Do You Know What Your Dog is Thinking?
It is human instinct to attempt analysis of our pets’ thoughts. Many people truly believe that they have their dog figured out. But are our antrhopomorphic assessments of canine behavior accurate?
My years as a vet have caused me to suspect that some people have no idea whatsoever how their pet’s mind works. Consider the following true story.
A gentleman brought his dog to see me. The dog had urinated inside the house the previous day. The man thought he knew why.
Earlier on the day of the incident, the man had caught the dog sleeping on the sofa. The man believed that the dog knew the sofa was of limits. The dog therefore became embarrassed and responded later by urinating on the floor.
This made no sense to me on the face of things. Why would a dog respond to embarrassment by soiling the house?
Furthermore, as the man was telling me this story, the dog was busily grooming his hind end. Is an animal that will lick its anus in front of a complete stranger capable of feeling embarrassed? I didn’t think so, and I said as much to the owner. He was shocked, and I had no come back for his retort:
“Well doc, he may lick his butt here in the room, but, see, he knows he’s not allowed on the sofa, so he got embarrassed!”
A recent issue of Time contained a fascinating article on canine thought. I was riveted as I read it. The article discusses attempts by researchers to learn more about how the dog mind truly works. It also discusses the evolution of dogs and a fascinating experiment in Siberia in which foxes have been bred to be remarkably similar to dogs over 40 generations.
But I was most interested in the article’s revelations on canine thought. Here are some quotes.
Trying to plumb the canine mind is a favorite pastime of dog owners. “Everyone feels like an expert on their dog,” says Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist at Barnard College and author of the new book Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. But scientists had carried out few studies to test those beliefs–until now.
The first rule for scientists studying dogs is, Don’t trust your hunches. Just because a dog looks as if it can count or understand words doesn’t mean it can. “We say to owners, Look, you may have intuitions about your dog that are valuable,” says Hauser. “But they might be wrong.”
We’ve all seen guilty dogs slinking away with lowered tails, for example. Horowitz wondered if they behave this way because they truly recognize they’ve done something wrong, so she devised an experiment. First she observed how dogs behaved when they did something they weren’t supposed to do and were scolded by their owners. Then she tricked the owners into believing the dogs had misbehaved when they hadn’t. When the humans scolded the dogs, the dogs were just as likely to look guilty, even though they were innocent of any misbehavior. What’s at play here, she concluded, is not some inner sense of right and wrong but a learned ability to act submissive when an owner gets angry. “It’s a white-flag response,” Horowitz says.
While this kind of manipulation may be unsettling to us, it reveals how carefully dogs pay attention to humans and learn from what they observe.
It turns out that dogs may not feel guilt. The question of embarrassment, however, is still open.
Photo: Duke has nothing to feel guilty or embarrassed about.
You have questions. 
BOL!! My old dog Boots learned to slink from the room when he passed gas. We used to say, “Oh, Boots, did you FART?” when he did, and eventually we didn’t even have to say a word. Was he embarrassed? Not likely; he just learned to associate our disapproving tone with the emissions he made! It was hilarious, though!
My husband and I talk for Daisy but we really have no clue what she is actually thinking or if she actually feels embarrassed by a situation. BOL!!
I have a male and female dachshund.. I am glad neither of them can talk.. The male would always be saying “Oh you are so beautiful and I love you so much” and saying he is sorry all the time for things he hasn’t even done. The female is very prissy and self centered. She would constantly be telling me I have to cater to her, and when she does something I tell her to do she takes her own sweet time so that I know that it is her idea she is doing it not mine.
Hello Dr. Barchas, We know that since animals cannot speak, they communicate with other aniimals with barks, chirps, grunts and/or communicate telepathetically. I thought this was an interesting concept and thought I would give it a try.
