt from the shelter. He's probably on the lower end of the spectrum of natural intelligence for a dog. But he's been raised right.
Imagine a human child raised by wolves. Then imagine the same child raised by wealthy loving human parents. Then apply that concept to a puppy.
He is also wonderful at alerting us when someone comes near the door or windows. He barks and growls like he's possessed by the devil and is convincingly scary. He does it because he's loyal and doesn't want anyone hurting us. But as soon as we say it's ok, he's grinning and happy to meet whoever it is. We didn't teach him this. It's a benefit of being treated as part of the pack. What's a dog stuck in the backyard going to do? Guard the grass?
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