A friend of mine told me today she enjoys my blog postings about Toby the Puppy and suggested that I’ve been a bit remiss in writing about our pooch.

So, for my friend, this one’s for you.

Toby’s vocabulary has expanded tremendously in the nearly three years he has been a member of our family. I’ve told you already how he knows many words and responds appropriately when he hears them; we have been forced to spell many words in his presence, but he’s now learning how to spell.

Soon, my wife and I will need to start learning to speak in code. I might need to take classes on cryptology. Maybe we’ll become 21st-century code talkers, like the Navajo men who befuddled the Japanese during World War II by speaking to each other over the radio; the enemy couldn’t decipher the Navajo language.

But here’s the latest learned behavior I want to share with you: Toby now responds to the words “It’s ready!” when we’re cooking dinner.

Whether it’s my wife or me in the kitchen, we usually tell each other “It’s ready!” when dinner is about to be served. What does Toby do when he hears those words? He scampers from wherever he is at the moment to a spot in the corner of our dining room; in that corner is a fluffy little doggy bed where he lies down while my wife and I are eating our meal.

He knows that’s where he belongs when we’re eating. We don’t like him begging at the table. So we’ve instructed him to directly to “bed!” when we sit down.

Our puppy now has advanced that knowledge to the next level. He exhibits it when we tell each other that dinner is ready.

This pooch’s knowledge is amazing in the extreme. We’re still fairly new dog parents. Our many years together have included for almost all of that time — nearly 46 years — a collection of kitties. You know as well as I know that kitties generally cannot be controlled. They control you, if you get my drift.

Our puppy has brought an entirely new element to our lives as pet parents. He’s pretty damn smart, so help me!