I first tried this idea with a dog located somewhere in the neighborhood who would bark non-stop all night long. The dog sounded either scared, lonely or cold. I thought why not try sending a message to the dog telepathically. In my mind I told the dog ‘it’s okay honey. I know you are cold and tired. Just lay down and go to sleep. It’s al lright.” I kept saying it over and over again for about five minutes and the dog stopped barking. I thought maybe it was luck that the dog stopped barking so I tried it again for several nights. It worked each time. I thought Humm, well maybe I’m on to something!
Out of curiosity, I tried to make my own dog stop barking one night, as he would get on barking binges because all the dogs in the neighborhood were barking too. I thought my message to him rather than yelling to him outside. He became quiet.
I have even tried this telepathic communication by sending a message to my own dog to tell the lonely neighborhood dog to stop barking. Several times my dog has barked once or twice and the neighborhood dog stops barking.
My current dog is unusually intelligent and has been since he was about six weeks old. At a family gathering, he would look a right at the person talking, then he would turn his eyes toward the next person talking. He did this constantly the entire evening. Everyone remarked how strange that a young puppy was doing that. Even to this day, he will look into my eyes to interpret what I am saying. If my husband and I are trying to entice him with a treat, my dog will look deeply into our eyes to discover which one has the treat.
Patty,
Here’s hoping your method really works, as I’m going to start telling my Wesh Corgi that we will qualify when we go to our first agility trial in a couple of weeks.
Actually, I think that dogs can read us much better than we can read dogs. When I’m talking to him he looks at me like ‘I sure wish I knew what this lady wants — why can’t she communicate?”.
Why do humans insist on trying to make their canines more human..? Just accept that they are dogs – there is no reason why they do or do not do things – they are behaving dog-like…!
Better question yet is “Can your Dog Read Your Mind”. I often think that mine can. We are so in sync with each other.
Dogs are the masters of body language. They pay attention to your every move, even when it seems like they aren’t. Ever wonder why you roll over in the morning and the dog is staring at you? He knew you were waking up before you did! BOL! Seriously though, it is the ability to read our body language, not our minds, that has made them such perfect companions to humans.
I too have Dachshunds, Jan. Four of them. The male certainly likes “making up to me”, but his grandmother is nearly as bad. Dachshunds are naturally stubborn by nature (they have to be to do the job they were designed for) and this can make them a little more effort to train, but they are very intelligent and are eager to please so they soon learn. I’m sure mine have more idea what’s going on in my mind than I have of what they’re thinking, simply because dogs are excellent at reading body language. Boots’s behaviour reminds me of our first Dachshund, a male. Except the boot was on the other paw, so to speak. If he was sitting on your knee and you passed wind you got a dirty look before he left in disgust–only to come back the moment the air had cleared!
I don’t know where these articles come from but I know that my 13 year old twin labs and my 5 years aussie shepherd understand everything I say as well as sign language since the older ones are deaf they need to read the signals yelling doesn’t work! I truly believe that even though it may be a learned command or repetative comment and your voice is the same they truly understand the differences from your dinner is ready and time for bed, I use regular dialogue with my threesome and I know they get it the littlest one is sassy and will bark back if its a command he doesn’t like or my pitch changes!
I cannot say one way or another. Let me just use this example and you can form your own opinion.
My dog Sam used to keep a blanket in the hall where he liked to lay. One day I heard him licking and licking and licking. Curious, I got up to take a look. I thought he may have had an insect bite, which he would get on occasion. I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t infected. Fortunately for everyone, Sam never complains about anything like bites and not even immunization injections. He acts like he doesn’t even feel them!
In any case, the moment he saw me enter the hall he slinked away from the blanket. I asked him what was wrong and he wouldn’t look at me.
I then wondered if there was something else that may have been at work there.
Buried under his blankets, keep in mind that this was hidden from view, was a bowl of chili that my child had left out on the counter. It was halfway clean now.
Why did he slink away then? I didn’t react with my hands on my hips as some do when they discover their dogs doing something wrong. I didn’t react with an angry or disappointed tone in my voice. In fact, I literally had no reaction at all, except simple curiosity.
I had no idea that the bowl had even been on the counter! Much less that Sam had stealthily stolen it and hidden it as well.
