I never claim to know what dogs are thinking, even though almost every dog owner I know tells me what dogs are thinking.
The truth is, we can sometimes tell what they are feeling, but we have no idea what they are thinking, at least not yet, since there is no evidence that they think at all in human terms and human ways.
We are an arrogant species, and we project ourselves onto dogs and other animals all the time. We fill in the holes with what we know and then claim to know.
It is very satisfying to project our emotions onto dogs at times. My dogs rush up to me when I come home, tails wagging. I know this is about treats and food, not necessarily about me.
Dogs have survived in the human world by persuading us that they love us unconditionally, one of the tremendous self-serving myths of the human-animal experience.
Unlike squirrels and raccoons, they have evolved. They have learned to project love and joy on us, and we will take excellent care of them.
This is one of the great miracles of animal evolution, and it isn’t a myth. It is well documented. Unlike many of my fellow citizens, I do believe in science.
Reading about dogs is a unique experience; I always find the truth more exciting than the BS.
I don’t think about it too much; I just assume I am missed and that my dogs are thrilled to see me. Zinnia comes running up, wiggling and bringing me a bone or toy, acting as of her world was just fulfilled and brought to life.
I’ll take it at face value. And then I remember the cardinal rule of dogs: they love what feeds them unconditionally. It still feels perfect. Dogs figure out what we need, and they give me a lot of what I need.
And yet, there are stories of dogs who sleep on their master’s graves for years.
True, Nora,
But we don’t really know why, Nora, whether it’s instinct or habit or anxiety. Since we are the only animals who understand what we are doing to die, no one can explain to me how dogs can grieve or mourn in human words and feelings. Dogs are creatures of habit, and they often become anxious or clinging when things change. The biologists say that we can see emotions in dogs, but we can’t know what they are feeling and thinking since they can’t tell us and we can’t see. So we project into them what we would like them to be thinking and feeling, what WE think and feel. They have no language for that. Many dog lovers disagree with me, and I respect that, but almost all of the science tells us this again and again.We just don’t want to believe it. I’ve read all those stories about border collies and other dogs waiting for years at train stations and sleeping on beds of the deceased. But there are a score of explanations for that. Our sheep stand at the feeder all day expecting food, and if we left or disappeared, many would die standing there. Same with border collies waiting for work. When a dog’s owner leaves the house, the dog has no way of knowing if it’s for a few minutes or forever. Millions of Katrina dogs were rehomed and never saw their humans again, I am not aware of a single one that refused to eat in their new homes or died of grief searching for their owners. Dogs are adaptable and highly manipulate e, that’s why they prosper while wolves and buffalos don’t.
Are you now rethinking your premise told in your book “Talking to Animals: How You Can Understand Animals and They Can Understand You” – May 2, 2017?
I hope so, Bob, I’m with Einstein. You have to be intelligent to think and rethink, people who don’t are rarely creative or insightful. Rigidity is the mark of the impaired not the intelligent. I have not revised Talking To Animals, I know of no reason to dismiss or reject the book. I hope I have evolved in some ways, and I know the pub date, thanks.
The question is not whether animals understand us, of course, they do, the question is what is it that they understand and how do they communicate it in their minds and to other animals. If dogs didn’t understand us, they would all be dead by now, like more than half the species on the earth. Animals who evolve into reading the moods and behaviors of humans survive, animals that don’t rarely do.
Your words are very true. I was an obedience instructor for many years, I have and continue to attempt to educate myself. There is so much that the science on dogs and many other things has not told us….yet! I understand people wanting to believe dogs love unconditionally. I have often caught myself doing just that more than I care to admit.