My First Conversation with Baby Dog
Baby Dog has been getting to know her animal noises. We start off by discussing theory while reading baby books, then put the theory into practice by viewing critters in the real world. Over the course of several visits to The Little Farm, she’s learned all about cows and how they really do say “moo.” Mama Dog and Halmonie took Baby Dog out there last week, and this time she mooed back at the cows. With the Doggy Dog imitation, that makes two animal noises she can manage on her own.
Last night, I was watching Baby Dog while Mama Dog and Halmonie were busy in the kitchen or somewhere. As inevitably happens, Baby Dog crawled rapidly into her own room, eager to explore all the parts that aren’t quite babyproofed. To distract her form the hazard areas, I crawled along with her and engaged her attention with an animal noise quiz. “What’s the ducky say?” I asked, starting with a long-time favourite, because that’s just good show business. “Ducky says quack quack quack,” I answered myself. She stopped and grinned expectantly at me. “What’s the froggie say? Froggie says rrrrribbit!” She grinned hugely at that. I figured I was on a roll, so I continued with, “You know what the doggie says? Doggie says rrruffff rrruufff.” She recognised that my Doggy Dog imitation was pretty much the same as hers and grinned still wider. It was striking me suddenly, how many of these animal-sound relationships she’s learned over the last couple of months. “What the piggy say?” I asked, then gave her an untranscribable series of snuffly grunts, which made her laugh out loud. “What the kittycat say?” I asked. “Meow, meow,” I told her. It was some very realistic meowing, honed over years of cat stewardship. She’s never heard the real thing, so the realism was lost on her, but it still got a smile. I was racking my brain, trying to remember other animals she knew. Then I remembered hearing about the cow incident at the Little Farm. “What’s the cow say?” I asked.
“Moo,” Baby Dog replied.
I stopped, stunned. Then it was my turn to laugh. “That’s right!” I told her. “The cow says moo! Good girl!” She gave me her biggest grin yet.
I’ve said since the day she was born that I really looked forward to the time when I could have a conversation with her. Well, it seems that day has finally come. It was kind of limited in scope and not really that ambitious in import. But there you have it. That was my first conversation with Baby Dog.
Last night, I was watching Baby Dog while Mama Dog and Halmonie were busy in the kitchen or somewhere. As inevitably happens, Baby Dog crawled rapidly into her own room, eager to explore all the parts that aren’t quite babyproofed. To distract her form the hazard areas, I crawled along with her and engaged her attention with an animal noise quiz. “What’s the ducky say?” I asked, starting with a long-time favourite, because that’s just good show business. “Ducky says quack quack quack,” I answered myself. She stopped and grinned expectantly at me. “What’s the froggie say? Froggie says rrrrribbit!” She grinned hugely at that. I figured I was on a roll, so I continued with, “You know what the doggie says? Doggie says rrruffff rrruufff.” She recognised that my Doggy Dog imitation was pretty much the same as hers and grinned still wider. It was striking me suddenly, how many of these animal-sound relationships she’s learned over the last couple of months. “What the piggy say?” I asked, then gave her an untranscribable series of snuffly grunts, which made her laugh out loud. “What the kittycat say?” I asked. “Meow, meow,” I told her. It was some very realistic meowing, honed over years of cat stewardship. She’s never heard the real thing, so the realism was lost on her, but it still got a smile. I was racking my brain, trying to remember other animals she knew. Then I remembered hearing about the cow incident at the Little Farm. “What’s the cow say?” I asked.
“Moo,” Baby Dog replied.
I stopped, stunned. Then it was my turn to laugh. “That’s right!” I told her. “The cow says moo! Good girl!” She gave me her biggest grin yet.
I’ve said since the day she was born that I really looked forward to the time when I could have a conversation with her. Well, it seems that day has finally come. It was kind of limited in scope and not really that ambitious in import. But there you have it. That was my first conversation with Baby Dog.
posted by PapaDogDuvalier | 10:32 PM
2 Comments:
Wow! We also play this game, and you can add to your repertoire snake (ssss), bee (bzzz), mouse (squeak), horse (neigh)....well, I'm sure you can think of them on your own! One noise we always find challenging: the old elephant. And why do amimal books always feature bunnies? Can't exactly do them noises, can you?
What does the turtle say? The lizard? The squirrel?
Next, we can teach Baby Dog about the kinds of meat that come from various animals:
Papa Dog: What kind of meat is the moo cow?
Baby Dog: Beef!
What meat is the piggy?
Baby Dog: Pork! Bacon! Pancetta!
What is the baby cow?
Veal!
Und so weiter.
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