Pets and Language

The media is all abuzz about new science findings regarding dogs who "are much smarter than scientists have thought." Thousands of dollars of research might have been saved, had they spent anytime at my home, or observing the lives of many of my friends who also have dogs. In the past thirteen years, I have been guardian to five dogs, three of whom died during the Dec 03 to Dec 04 period and two new pups now with me. Here's what I could have told scientists:


1) Dogs know when you are happy, sad, busy, angry, worried, ill, and in love.
2) They know when you mean it, don't mean it, aren't sure if you mean it, and are consulting dog behavior books to find out if you should mean it.
3) Dogs know that exercise is good for you.
4) Dogs know that high-protein diets make them happier.
5) They can find their way around the neighborhood and communicate with the neighbors.
6) They understand that mail comes six days a week and sometimes what's in the mail is worth yelling about it.
7) Dogs realize that fashion isn't important.
8) Dogs are comfortable with all their body parts and the body parts of those they love.
9) Dogs are not afraid of other dogs bigger than themselves. In fact, the smaller the dog, I've found, the more emphatic they are to express their bravery.
10) Dogs can tell who is naughty and who is nice.

I don't think the problem is that they can't talk with us. Think about it, there are a gadzillion species of animals. Anyone with pet birds has learned the importance of body language and how tuned in a parrot can be just to the way you hold your shoulders. My hearing-impaired son has always had a sixth sense about the expressions, moods and body carriage of those around him. So, back to animals, if there are way more species of animals than the one species of humans, maybe we should be learning more about their language instead of studying whether or not they know ours.

I have to go now...my dog is outside barking at the neighbor's garage sale visitors. He knows these are people who do not belong on our street, and he wants them to know this house is well-protected. Or, perhaps he has his eye on some of the merchandise.