So, that’s my story. Believe what you want.
I don’t feel that test was conclusive enough to prove that a dog doesn’t feel guilty.
We all have had to housebreak our dogs. Ever get up in the morning and find your dog hiding from you, with is tail under and ears pinned back? He looks guilty before you even discovered what he did wrong. Why? Because the dog knew it did wrong and felt guilty Before it saw and heard your reaction.
I have seen this type of behavior from adult dogs who were housebroken for years and had that one accident. Yet the dog knew it did wrong and tried to hide from it’s owner, looking as guilty as you can get, before the dog saw or heard any reaction from the owner to behave in that fashion.
How would they explain that type of behavior?
I often giggle when I hear scientists pontifications about what animals think and don’t think. Firstly, they, as scientists, are human. So, this is a no-brainer, how can they possibly know what animals think. Secondly, all my animals (dogs, cats, birds and the odd bat, rat etc. that I have saved) have always known they are safe with me. Feral cats and abused aggressive dogs that have never had the opportunity to observe my body language have always known that I would never hurt them and have never hurt me. I have house trained my dogs by simply asking them not to mess in the house (since all my dogs have been rescue dogs I always give them a one week respite), and have complimented my cats when they have brought me a treat (a mouse, bird etc) but them have told them to please not do it again (they do take longer to get the message). Everytime I have introduced a new animal to out family I have never worried about integration – simply because they are secure, now we love them all and no one will be ousted.
I truly believe we do not give animals the intelligence they deserve, but often give humans the intelligence they DONT deserve.
I know that dogs are a lot more aware than we give them credit for.
My dog hides behind a tree to do his poop; he does not like to be watched. He goes into the wooded area not on the lawn.
He also tries to teach our other dog to play soccer by kicking him the ball and doing a play bow to encourage him to kick it back.
I’ve seen him study a project until he figures out how to accomplish what he wants.
Every morning he decides where he wants to go by choosing either the frisbe or the yellow ball (different parks)
And boy can he frump if it is raining and he fears we are not going to the park.
He comprehension of English is fantastic and he tries to teach me “dog” by ooooing and ahing at me but I’m a slow learner when it comes to foreign languages.
Add on: Besides dogs are suppose to have the intelligence of a two year old, and two year olds know to an extent what is right and wrong, and they certanly look guilty when they do something wrong. So why not a dog too! BOL
Well Cindy, here’s so food for though:
Social animals also have a “self awareness” concept as explained in Stanley Cohen’s book “How Dog Think” (HIGHLY recommended, by the way). In other words, understanding the point of view of another creature is necessary to problem solve to your advantage (aka being sneaky). Research has been done on dogs (and children, and other primates) that tests their ability to either use trickery or observe trickery.
Another comparison is that both humans and dogs have a fascination with balls. Dogs and humans have been equally studied for the number of times they “tease” the other playmate. It is found that both humans and dogs tease about 50% of the time when playing ball with each other, and even within their own species. This means that both are “self aware” meaning they have a concept that other animals have a different point of view from their own, and therefore, you can trick them!
Another interpretation: If the dog has been scolded for every time they have been caught with food, they may have made the association of food I took myself-> human walks in room-> human scolds. So, you have actually trained your dog to apologize before you get mad.
In wild dogs, in one particular incident, it has been observed that the beta bitch had remove her own pups from the alpha’s pups during her time to babysit (the alpha bitch took all the pups and nursed them herself). As she was doing so, the alpha bitch returned. The beta bitch greeted the alpha bitch in an OVERLY SUBMISSIVE GESTURE, implying that she would not have begun to separate her pups if the alpha bitch was present.
Another good read is Patricia O’Connell’s “For the Love of a Dog” which addresses these key issues about emotions in other animals, and thus, how they think. She encourages us all to observe our animals’ behaviors scientifically to learn more about them and ourselves.
