Just Like Cooties

Every child in elementary school knows about "cooties." No body ever teaches them about cooties, but every second grader knows that "EEWW, Boys have cooties" or "EEWW, Girls have cooties." Take your pick. Just like knowing about cooties, dogs know the game "Under the Couch." No one ever teaches them about it. They just know.

Rudy loves to shove a ball under the couch and then bark and whine to make Ken get down on the floor and retrieve the ball for him. Emme knows the same game. She pushes her little tennis ball under the couch and then lies there, with her head under the skirt of the couch and whines. She is small enough that she can squeeze under the couch. But that isn't the game. The game is to whine and then wait for me to lie down on the rug, reach under the couch, and get the ball for her. As soon as it is out, the game starts again. Push the ball under, whine, wait for Mary Lou to pull it out. Over and over again.