What Do Dogs Think??

I know,,I know! You are wondering what brought this on. It was actually a conversation I had with my girl friend last week. We were eating breakfast and my dog, Sicily a dalmatian, was staring at us. Many dogs will do that during the Human mealtime looking for a handout form the table. But begging for food is not a trait Sicily has ever possessed. She is to posh for that, lol.

So this got me to thinking about what dogs thinks about. Or for that matter; do they think at all.  I turned to my research assistant, Google of course, to see if there was any information on this subject.  My search query was 'Do dogs think?'  I got 8,770,000 hits on this subject. Obviously I am not the only one thinking about it.

At Duke University a group of scientists are researching this on a full time basis. AND GETTING PAID TO DO IT!! Amazing!!!

From an Internet article:

Durham, N.C. — Have you ever wondered what your dog was thinking? Researchers at Duke University are trying to find out. Duke is the first college campus to open a Canine Cognition Center, a lab where students can interact with dogs and learn why they bond so easily with people.
    http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/pets/story/6995588/

So now we know that this is an actual field of study; not just a flight of my fancy. But of course I do not feel that reviewing the Duke University research is going far enough. I have included the website so you can review it yourself. Two reasons keep me from following along Duke's line of thought. 1. You all know my mind does not work that way. 2. It just was not funny. Go figure; scientists who art not funny. I can not deal with that at all.

So what is my precious companion thinking. She is obviously intelligent. Watching her over a day of doggy activity brought me to some interesting revelations.

She is organized. I have watched her stalk birds on the beach for hours. Changing strategies many times when one fails and another approach is needed. Now as for as I am concerned that is a scientific approach to a problem. When she exhausts all her approaches; she loses her mind just like human scientists and runs around aimlessly looking for an answer. Is that Chaos Theory at work?

A study of her eating habits is another insight into the level of her intelligence. I buy her two types of food. An expensive dry food that is very good for her and a moist meaty type food that the veterinarian says she should not eat. Now I place both foods in her bowls and sit back to watch. She walks up to her bowls and takes a bite out of the healthy dry food then turns to the moist food and and gobbles it down. She returns to the healthy food later in the day when she is hungry again.

Is this a form of ordered thinking? Lets do a comparison to me from last night.

I went to the refrigerator and pulled out a salad that I had made earlier. I took several bites and returned it to the fridge. Then I grabbed a half gallon of ice cream and a spoon and went and sat in front of the television.  HMMM! My behavior seems very similar to the dogs. I even came back and finished the salad later on. So either the dog is organizing her thoughts toward her eating habits or she is learning from my habits. Either way I believe that she must be thinking.

That is just two examples of, what I believe show that dogs think. I am sure you all can think of many more. But what worries me is that dogs do stuff without thinking. Things that humans would never do. Or would they?

Yes the typical DOGGY HELLO. What can they possibly be thinking here. I am at a loss. Although, there are some men who approach women in this manner. Ponder that kiddies, lol.

How many men are jealous of this cute little critter. Well maybe women too. No shower needed. Just a well placed tongue. Come to think of it; I believe someone asked me out on a date using that very line.

Other human like dog behavior:

I see a lot of comparisons to human behavior in these cartoons. So, in my mind, dogs either think or they are wonderful character actors who can mimic humans perfectly.

My dog has this one look she gives me when I am acting off the wall. It is a look that is a combination of, 'Oh God I am so happy I am a dog and not a human' and 'I need to kick my adoption agency in the ass for sending me here'.

But in reality I believe she is just thinking,,,WTF!!! For those of you living under rocks that means 'WHAT THE FUCK!'

As always I love ya,
Night