Let me make a clarification: If your dog knocks cookies on the floor and eats them while you are gone, they aren’t worried about how it will get them in trouble. It’s when you return and you react to the cookie jar on the floor, the dog thinks he is being scolded for the cookie jar on the floor, not for knocking the cookie jar on the floor.
If your dog has been scolded for a bowl on the floor before, chances are he has the association that he will get in trouble if a bowl in on the floor. If you put it there yourself, he may still offer an apology, even though he didn’t do it.
I have a kitten, cat, and a chow. All males. Precious, Noah and Fluffy, the “brothers” have their own language between them. One day while giving first Precious then Noah their bathes in their vanilla-coconut shampoo, I noticed Fluffy went running and tried to hideout under the carved bench in the front room. At first I thought Fluffy had upset Noah while he was grooming then I figured it out! Noah was trying to sing to Fluffy one of those songs my twin teens play all the time “It’s going down, meet me in the tub”. LOL
Well, I have a border collie… need I say more? She knows what is going to happen in the day or night by what clothes I wear. she knows what jacket is the “walking” jacket, she knows what p.j.’s are for, and so on. I KNOW she knows what I think, and I know what she knows. We comunicate very well. She always has eye contact with me also. We all love our canines, and that is a good thing, I love animals and would love to have more. People who love their pets are wonderful people.
I had a Coton de Tulear who used to love to sleep at the bottom of my bed, even though he knew he was not supposed to sleep there. One night when he thought I was asleep, he hopped up on the bed and lay himself down at the bottom of the bed; About two minutes after I heard him settle in, I sat up and reached for him. He lay there VERY limp with his eyes closed and would not open them no matter what I said to him. He was pretending to be asleep! What could I do??? Yes, I started laughing, laid his little head back down on the covers and let him spend the rest of the night there thinking that he had fooled me into thinking that he was asleep. Don’t tell me dogs have no intelligence! This little coton was the most intelligent dog I have ever had!
Whatever our dogs are thinking when they look at me, I just reply with “I love you, too”. =)
Aggie, I do the same, and when she is just looking at me, I give her a big smile. And from me doing the smile thing, now I say to her, smile, and she does. It looks so cute!
Elisa, I would have done the very same thing! Those loving critters know!!!!!
To Mary… yes, I hear you. I have an Aussie… need I say more? :) To take it a little further, she knows WHERE we’re going for a walk, based on accessories… cow bell and bear spray means a romp in the forest (her favorite), doggy backpack means geocaching, floating kong means fun at the beach, bum bag means a boring training walk around town, but $ in the bum bag means a trip to the coffee shop. So yesterday I snuck some $ and poop bags into my pocket without her seeing, put on her cowbell, grabbed the bear spay, and set off to meet friends at the coffee shop. Well oh my… when we didn’t hit the forest trails, the poor girl was beside herself. Even seeing her k-9 friends at the coffee shop (outdoors and dog friendly), did nothing to appease her. I was tempted to take her for a quick walk in the forest on the way home, but it was getting late. When we got home, she kept heading back to the front door to go out again for her forest romp. It was pretty funny.
Now I’m left wondering how she’s going to pay me back for the big tease :)
I have a 5 year old yorkie who is the perfect dog in the world to have. The only accidents inside she’s ever had is when she is when she was sick and I DO NOT fuss at her. Hey if ya gotta go…. You gotta go!!! She barks at the door to go potty. On a roadtrip she started to freak out and scratch at the windows. I didn’t know what was wrong at first because she went from sleeping into a panic!! I couldn’t pull over because the road signs said emergency stopping only and the next exit was miles ahead. I kept talking sweet to her but then I smelled dog poo. She had an accident in the truck and immediatley hid under the seat in the back. We finally took the next exit and stopped at a store. She doesn’t get fussed at for accidents but she still hid as if she was embarrassed! I felt so bad for her because I couldn’t get her to grass on time!
To Lorna – It’s not that we’re trying to make our dogs “more human”, but I don’t think you realize exactly how intelligent they really are! I think many of them are smarter than we are and understand more than we give them credit for. I certainly don’t underestimate their intelligence.
