interesting dog observation

[summer_jackel]

My collie just displayed his doggy thought processes rather entertainingly.

Bliss Like Chaos initiated play by prancing up, looking all bright-eyed and hopeful, trying to give me his fleece doll. I threw it for him for him to fetch a few times. He returned to me while "breaking its neck" with the canine headshake and otherwise trying to get me to tug on it with him. This is his and Coba's favorite game as it is with a lot of dogs...dismember the prey! yay! I wouldn't do it with that toy since he'd tear it up, so while he was fetching, I picked up their rubber squid. (it has fleece tentacles. What? Of course my dogs have a squid doll. They have two). The rubber doesn't feel as nice in their mouths as cloth, but they know that it's the one I'll pull on for them.

So Bliss and I tugged on the squid for awhile, and I eventually threw it near where I'd thrown the soft toy. Bliss trotted over to them and stood there, staring at them for a moment, back and forth, trying to decide which he wanted. I could practically see his little collie thought processes...grab the one that's fun to carry around or the one she'll play tug with? He eventually chose the squid...favorite game over preferred object.

I now laugh at my overthinking little collie. Of course, Coba doesn't even like to dirty his delicate housefox mouth by carrying anything larger than the lightest cloth toy or twig of kindling. He literally chews on twigs, never anything so rough as a stick. Yeah, this is going to be an interesting challenge if we get beyond novice obedience, since retrieving a thrown dummy is part of the requirements!

I like catching my dogs thinking about things.

Comments

[noahbrand.livejournal.com]

I love watching dog and cat thought processes. One notices how they're simpler, more easily hacked versions of our own. (And our own are still pretty easily hacked.)

Raksha's going through the age right now where she has grasped that doing certain things makes the humans get mad at her, and that's bad. However, she has only internalized this to a point, so often you can watch her moral struggle: "I know I shouldn't take that food off the coffee table. But then again, on the other hand, I want to. Boy, this is a tough call..."

She's also at the stage where she looks guilty when she's done something wrong, even if we haven't found out about it yet. She knows she wasn't supposed to, so when I see her slinking around guiltily, I automatically check the usual spots to see what she chewed up this time.

[troubleagain.livejournal.com]

::giggle:: Dogs is funny.

[archteryx.livejournal.com]

It's one of the single biggest highlights of the film Up: being privy to dog thought processes. (And even the hard core dog lovers throught Pixar did a great job with making the dogs act and think like dogs).

I wonder what Chaos and Coba would emote if you put a 'talker collar' on them? ;)

[kimberly-t.livejournal.com]

It's always a delight, to realize you know just what they're thinking!