Steve Dale, of Steve Dale's Pet World, shared a truly great article last week. "Dogs and People- an Integral Connection" is about how dogs communicate with us. He says dogs don't just listen, they watch.
I can tell you that I spend a fair amount of time watching my dogs. I love trying to figure out what they're saying to each other (what does that nose nudge mean? why is Emily following Olive today when Olive usually is the one following Emily? and how does Emily get Chester to come and poke my elbow, when SHE wants something... obviously she thinks Chester can get my attention - and he usually does; he's my boy)... and I know there are numerous times when I'm convinced Emily wants to talk to us. Really talk.
It can be painful watching her stare at us with those big, brown eyes... and feel her need to convey her message...which we are too stupid to understand!
Dale is citing a report from Cell Press Journal Current Biology, and he mentions a reader who says that although she lost her voice for awhile, she had no trouble communicating with her dogs. I wonder if I can test that by not talking for a whole day... Prolly not.
More studies show that dogs are intent on everything we do, and it's sure that way at our house. Our dogs remind us when it's time to walk - and if we delay, they are like little kids in their many ways of distracting us from whatever we're doing that is impeding their walk! Interestingly, though, Emily has learned the certain ways I approach her, "Can we walk now?" question, mean specific things.
If I nod and pet her, while saying, "Yes, in just a minute," she will go wait by the door. If I turn quickly away from the computer and say, not nicely sometimes, I'm sorry to admit, "I can't do it now, Emily, I have a blog post to finish," she will sigh and slink away. She doesn't bother me too, too much - unless a LOT more time goes by before we get the leashes out.
Olive is still to afraid to look right at us, but she's practicing. She must pay lots of attention to body language, even more than she pays to our tone of voice. And Chester, well, he lets Emily do most of his talking!
While it's true, and Dale reminds us, dogs learn throughout their lives - they learn what we like and what we don't, they learn how to make us laugh and that when we're angry, they should avoid us; I also think those of us who pay attention, learn from them. It's a great world to live in that shares these kinds of interesting challenges.
p.s. the cat doesn't seem to take a lot of time trying to understand us but she clearly wants us to understand her! and, she watches the dogs more than she watches us - you know, with that, "What ARE they doing now?"
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