What do dogs think about?

We've been pondering that question lately. Of course, the obvious answer is that they think about food, play, and their responsibility to sniff everything in sight. But lately we've been noticing a certain fascination, might we call it - obsession - that our dog Leaf has with ducks.

When we go on our daily early-morning walk around the lake near our home in Minneapolis, Leaf shows great interest in the spring ducks. Being a cocker spaniel, he has a strong chase instinct. Oddly enough, he doesn't always strain at the leash and try to run after the ducks. Instead, he sits by the side of the lake and stares at
them with wonderment.

The other day he registered shock on his face when the ducks he was observing "ducked" down under the water and became invisible for an entire minute. He kept looking over his shoulder at us as if to ask, "Where did they go?"

We get the impression that he has many questions, like the two-year-old boy that he is, about these amazing creatures. "How can they do it all?" he seems to be asking. "They walk, swim, fly, and even disappear."

Don't bother to tell us, because we know it's silly, but Leaf's new interest in ducks has inspired us to educate him. Linda has taken to finding interesting tidbits about ducks that she can share with him. After Leaf watched the ducks digging in the moist ground following an April rainstorm the night before, she told him, "Ducks eat bugs and worms."

With an astonished look Leaf sent Linda a distinct inner communication: "No way!" (This is an expression that he must have picked up from listening to conversations on television. If he gets in trouble for sticking his nose on the living room coffee table, he also likes to say, "Busted!")

Okay, so we're nuts. We tell our dog little known facts to make his and our walks more enjoyable. No harm in it. And we are learning more about ducks than we ever wanted to know.

What fascinates your pets?