Serious question. Most might not believe it.

Point:
1) Dogs do not have vocal chords as such, they use other means.

2) Dogs are highly communicative, the root source is the Wolf, which coordinates the entire pack in hunting.

3) Body Language is one of the ways we can percieve what they tell us.

4) Studies have shown that dogs can understand upwards of one hundred eighty spoken commands.

5) Dogs have senses that are more highly developed than humans, they can detect the smell of remains even if they are many years old. It is possible that scent (for one) is a channel of communication among dogs - the marking of territory is one evidence of this trait. They are intelligent enough to realise that we are not that sensitive in those areas, and compensate.

6) Dogs enter into a mutual training exchange with their human companions.

7) The more we observe and interact with a dog, the more "signs" we learn one from the other - if we are aware enough to be alert to it.

8) A dog that realises it has gotten its message through to a human will explore more ways to communicate. It scratches the door, and you notice and let it out - this is a success! It becomes hopeful that you are not as ignorant as you seem...

9) Dogs (domesticated) rely on us for support because we give them very few other options. Those that go wild may do so because they can support themselves better that way. They should never be pushed to that point.

10) Many people completely underestimate the 'ABSOLUTE' loyalty of a dog. They are not like cats at all, and that is difficult to define. Once that loyalty is finally damaged beyond all repair however - the dog itself is disillusioned and broken. People who cause this condition in a dog are in my view unforgivable.

11) Emulating dog sounds and body language/postures can be a means of communication - You can 'Woof' playfully at a dog, and it kmows what that means... If you 'Scratch' at the floor, while sitting facing a dog - It knows it means something like: "Hey, come on..."
Very definitely~ If you spread your arms out, "Woof", and pat your lap - it means: "Come to Papa!"


To some, I know it sounds nuts. But from experience I know. Dogs try very hard to talk. Watch them, and you can learn the language....

There is a narrow band available. Mostly body signs. Some sounds. A number of actions (acting out).

Your thoughts?


~Greywolf

 

dogs = trainable. they have the ability to communicate but not intelligent enough to make decisions, which is where I think there's a big difference in humans and animals.

Ryan

 

I AGREE! I speak dog also.I had a dog for 13 yrs and me and that dog went thru hard times together and I could communicate with just body language and facial expressions on some things.I actually communicate better with dogs than I do with women.I share food and drink with all of my dogs.My wife thinks I'm crazy!

 

I expect some rebuttals to that, but I will hold my opinions at this point - I'm curious to see what the common thought is on this notion.


~Wolf

 

I will, Dogs make decisions all the time.Police dogs for example make decisions on who is bad who is not etc.Everything you teach a dog becomes a decision when they try to obey the owner.They make the decision not to crap on the floor when they really need to go.There are lots of examples.

 

I have often thought that dogs understand basic traits of people at a root level that many people are apparently blind to. If a dog does not trust someone any way shape or how - I assume instantly that something is wrong.

Their instincts are almost infallible....
They have access to clues we have no idea of, FEAR for one - has a destinctive scent, as does someone attempting deceit. They are adept at reading body language, and learn from it constantly. Minor things we don't notice do not escape them, they can read people like a book!

THINK!

If the only way you had to express yourself was by using signs - how good at reading them would you become?

 

Dogs have an intelligence that we don't understand. Ours try to tell us stuff all the time. Unfortunately I don't always catch what it is they're saying. Sometimes it's pretty obvious--want a snack, want to go for a ride, wants a tummy rub or ears scratched--sometimes not so obvious.

As far as dogs just being trainable...I'd have to disagree. I can watch ours thinking, and I'd swear they even play jokes on each other. They definitely are not just "trained". They may not think on our level, but they definitely think, not just react.

 

Sure !

Life is .......Ruff

 

I have raised both high percentage wolfdogs and have domestic dogs too. Yes, dog behavior does come from wolves but humans have bred them to where dogs act and stay more like adulolescent wolves forever. Never grow up to wolflike maturity and will always depend on you.

Wolfdogs companionship is more on an equal footing. You learn to accept them on their terms by learning/understanding their behavior. Some things I noticed dogs will do but the wolfdogs will not.

I have a 9 year old wolfdog female who is the Alpha of my present dogs and never have I had to worry about knockdown,dragout dogfights since she established herself. They all defer to her without too much fussing. Her brother was the Alpha Male until his death a couple of years ago from a tragic accident. I raised them both since they were 4 weeks old. In their eyes, I am the Alpha wolfmother, of course.

However, yes......you can "read" both and they can do the same. I have learned to trust my wolfdog's attitude around some people when they seem very friendly ....and later find they are not. It is in subtle gestures, in body language....and more. Domestic dogs will have this ability too. But some do not.

It is pheronomes, scent and more. I have one dog what if my friend's 7 year old is sick, she will cuddle close as if to cheer the little girl up. When my friend was pregnant, both of my wolfdogs would bring her food "gifts" when she visited. Did this early on before she started showing.

Canines are not "dumb" animals...that's for sure.

Decision making? Yes, some of them can.

 

I agree, Dogs are smart and have the ability to make decisions: drug snifing dogs, seing-eye dogs for the blind, K-9 units on police forces, sheep-herding dogs, hunting dogs, guard dogs, bloodhounds used for tracking of game or convicts, among others. They all had the proper training.

My dog will come up to me and do a friendly inquisitve growl -aaarroo- when she wants a blanket put on her when she is cold. She does different versions of it for diffrent things like food and play and walk and where has so-and-so gone. My parents took her camping for 8 days and on the 6th day she went up to the truck at night and started barking looking at the truck, telling mom and dad she wanted to go home, cause she knew that was how she got there and that was how she would get back. Maybe she was asking the truck to drive her back!

I know this will sound off the wall....

Dogs - like everything in our world, is maintennence

You have to maintain your relationships with people and with animals(horses, dogs, cats, etc) if you want to stay in touch with reality. People who disrespect animals have not been maintained by their parents properly. When my sister has not seen her horse for a while, the horse will give her attitude, as if to say: Oh, its you, where have you been? and you want to ride me? well, we'll see about that.

If people put the time in with their animals, they will learn to notice new things. My dog is 9 years old and I just taught her how to "spin" when we play, animals are smart, most people are ignorant of how to treat animals. There is too much concrete and not enough jungle in todays cities concrete jungles. I'm disappointed really with how soft our society has become, when people cower when you mention pitbull or rotweiler. They fear the image of the dog the media has put in their minds instead of doing research and talking to people who own one.

We need a TV show starring a dog like LASSIE or RIN TIN TIN updated for modern times to de-program the fear response instilled in too many people by todays self-serving media!

I'm gonna stop before I get banned, if I'm not already.....
There is too little time in a day to sit here all night and type endlessly....
This is just all my opinion, responses are welcome.

There are three kinds of people in this world: those can count and those who can't!

 

I have great language skills, unfortunetaly they're with animals! Dog speak can be on many levels- sound, body language, eye contact and of course the sixth sense. Sometimes in traffic I'll PM a dog in a nearby car, setting him off and leaving the owner to wonder what's going on.
On that deeper question, science keeps discovering how much intelligence most animals really have, and how arrogant and thoughtless the hairless ape's are.

 

I shoe horses for a living and I can tell alot about the owner by the way the horse acts.

I have a dog that goes everywhere with me, he is a very friendly dog and likes to play with people. I have been to several places where the dog won't go near the person and he acts different around them, that also tells me alot about the person.

I think we can learn alot about people by the way animals act around them, if we just learn to listen.

Tim

 

My daughter speaks dog...and horse...and whale...and a variety of other "languages." I've posted this before, but we're guessing that, because of her Autism, she can communicate with animals on a level that we can barely comprehend.

 

The saying "A dog is a man's best friend" is actually understandable. I'd rather have a dog than a cat. Alls cats do all day is mosie around being dumb. They are always just wondering around. dogs are very loyal too. Feed it everyday, however many times a day, on a routine schedule, and they wait for you. for example, when I got home from school, everyday at around 2:30, my dog would be sitting by the front window, stareing out of it waiting on me to come home and feed her. Once i came home early, and she was sleeping somewere in the house, not expecting me for another hour or 2.

They can be dumb though. My dog always chased birds and never cought them. Also made a habit of eating bumble bees. Sometimes the Bee one, sometimes it lost. Pretty funny watching it from a distence, because you couldnt see the bee, just my dog hopping around, attacking an invisable object.

easy to teach lessons too. If it craps on the floor, you roll up a news paper, grab it by the hair and stick its head in the crap, then back-hand in across the head with the paper reasonably hard. It sounds bad, but she'll never crap on the floor again. plus you can give her a treat later on and make her feel better all over again.

also good for home protection. I'd rather have a 150 lb american bull dog in my back yard than a tiny little kitty cat!

 

Dogs are incredibly smart- what you guys never saw Lassie on TV?

Tim(my)