[__ Science __ ] How Smart Is The Canine Brain?

[jasonc]

Aww,.. how cute!

She always was into something .my favorite hiding under neath the sheet,waging the tail,and her nose tail and ears were noticed, she got into trouble.

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

She always was into something .my favorite hiding under neath the sheet,waging the tail,and her nose tail and ears were noticed, she got into trouble.

Hmm,.. getting into trouble. I thought that that was specifically a cat trait.

 

[jasonc]

Hmm,.. getting into trouble. I thought that that was specifically a cat trait.

Cheyenne would give me stories.one of many. She was a hoot.she could coax treats with those blue eyes.

 

[jasonc]

Man I miss that one.

 

[Razeontherock]

She always was into something .my favorite hiding under neath the sheet,waging the tail,and her nose tail and ears were noticed, she got into trouble.

See that's the thing; they'll mature to about the level of a 5 year old. This behavior is SO like a little kid!

 

[Tessa]

I'm not Dr Doolittle, I don't talk to the animals. (Although I do have a Dr Doolittle trumpet; when I practiced that one near a large sliding glass door, all sorts of animals would congregate to listen)

Neither am I the dog whisperer.

I do listen to them though, and understand their language! They make an increasing variety of sounds, as you pay attention to them for a while. They can be very expressive with their body language, too. Dogs are a lot of fun! (I'm talking about dogs here, I have no experience with wolves)

You don't talk to the animals? They love us talking to them. You can have great conversations and the animals understand us but we don't have a clue what they are saying back to us.

 

[Razeontherock]

Ok you're right, I do talk to dogs, I'm just making the point that I understand what they say better than they understand what I say. They pick up on tone of voice really well, and always know when you're talking about them with someone else.

I find they understand hand signals and body language much more intuitively than human speech. It takes some training to get them to respond consistently to voice commands.

Talking to cats, the result I get seems to be either:

1) don't care
2) see if I have food
3) stalk me to see if they're big enough to kill me. And I swear I can see the disappointment on their face when they decide they can't. And then they prowl for food, no doubt hoping to get big enough to be able to

 

[Luminous_Rose]

You can't own a wolf without a permit.Cheyenne had some wolf in her but not that much.she had a white tip tail,the short ears,and the mouth of the wolf.she would howl too

I remember going to someone's house and they had a large dog that was like part husky and part wolf. Eyes were two different colors. Gorgeous dog! He wasn't too playful with just anyone, though. Basically sat nearby and that was about it.

 

[Luminous_Rose]

Ok you're right, I do talk to dogs, I'm just making the point that I understand what they say better than they understand what I say. They pick up on tone of voice really well, and always know when you're talking about them with someone else.

I find they understand hand signals and body language much more intuitively than human speech. It takes some training to get them to respond consistently to voice commands.

Talking to cats, the result I get seems to be either:

1) don't care
2) see if I have food
3) stalk me to see if they're big enough to kill me. And I swear I can see the disappointment on their face when they decide they can't. And then they prowl for food, no doubt hoping to get big enough to be able to

I remember reading a quote:

"A dog's mind: They feed me. They must be god.

A cat's mind: They feed me. I must be god."

Lol, it feels so true. I have to say I love animals. Honestly, I am more of a cat person. I am a bit nervous around dogs.

 

[Razeontherock]

Honestly, I am more of a cat person. I am a bit nervous around dogs.

This raises a significant point. First, back to the OP:

we don't know. Canine intelligence varies, and individual behavior varies so widely as to be really amazing, as many stories here illustrate.

Now, in response to what I'm quoting here:

someone else said in a different thread that "it seems most people are either dog people or cat people." You and I illustrate that point. Ever since being laid open by a cat that gave all signs of being friendly when I was about 5, I've been leery of cats. Scarred for life, both literally and figuratively.

Which brings me to my point: the absolute worst thing to do around a dog is to be afraid. The saying goes "dogs can smell fear." The dog whisperer does a good job of bringing out the truth that the idea of dominance is pretty important in a dog's world. If it senses fear, it will naturally assert dominance, and see how far it can take that. Rarely does that turn into deliberately causing injury, but "escalating quickly" is what many breeds are selectively adapted for; as responders, not initiators.

So the primary key to understanding dogs is how to assert dominance without causing injury, or even being threatening. I suppose in simplest terms that could also apply to some basic parenting skills, at least while very young.

Now what you said here is not that you're afraid of dogs, but that you're nervous around them. To a dog, the difference between these two seems to be larger than it is to us! Nervousness is part of their repertoire, with nervous energy being pretty typical not only when meeting a new dog for the first time, but also when greeting dogs they've lived with their whole lives and only been apart from for like 15 minutes.

Nervousness and curiosity go together naturally for dogs. If you get the chance to watch them interact together see if you can detect this. Once you get a handle on how they express this with each other, try to recognize the same things in people who interact successfully with them. The keys are eye contact, body language, and tone of voice; with the actual words used being pretty far down on the totem pole. As humans we tend to place primary importance on word choice, whereas dogs use a different "vocabulary."

For us, nervousness and anxiety naturally go together. That's ok too! Dogs participate in anxiety, and recognize it as being distinct from fear. So we have acceptable "channels" to convert our fear around dogs to; nervousness and anxiety work well. If we verbalize this as we greet a dog, it's for our benefit while we "might as well be speaking Greek" to them. If you honestly process these emotions aloud, I bet you'll be able to see it on the dog's face that he understands you, and has some common ground. This will be due to your tone of voice and your body language. Meanwhile, you'll be "talking yourself down" from fear. And it'll work!