I can honestly say that I believe whole heartedly that my dog feels guilt. When I come home everyday, my dog barks and is excited to see me, unless he has been in the garbage. If he isnt at the window barking when i get home, and I walk in the door and he has his tail down and ears back and is approaching me slowly and unsure of himself, I know when I look in the kitchen that the garbage bag is all over the kitchen. Hahaha This behaviour indicates to me that he is very aware of what he has done and knows he will be in trouble.
I have a Carolina Dog who does seem to have telepathy as patty noted. I have done a lot of research on dogs because quite frankly Carolina Dogs don’t act like dogs. My C.D. , Augie, loves to ride in the car and can tell when I am going to take him. But I learned that he can tell because of my “body language” which it turns out, all canines are expert at obviously because of lack of a complete vocal language. This coupled with thier intense interest in thier human companions is something we humans can learn from them. It is what makes our canines so interesting and I have to agree with others, I think they are very much self aware. Because I have learned to address my 2 dogs language, there is no longer any unsavory behavior or messy mistakes and have not been any for many years now.
Last week, I got home from work at 9:15 in the evening, and I had been at work since 8 that morning. I didn’t make it home at lunch to let my dog out. I discovered that he had pooped and urinated on my bedroom floor. He is 6 years old, and hasn’t done that for probably 4 years, at least. I’ve gotten home late from work before, but never that late. Was it just because it was too long or was it an act of defiance?
Our lab/shepherd mix certainly loves to go for a drive in the truck with my hubby. He gets to go almost every time “daddy” goes. However, if my hubby says “I have to go to a meeting”, Jack lays down knowing he cannot go this time. My hubby does not dress or act any differently on these occassions, he just tells Jack and he knows.
I write a mystery series based on a NY city dog walker, who solves the mysteries with the help of her dog, Rudy, and the dogs she walks.
I’ve done a ton of research for the books, talked to NY city detectives, dog walkers, doorment, etc. I came to realize that my idea would work. Dogs do talk. Problem is, humans don’t listen.
I lost MY Rudy suddenly the day before the book, Houndig the Pavement, got its starred review from Publishers Weekly (a very big deal)
I know Rudy got that review for me, because he plans to be a star.
The books are light, fun, and different. Ellie can actually hear what the dogs are saying in her head, and spends a lot ot time talking back to them. There’s also a great romance in the books.
All royalties from Hounding the Pavement are goijg to Best Friends, who took 22 of Michael VIck’s (grrr) pit bulls for rehab and adoption. they are the largest no-kill shelter in the US. Dogtown, on National Geograpic station, airs their show on Friday nights.
I work for the dogs, and only the dogs,
Heir of the Dog was released today. the books are available through Amazon, Waldens, B&N, Borders, all the big chains.
Judi McCoy
Tracy… If I go a different route on our walks, Chena gets very upset, “gotta go THIS way” iy’s funny!
Bette, all I have to say to my dog, is “I’m going to the store” then she just lays under the table, she knows she can’t come with me. Sometimes I walk to the store, (mini mart) and I take her in with me, she gets very nervous, cuz, that’s not what a leash is for!
Have a woof of a day!!!!
I am disabled and have a service dog. He can start alerting me up to 2 hours before a seizure comes. He will alert and take me out of environments that could cause a seizure. He has been trained to respond during a seizure, but training them to alert…. well… lets just say you and you dog have to be very in tune with each other. He has the ability to look in my eyes and with just a expression. I know just what he has seen and if alerting will follow.
Do my dogs know when they have done something wrong? You bet they do! Do they get embarrassed, NO. In a pack setting, when a member is chastised by the Alpha Dog, the reaction is to void in order to show submission. The chasitzed dog fears being ostrasized by the pack as that would inevitable lead to it;s demise.
