Spring 2013
The Special Bond
You’re not imagining it. Your dog really does understand what you’re feeling. Dogs can’t read our minds, no, but when it often seems like they do, it’s because of a special connection between our two species that’s increasingly well understood. Dogs don’t just seem attuned to our emotions. They are. Eye-track studies of dogs have shown that they read human faces for emotional cues in the same way we ourselves do. No other species do this, not even chimps. Scientists speculate that this skill has evolved in dogs to enable them to communicate with us on an emotional level. To better understand us. Which makes sense. When you rely on humans for your survival, there’s obvious biological advantage to reading their moods for signs of intentions, impending danger, etc.
The same goes for barking. Wolves rarely bark, and when they do, it’s to warn other pack members. Dogs, on the other hand, possess an impressive vocal repertoire that spans yowls, yelps, grumbles, whines, acoustic sighs, and many types of barks, suggesting another trait dogs may have developed exclusively to strengthen their teamwork with humans. This goes beyond utilitarian purposes like herding and protecting our livestock. Arguably, dogs have learned to speak a second language specifically to support their bond with us.
And the connection goes both ways: We’ve become skilled interpreters of barks. In experiments in which researchers played recordings of dog barks to dog guardians, they were capable of distinguishing between request barking, anxious barking, territorial barking, and other kinds, without seeing the dog’s body language or the situation. We use the tonality, frequency, and interval of barks to decode the message.
So, the science backs us up: We do indeed have a special bond with dogs. It’s so strong that we mostly take it for granted and lump dogs in with the rest of the family—because they are family. But dogs are not human. They are remarkable, adaptive creatures that have evolved in partnership with us in a way no other species have. And that’s pretty special.
Let Sleeping Humans Lie…
Some dogs don’t appreciate a good lie-in—or know the difference between workdays and weekends. Young puppies and senior dogs can’t be expected it to hold it all night and are legitimately excused, but adult dogs should know better. If your dog has taken it upon himself to be your personal alarm clock, here are some tips:
Visit the vet. The first step is always to rule out a urinary tract infection or other medical conditions that might be causing bladder discomfort.
Increase the workouts. It can’t be said often enough: a tired dog is a well-behaved dog. This includes early morning manners. More time spent hiking the trails, chasing a ball, and playing with friends at the park or doggie daycare may well translate into a full night’s sleep.
Delay evening toilette. Make your dog’s last potty trip as late as you can and if he gets an evening meal, serve it on the early side. If you’ll pardon the mental image, it gives the food more time to travel through the system. That way, you can be reasonably sure he isn’t desperate to go in the morning.
Don’t feed first thing. If your dog knows that one of the first things you attend to in the morning is his breakfast, you have provided powerful motivation for him to get you out of bed. Don’t set this trap for yourself and if you already have, change it.
Don’t reinforce the alarm-clock habit. When the pawing or whining begins, turn onto the other side (provided, as per the previous tip, you’re fairly certain it isn’t a potty emergency). Whatever you do, don’t reinforce your dog’s behaviour by acknowledging it with eye contact, soothing noises, a groan of exasperation, a scratch on the head, or—worst of all—by getting up.
Shannoncourt Pet Care
4931 Nine Mile Rd Martintown Ontario
613 528 1262
Grooming-Training-Pet Hotel-Daycare
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