Best friend, indeed: Dogs take human cues better than chimps

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ^ | 11-22-02

[Sungirl]

CAT'S RULE....DOGS JUST DROOL.

[Ancesthntr]

The fact is that dogs are better people than most people (i.e. more faithful, loving, forgiving, etc...)

My Dad has a friend who was commiserating with him a few years ago. He said that he really cared for his dog. It seems that his wife constantly bitched at him regarding one thing or another and his teenaged daughter more or less ignored him. Both acted differently when they needed money. The dog, OTOH, was always glad when he came home, loved to spend time with him, never got annoyed with him and never asked for money.

[Lyndal]

Mine know the following words:

bone
treat
food
eat and knows what e-a-t spells
go for walk, and gopher hawk
ride
out
downstairs
upstairs
night-night
potty
poop
piggie, pig ears
quilt, he has an old quilt that he lays on
couch
bird
duck
goose
bumper, the rubber ones I throw for him
time, as in 'is it time' for his 9:00pm trip outside
denta bone, aka fourth letter of the alphabet, because he understands what 'd' is

And a ton of others that I can't think of right now.

[Vic3O3]

He's smarter than you think!

[Fiddlstix]

Bump

[Desdemona]

Mine can spell. L-E-A-S-H doesn't work anymore. And she knows where it is too. As soon as it gets dark she starts pawing shoes.

Ball
Frisbee
leash
walk
go for a ride in the car
food in your dish
ice water (okay, she's spoiled rotten)

and more are verbotten unless you actually do it.

[Ditto]

CAT'S RULE....DOGS JUST DROOL.

I had a dog that only drooled when it spotted a nice plump cat. ;~))

[1Old Pro]

and he runs over to look behind the set to see if he can find the animal.

Mine runs up to the screen and barks at them, it's really funny. He even barks at the chia pet commericals and the cat commercial where they clink the side of a glass. Once he hears those clues he'll run to the tv to bark at the cat or the chia pet

[WIladyconservative]

Charlie Sykes talked about this article today and had some cute anecdotes about his own dog, Rudy. He also invited calls on the subject, and read some emails about smart dogs.

It was a refreshing break from budget and political concerns. Give Max a smooch for me - here's a photo of MY smart pooch (complete with Harley Davidson Cap!).

[Cogadh na Sith]

I'll bet it's easier to get a dog off the couch than a chimp....

[afraidfortherepublic]

Early hunters would not have wasted their time attempting to domesticate a creature that did not already demonstrate a keen empathy for humans and an unusual ability to work with them.

I think you're right!

[Lurking Libertarian]

"That tells us that dogs were very important," said Jennifer A. Leonard, now at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, who helped lead the study. "Remember, these are hunter gatherers in the Stone Age. They don't have a lot of stuff, and dogs have to be fed and to some extent taken care of."

...not to mention played with, scratched on the top of the head, tickled on the belly....

[<1/1,000,000th%]

In the first direct comparison of its kind between dogs and chimpanzees, dogs demonstrated an uncanny ability to interpret human communicative cues - gleaning information from subtle hand gestures and even getting the meaning of a human glance - while the brainy chimps remained clueless to what was going on.

This is the same thing my cat says.

[Lurking Libertarian]

I suggest that these characteristics were inherent in the canine species that sprung forth from prior genetic stock in those ancient days and that selective breeding only refined preexistent qualities.

Do you have any doubt that dogs evolved from wolves?

[GeekDejure]

Arf... Arf... Arfreepers... It's Fido here... How ya doon ???

This time around I figured I'd be reincarnated as a clever little kitty-cat... but nooooooo... this time I wound up as a dopey, dipshiit democRAT !!!

Near as I can figure... I musta bit one too many mailmen !!!

[goodnesswins]

LOL.....YES.....kitty's are quite brainy too, as I tell my husband when he thinks they are not.....I remind him, THEY have trained him to 1) feed them twice a day, two different kinds of food; 2)clean up any hair they leave around; 3) spoon and shovel their um...lavatory droppings....into a sack and dump them in the garbage...... and it goes on.....YEAH.....they're dumb....as a fox.

[DugwayDuke]

My Great Dane also understands "scoot". If he's laying on the bed and I want to take a nap, I'll say "scoot" and he moves over to make room for me. So far, the mastif hasn't learned that trick. It's quite a sight, the three of us all taking a nap together.

We used to have two danes. One was mine and the other my wife's. The two dogs knew the sound of each of our vehicles. If I drove up, Duke met me at the door. If my wife drove up, Sugar met her at the door. It was the sound because we swapped vehicles as an experiment.

[grammymoon]

My Shar-Pei's understand every move I make and everything I say.

They also not only understand English, they understand Polish too, thanks to my long time cleaning lady who fell in love with them as pups and still adores them weekly!

[anguish]

I remind him, THEY have trained him

Exactly. Every now and then I meet "cat owners" who actually think they "own" their cat. Like a cat ever could be "owned"! When I look into the deep-blue eyes of the white furball that lives with me, inside that cuddly exterior, I understand that she owns me. She will never do what I tell her to do unless it suits her, and I will always do what she wants me to, no matter the inconvenience.

/ property of Freya

[madison10]

Not in this thread they don't! ;)