Even if you never deliberately choose to get "hands on" with a dog which does include at least being willing to get a bit messy, this info might help you navigate a tight spot you wish you weren't in.

"Asserting dominance" over a dog is as simple as 1) you're human, and 2) you're taller than the dog. No need to try to make yourself appear bigger than you are, dogs accept us as naturally being in charge. Our attention is equally as rewarding as food (speaking in general terms, of course)

Dogs are easy to understand. Cats? I've never had anybody able to explain them to me but they're easy to avoid, whereas dogs can press you into a confrontation.

 

[Barbarian]

I've seen dogs train adult human beings to throw balls or sticks.
The dog had the person throw the ball or stick every time the dog brought it back to him.
Amazing!

For a long time, animal psychologists thought that dogs weren't as bright as wolves, because when faced with a problem, wolves would try to figure it out, and dogs would go to a human for help.

Then someone realized. The dog was using humans as a tool; "Hey, you. You with the thumbs. Get this open for me."

That's not stupid at all.

The more you talk to a dog, the more they get from what you're saying. One researcher was impressed that a dog knew the meaning of 35 words. Bagel knows more than that. You just tell a dog what's going to happen, then make it happen, and eventually he figures out that the word is a signal.

Dogs don't have language the way humans and apes can use it, but they do have a very good ability to reason.

"He said, "dog park"; I'm going to be with my friends." And when we leave the house, she heads for the van, instead of the park across the street.

 

[Razeontherock]

Then someone realized. The dog was using humans as a tool; "Hey, you. You with the thumbs. Get this open for me."

"You with the thumbs." lol, I love that!

The more you talk to a dog, the more they get from what you're saying. ...
You just tell a dog what's going to happen, then make it happen, and eventually he figures out that the word is a signal.

We just need to be consistent. Problems training dogs (almost) always go back to problems with the people involved. Even when one person is being consistent and doing things right, other family members can confuse things. Dogs will eventually figure some stuff out anyway, but it adversely affects their learning.

Pet obedience school? How about starting with the whole family? Standardize commands, tone of voice, gestures, rewards and punishment, and I think there would be no "disobedience problems."

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

Ok you're right, I do talk to dogs, I'm just making the point that I understand what they say better than they understand what I say. They pick up on tone of voice really well, and always know when you're talking about them with someone else.

I find they understand hand signals and body language much more intuitively than human speech. It takes some training to get them to respond consistently to voice commands.

Talking to cats, the result I get seems to be either:

1) don't care
2) see if I have food
3) stalk me to see if they're big enough to kill me. And I swear I can see the disappointment on their face when they decide they can't. And then they prowl for food, no doubt hoping to get big enough to be able to

Alright, I'm a cat person as much as I'm a dog person and even I found that to be absolutely hilarious!

I remember going to someone's house and they had a large dog that was like part husky and part wolf. Eyes were two different colors. Gorgeous dog! He wasn't too playful with just anyone, though. Basically sat nearby and that was about it.

Really?? Hmm,.. part dog, part wolf,.. Was he related to this guy by any chance?

 

[jasonc]

I have thumped a few dogs in my job.

The dumbest one was that stupid jack russel,no collar? I aim to hurt much as i can.I'm not getting a rabies series, shots over the fact you the owner don't care to own your dog.that dog must love pain.every time on the gifford midle route .I had to whack him before I even got out of the truck and to the meter.one time I got him three times!

 

[Edward]

Ummm... is that a problem?

Oh come on, we're beating all around the Bush here. Dogs are a special creation gift from God to man for these very reasons. They help us, we help them.

With dogs, a trust relationship is built. Dogs don't just trust anyone. If you get your dog to trust you, don't ever betray that trust even in fun. A dog that knows he can trust you is a very obedient dog. And they can teach you things you didn't know if you spend time with them. I've always had dogs and could go on and on but...I need more coffee now lol!

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

Oh come on, we're beating all around the Bush here. Dogs are a special creation gift from God to man for these very reasons. They help us, we help them.

With dogs, a trust relationship is built. Dogs don't just trust anyone. If you get your dog to trust you, don't ever betray that trust even in fun. A dog that knows he can trust you is a very obedient dog. And they can teach you things you didn't know if you spend time with them. I've always had dogs and could go on and on but...I need more coffee now lol!

Actually although I believe that God has a plan for everything,.. dogs were created and bred by man,.. wolves were created by God and dogs evolved from them.

 

[Razeontherock]

A dog that knows he can trust you is a very obedient dog. And they can teach you things you didn't know if you spend time with them.

Ok, now we need a pic of a dog wearing glasses, looking like a Professor

 

[HeIsRisen2018]

Ok, now we need a pic of a dog wearing glasses, looking like a Professor

ROTFL!!! That's a good one!

 

[Edward]

Actually although I believe that God has a plan for everything,.. dogs were created and bred by man,.. wolves were created by God and dogs evolved from them.

Created and bred by man? There's that girl mindset, lol. You mean God created them and allowed us to interbreed them so that we could have different kinds with different characteristics, so everyone could have one that suits them? :wink

 

[Edward]

Ok, now we need a pic of a dog wearing glasses, looking like a Professor

I have a picture of one of our dogs, a lab/shep mix...standing in the corner like a child cuz he was bad!