Dogs and kids are not the same thing

After a few years of getting excited when our dog Wesley would respond to cries of 'where's your toy' by actually getting it, which is pretty smart for a dog, it's difficult to not do the same for Rosemary. And it is pretty cool to say 'where's your kangaroo' or 'where's your teddy' or 'where's your nose' and have her fetch them (unless she fetches your nose, which hurts). But it shouldn't be as surprising for her to do this because HE IS A DOG and SHE IS A HUMAN BEING. I have to keep reminding myself that it's not a sign of genius for her (although, y'know, doing it at an early age is good) to be able to process language, recognise me or walk on two feet any more than it's a sign of genius for Wesley to catch a ball, bark loudly at ghosts or catch food dropped from the table before it hits the ground. Praising someone too much for doing easy things isn't a good idea in the end.