I Just don't Know
I just don't know. Dog trainers with years of experience keep telling me that dogs do not think as we humans do. That is a good thing in most cases. When I think of some of the things my dogs have done in the past and when I hear tales of some behaviors dogs have recently performed I have to believe they really do think like humans.
Maybe living closer to their people now than in past years when they dwelt in the doghouse, hearing so many words and watching more closely human actions, they are absorbing some human ideas.
Every day I hear about a dog performing some amazing feat that he was definitely not taught to do. Actions that require thinking, often a more than one step procedure and even in a few cases, advance planning.
We have all heard about dogs who associate their leash with going for a walk. We even know dogs who will go get their leash and bring it to their person when they want to go for a walk. My son's Boxer took it one step beyond last week. Sean was involved in a project. Laz felt it was time for a walk break. He brought his harness to Sean, who advised him that he would have to wait a bit. Laz waited a bit. Then deciding the wait was becoming too long, Laz picked up his harness and went out the door---carrying it next door where he approached the neighbor and clearly indicated that Jerry should put the harness on LAz
and take him for a walk. Sean and Jerry are still scratching their heads over that one as Sean had never sent Laz to Jerry to be walked.
My Whippet, Tildie, was an attention seeking pup. She loved to snuggle. My husband, Bob had a big red floor pillow which he liked to lie on when watching TV. Tildie would try to get on the cushion
with Bob. Shoving her long nose beneath his arm, nudging his hand,
pawing at his chest. All to no avail, as Bob did not want a dog usurping his space. One day I got home before Bob did. When I went into the livingroom, there was Bob's pillow in the center of the floor as always. And right in the center of the pillow sat a large brown dog poop--carefully centered and balanced-- nothing else disturbed.
No question in my mind but that Tildie had considered what was the most offensive thing she could do to "get even". Luckily for her I had arrived home first and Bob never knew of the desecration of his floor pillow.
Then just a few days ago I heard from my other son, Brian, a story about his French Bulldog, Jazzi, that I find simply astounding.
Jazzi sleeps in bed with Brian and his wife. She is housebroken-never has an accident. One night recently they awoke when the dog hopped up on the bed. She had apparently been off for a short time while they slept, but she had returned and snuggled back between them. When Brian woke the next morning, Jazzi was still in the bed. As he moved toward the door he saw a small dog poop right in the doorway. But most of amazing of all was --beside the poop, lying right next to it, lay a stuffed toy dog belonging to Brian's wife which Jazzi had never touched before. She had obviously retrieved the toy from the dresser where it lay and carefully placed it next to her BM. Was she hoping they would think the toy dog was the transgressor?
I have found that animals, not just dogs, seem to either be far more intelligent than once thought, or capable of learning immense amounts
just from being around us, observing us and being talked to. No question but what the animal who is talked to appears "smarter". I
think the possibility was there all the time. We have only scratched the surface of animal capability in this area.
I am writing a book at the moment about Woodrow, who was a com- mon ordinary woodchuck who came to live with me as an infant.
To me woodchucks were simply fat, rather dull eating machines.
When Woodrow was welcomed into the house to live with a dog and two cats, his learning capability was astonishing. Was he mimicking the actions of his feline housemates? Was he actually responding to human words? I just don't know.
Maybe living closer to their people now than in past years when they dwelt in the doghouse, hearing so many words and watching more closely human actions, they are absorbing some human ideas.
Every day I hear about a dog performing some amazing feat that he was definitely not taught to do. Actions that require thinking, often a more than one step procedure and even in a few cases, advance planning.
We have all heard about dogs who associate their leash with going for a walk. We even know dogs who will go get their leash and bring it to their person when they want to go for a walk. My son's Boxer took it one step beyond last week. Sean was involved in a project. Laz felt it was time for a walk break. He brought his harness to Sean, who advised him that he would have to wait a bit. Laz waited a bit. Then deciding the wait was becoming too long, Laz picked up his harness and went out the door---carrying it next door where he approached the neighbor and clearly indicated that Jerry should put the harness on LAz
and take him for a walk. Sean and Jerry are still scratching their heads over that one as Sean had never sent Laz to Jerry to be walked.
My Whippet, Tildie, was an attention seeking pup. She loved to snuggle. My husband, Bob had a big red floor pillow which he liked to lie on when watching TV. Tildie would try to get on the cushion
with Bob. Shoving her long nose beneath his arm, nudging his hand,
pawing at his chest. All to no avail, as Bob did not want a dog usurping his space. One day I got home before Bob did. When I went into the livingroom, there was Bob's pillow in the center of the floor as always. And right in the center of the pillow sat a large brown dog poop--carefully centered and balanced-- nothing else disturbed.
No question in my mind but that Tildie had considered what was the most offensive thing she could do to "get even". Luckily for her I had arrived home first and Bob never knew of the desecration of his floor pillow.
Then just a few days ago I heard from my other son, Brian, a story about his French Bulldog, Jazzi, that I find simply astounding.
Jazzi sleeps in bed with Brian and his wife. She is housebroken-never has an accident. One night recently they awoke when the dog hopped up on the bed. She had apparently been off for a short time while they slept, but she had returned and snuggled back between them. When Brian woke the next morning, Jazzi was still in the bed. As he moved toward the door he saw a small dog poop right in the doorway. But most of amazing of all was --beside the poop, lying right next to it, lay a stuffed toy dog belonging to Brian's wife which Jazzi had never touched before. She had obviously retrieved the toy from the dresser where it lay and carefully placed it next to her BM. Was she hoping they would think the toy dog was the transgressor?
I have found that animals, not just dogs, seem to either be far more intelligent than once thought, or capable of learning immense amounts
just from being around us, observing us and being talked to. No question but what the animal who is talked to appears "smarter". I
think the possibility was there all the time. We have only scratched the surface of animal capability in this area.
I am writing a book at the moment about Woodrow, who was a com- mon ordinary woodchuck who came to live with me as an infant.
To me woodchucks were simply fat, rather dull eating machines.
When Woodrow was welcomed into the house to live with a dog and two cats, his learning capability was astonishing. Was he mimicking the actions of his feline housemates? Was he actually responding to human words? I just don't know.
Tell us more about Woodrow. This sounds very interesting.
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