The Ability Of Dogs To Understand Human Mood

The Ability Of Dogs To Understand Human Mood
The Ability Of Dogs To Understand Human Mood

Video: The Ability Of Dogs To Understand Human Mood

Video: The Ability Of Dogs To Understand Human Mood
Video: Can dogs sense emotion? - Horizon: The Secret Life of the Dog - BBC 2024, March
Anonim

A dog living with a good owner spends a lot of time observing a person's troubles. Being constantly surrounded by family members, she soon learns to respond to the words, intonations, actions, and movements of her masters. Gradually - by these and less noticeable signs - she learns to determine in advance when someone from the family will do something, in her opinion, interesting.

Associations can also arise in connection with such subtle details of human behavior that we ourselves do not really notice and which are difficult to describe. There is evidence that a dog is capable of responding to the activity of the human brain that a person has not yet realized, but which already somehow affects his movements and the direction of future actions. My Scottish Terrier once demonstrated a brilliant example of such behavior: in a certain situation he was able to predict what I would do a minute later, although I myself had no idea how events would develop. And it was so. The Scotch Terrier was with me on a long motorboat trip around the coastal islands, where I was counting birds. The dog was sleeping peacefully on the warm casing of the engine, which I had to start. The hissing sound of the cylinder irritated or frightened my four-legged friend, so he always began to bark loudly, as soon as I started to start the engine, and even tried to bite the handle. This was repeated every time we went to the islands. After several landings, the dog learned the following: my return to the boat after counting the birds' nests means that the engine will start making unpleasant sounds again. Therefore, he began to "bark at the situation ahead of time" as soon as we were heading to the boat. His observation was amazing. Once noticing that I doubted whether it was worth going further, he began to bark loudly - before I decided to return and still continued to move away from the boat. Such a violent reaction of the Scotsman to the noise of the engine undoubtedly facilitated the formation of associations. The dog kept watching my movements, expecting that I would soon turn back, and as if thinking: "When will he create an unpleasant sensation again?"The dog kept watching my movements, expecting that I would soon turn back, and as if thinking: "When will he create an unpleasant sensation again?"The dog kept watching my movements, expecting that I would soon turn back, and as if thinking: "When will he create an unpleasant sensation again?"

Irish Setter, dog photo photo
Irish Setter, dog photo photo

This example shows how strong observation is in dogs. It is this ability of theirs that allows many dog owners who are not familiar with the science of behavior, animals, sometimes to suspect a dog in the ability to read human thoughts. In fact, the animal can understand the meaning of the smallest details of human facial expressions, as well as its hidden intentions, already at a stage when the owner himself has not yet decided what he intends to do.

The dog perceives some human facial expressions in about the same way as similar "mines" of their relatives. For example, a grin of teeth or a grimace most often causes a corresponding reaction in her: she does not like the grimace, she is alert or even scared. But if you teach a dog to just play with it, it will stop reacting to such behavior of well-known people, but will express some anger to an outsider. Such a reaction is undoubtedly connected with the fact that the dogs themselves baring their teeth at each other being in a state of aggression.

By the expression of the muzzle and the movements of the girlfriend's head, the dog is able to quite accurately determine where the object or some other and stimulus causing the reaction is located. Ear position and fashion orientation turn out to be much more important direction indicators than gaze. That is why it is almost impossible for a person to show the dog with one glance where the object of interest is located. If one of the two dogs takes an observation position, the other will immediately turn the muzzle in the same direction to find out the reason for the interest. But, communicating with a person, dogs cannot understand movements containing instructions without preliminary, although sometimes very short training. For example, by a pointing gesture, the animal very soon begins to understand where the person is going to throw the ball.

My dachshunds started barking if one of them reacted to something that excited her. Not finding anything interesting in the direction where the first juice barked, the second one began to bark in all directions. Finally, she discovered some foreign object and continued to bark at it, although in a different situation this object would hardly be an irritant capable of causing barking. Quite often, dogs deliberately puff up each other, barking at some harmless and meaningless object or place for them. The mood of a barking friend is quickly passed on to another: an aggressive or fearful bark immediately evokes her support. Thus, a dog, an animal in behavior that is partly gregarious, partly a family animal, informs its fellow tribesman about the noticed danger. This is an automatic and vital behavior for the species. In situationswhen one or more dogs are quite capable of controlling the events taking place, barking quickly dies down, unless hearing, sight or smell signal anything suspicious. When it is difficult to control what is happening (in the dark or in an unfamiliar environment), the dog barks much longer, although the reason may be much less serious than in a familiar and controlled environment. The barking of a dog in a higher hierarchical position causes concern for all other members of the pack or group. The preventive effect of the barking of an individual in a subordinate position is much weaker. When it is difficult to control what is happening (in the dark or in an unfamiliar environment), the dog barks much longer, although the reason may be much less serious than in a familiar and controlled environment. The barking of a dog in a higher hierarchical position causes concern for all other members of the pack or group. The preventive effect of the barking of an individual in a subordinate position is much weaker. When it is difficult to control what is happening (in the dark or in an unfamiliar environment), the dog barks much longer, although the reason may be much less serious than in a familiar and controlled environment. The barking of a dog in a higher hierarchical position causes concern for all other members of the pack or group. The preventive effect of the barking of an individual in a subordinate position is much weaker.

Recommended: