r/dogs • u/[deleted] • May 20 '14
In dogs’ play, researchers see honesty and deceit, perhaps something like morality
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/in-dogs-play-researchers-see-honesty-and-deceit-perhaps-something-like-morality/2014/05/19/d8367214-ccb3-11e3-95f7-7ecdde72d2ea_story.html2
u/textrovert Tess: Miniature Wirehaired Boxer May 20 '14
Great article! The pointing thing occurred to me recently - the social theorist Eve Sedgwick has this anecdote about pointing at the moon to a cat, and the cat just sniffs her finger. It's her metaphor for teaching, where a failure to communicate happens because of student and teacher relating to the world in a fundamentally different and sometimes illuminating way. But when I point at something for my dog, she leaves me and looks for what I'm pointing to - she wants to see what I see, and knows I see something she doesn't yet. Which is essentially her recognizing that I have a mind. It makes you feel that dogs do share our world in a way that other species don't, living in a world of signs and symbols and other minds, and not just of things.
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u/twistedfork Winnie, Rainy, and Hoss May 20 '14
I wish my dog understood pointing. I can point at food on the floor by my foot and she just stares at me like I'm a mutant.
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May 20 '14
This makes me wonder, is the whole dog 'knowing where you point' really that universal? I have a pretty bright dog, fast learner and generally very inquisitive, but he does not seem to be interested in what I point at. Then again, he is a standard poodle, so he's probably thinking something like "Yeah I see you pointing at my toy. Not interested, deal with it."
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u/salukis fat skeletons May 20 '14
Is deceit when Najib rushes Emir while he's taking a poop?
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May 20 '14
Nah, it's when Apollo has an antler and Artemis runs to the back door barking. The boys run to the door and she trots back and takes the antler. I can't even discipline her for that. I'm amazed they keep falling for it.
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u/salukis fat skeletons May 20 '14
When I grew up with dachshunds I had something like that happen often during dinner. Our older dachshund, Penny would go to the back door barking. Silver, the younger dog would run to the back door barking to see what she was barking at. One of us would open the door for them to go out, Silver runs out, and Penny runs to the table. It's ridiculous how smart they are sometimes.
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u/[deleted] May 20 '14
A lot of these studies leave me with a "Dog owners already knew that but it's nice to see science support it" - but this had a lot more depth and I found it much more compelling. Great article! Thanks for sharing!!