Do dogs understand us? Much better then we do ourselves. I had a beautiful Black GReyhound named Molly who was diagnozed with AIHA. Since her bone marrow could not regenreate red bllod cells qucikly, her anemia was life threatening. While I tried to keep an austere demeanor in her presence, she knew that my heart was breaking and this affected her. The vet told me to try and maintain composure but that is difficult when your dog is dying slowly in front of your eyes.
Today, I know that my dogs can sense my moods, feelings etc even if I do not show them. After a particularly bad day, I sat on the sofa to relax. Before I knew it, Buck was on my lap wanting to be petted, Colby, Shiloh and Lou were giving out kisses and Brandi brought out her toys. Needless to say, my rain cloud disappeared and all member of my pack were happy.
My 4 yr old Airedale, King of Terriers, is named Gen. Neyland. A
friend of our military family; from the puppy stage, I taught him to
say, Good Morn, Sir, yes, Sir & Shake, while i salute him … he has
come to expect that respect & if i am in a hurry & forget, he nudges me: as if to say “u didn’t Salute Me! & where’s my am cookie?” This
is my 2nd Airedale; very intelliegent breed; great guard & protectors;
love children, but as wilth all terriers, will test owners Alpha position.
Since I am widowed and it’s just “us 2″ he is very in tune with my
moods, health issues & knows EXACTLY when it’s time to go to
Grandma’s & r-u-n r-u-n on the 10 acres; he looks at a rainy day as
an intrusion on his play, exercise, fun time – sits with nose on window sill, as if to say” oh,no-not MORE rain!” He talks to me in
his own way all day & knows when I say “be right back”. I leave him for a few hrs. often; seldom more than 5-6 & he is the most
patient male i’ve ever known- canine or human! Woof Woof!
I think dogs may not feel guilt, but they know when they have done something they are not supposed to do. Just this week I came home to my dog acting strangely. He, of course, is always happy to see me, but his excitement lasted far longer than normal, which I thought odd at the time. Later I found where he had stolen some of my food and left the wrapper in the back yard. Without saying a word I showed him the bag and he looked ‘guilty.’ I felt he had tried to make up for eating my doughnut by being extra special excited to see me. I mean, I don’t remember his excitement ever lasting that long on a normal work day.
I lost my Holly on dec 16 2008 , she had heart trouble and kidney failure, Holly was a king charles cavalier , she knew it was her time to go to rainbow bridge, as i sat talking to her her eyes told me it was ok mummy , whenever we went to the vets Holly would scream all the way there , but this day she sat quietly never made a sound, Holly was deaf and we were so close that i had been able to teach her sign launguage ,
I have owned and recued several dogs over the years and while each one has had their different traits , they all quickly learned what i wanted from them, it was taught with kindness and respect , the dog i now have is a Jack Russel named Billy , he is almost two years old now and mostly my husbands dog, Billy takes no notice of him whatsoever , but respects me as a pack leader , he knows when i say no i mean no, and does as i ask, when Billy and i are alone i have no problems with him at all, he is very well behaved, but as soon as his daddy comes home he starts to play up, why , because he knows he can get away with it, if thats not intelegence then i dont know what is , rest in peace Holly
I don’t think dogs feel embarrassment at all! Our own imagination wants us to believe that dogs think like us humans…it’s all about “association” for them. They don’t necessarily understand the word “no” but they do understand our body language and voice tone that comes with saying “no”. And the same with other and many words we utter while communicating with them.
I know one thing for sure…it is easier communicating and understanding what pets say when you have “true bond” with them.
My Dogs never slink (put their heads down) and shy away. I’m not a show off I put it down to if I catch them doing something I don’t want them too I say LEAVE IT! in a loud different voice and when they do which is 99.9% of the time I then completley forget about the action and carry on as normal. But if I’m not about I go by the rule of Ignoring it. Thankfully their well behaved. But I do believe repremand on the action and truly forget about it after.
