THE CASE OF THE SMALL BRAIN PAN....

I suppose with that headline you might reasonably assume that I would be talking about my own very limited intellectual capacities. But as it turns out I am referring to Max The Dog. We have been trying for months to teach him to "speak" - a sort of low growl. He can speak when he wants to - for example if he is getting scratched and we stop. Within seconds he speaks. "Grrumph". But, if we ask him to speak he looks at us with his big brown eyes- and rolls over. (His cousin-dog Sally can whisper so it is embarrassing that he can't grasp this speaking thing.) Max does have his talents - he is able to roll over - but most of the time he just gets half way and looks up at us from his back, tail thumping on the floor. He will offer his paw if you hold out your hand and say "Hello". He will sit,lay down and get in his bed on command. He will jump into the back seat of the car when we ask him to. But will he speak when asked? Not a chance.
It is because of this that I assume his brain pan is smaller than average. How big could it be when you get right down to it - his head is the size of a Nerf Football.
I discovered a Dog IQ Test on the internet and will put Max thru his paces and see how he scores. http://www.abc.net.au/animals/dog_test/
I wonder if they have MENSA for pups?