The other night, Rockwell was sitting between the couch and the coffee table, as is his wont. After a while, he put his paw up on my knee, probably to get my attention. I took his paw and shook it like a hand in greeting and then put it back on the floor. He lifted it up again but this time, I high-fived him as the paw was coming up. And I said “high five!” in a “yay we’re having fun” kind of voice. We sat there for a moment, the pads of our fingers touching, and then his paw slipped off my hand. Again, he lifted his paw up and I high-fived him, saying “high five!”. I swear, I could actually see the thought bubble grow out of the top of his head. We did this several more times and I could SEE him thinking. I imagined the thought bubble, like a cartoon above his head. As we worked on the trick however, that thought bubble stayed empty. It was the funniest thing but for all that he was think-think-thinking (as Pooh did) about what was going on, he didn’t make the connection.

I was just playing “fetch” in the upstairs hallway (the one with carpet) and started to ask him to sit before I would throw the little Kong. I remembered about the “high five” exercise and raised my hand into position as he was sitting there in front of me. I swear, I saw the thought bubble form again! But he still didn’t get it and didn’t raise his paw up in greeting. But I have a feeling that one day, something will go “click” - I may even hear the sound - and he will know how to high five me after that.