Ive come to the conclusio that dogs–or is it just my dog have a basic vocal language and a built in time clock.My Jack Russell–Paddy gets A treat of milk in the evening.The time is always 9:00pm simply because Paddy can be sleeping on the old lounge & as soon as it is 9:00 he will get up and go to his human Dad—Alan will give him a signal to jump over his his legs.Paddy does this easily but after about the 5th time he protests with a arr arrh arrh type bark that means come on Ive done this trick enough times —wheres the milk! After the milk its straight back onto the lounge–he stares at me licking his lips & noddiing with approval.I think dogs are like young children inthe way they respond to routine & consistency.PS –Paddy will sing along with me( perhaps in disapproval) to 1 song in particular also howls when the phone rings.
Just another funny about my Chena…. If I say, “should mama sing?” she runs as fast as she can and goes under my bed!!!! But, if I say..”should we play “pretty music” she goes and lays on her cot, which is right under the cd player. needless to sy, I can’t sing!!!! LOL!!!!
I know Milo is thinking of a cheese quesadilla I’m eating, he could be holding a neon sign and the message couldn’t be clearer. :-)
I’ve been using that as his newest training treat and I’ve discovered the treat to make him walk on water.
I have a dog nephew that we play fetch with and he definately shows pride and glee when he makes great catches but when he wipes out and misses and someone laughs at him he reacts in a way that totally looks embarassed and shifty and he immediately tries to make up for it but if someone keeps laughing he seems put out and down. Maybe he isn’t thinking like that but the actions seems so obvious.
I always think that i know what my dog is thinking, but i guess not. Alot of times i’m pretty sure that he knows what we are saying. If we say “oh are you hungry, are you!!!??” Charlie(my dog, hes an english pointer) will grone and wait by his bowl, so that we feed him right away.
I always know what Sophie Bean is thinking…Fed me, rub my belly, Fed me, rub my belly, Fed me, rub my belly, Fed me, rub my belly, Fed me more, rub my belly, Hey! Why are you not rubbing my belly!
This is the most interesting collection of comments. Aren’t our dogs fascinating? Don’t people often underestimate them? Don’t we share an amazing bond of love? I remember reading that dogs and humans evolved together and that dogs taught us as much as we taught them!
I totaly agree, I could go on forever about my dog, and listening to others about theirs. Sure beats the news on t.v.!!!!!
There’s only one thing my dog thinks! GIVE ME FOOOOD!!!!
To Mandy: I also taught sign language (actually commands using my hands) to my dog in case he ever got deaf. He knows how to sit, lay down roll over, jump up, and stay.
To Terry: I hope your attemps at telepathy work for you on the agility training too!
To Brilarcrest: I’ll have to inquire about that book, “How Dogs Think.” It should be very interested to read.
To Stod: I never heard of a ‘Carolina Dog.’ I’ll have to research the breed which appears to be in the wild dog family, i.e. Austrialian Dingoes.
I thought the discussion was about dog’s slinking and embbaserment not what regulates dogs? Dog’s are creatures of habit much like our selves. But humans get embarresed but do DOG’S?
This is a really interesting article and I am curious if anyone has read Alexandra Horowitz’s book?
Patty– I am going to try this. A neighborhood dog never stops barking and this could be pretty cool to see if it is a freaky coincidence or not. Neat theory! :)
Personally, I think that dogs do feel emotions. Not necessarily the emotions we imagine them feeling or at the time we imagine them to be feeling those emotions, but nonetheless I think they have feelings. Even if it is responding to angry voices and becoming submissive, I still consider that a type of feeling. And who says that their dogs don’t appear sad when a family member moves out? My dog always stares out of the window whenever someone leaves after dinnertime until they come back. The rest of the day she doesn’t care :P. Maybe this means nothing, but to me it does. Perhaps I’m just projecting my emotions over her…
Yes, dogs do know and pick up on commands before you even say them. Barbara Woodhouse, who was one of the greatest dog trainers of all time, said so herself, and I have noticed it often with Angel. I’ll be saying “Stay,” but I’ll be thinking, now I’m going to say “Come,” and she will come! It’s taught me to be more careful about what I think.
Patty I loved your comment!