But, this is exactly what I want to etalk about today ~~~ The ability to think, the level of intelligence and/or human’s egotistical belief we are the only ones who do it to any advanced degree…
I have, yes, almost been struggling with this topic for months… Years… Every attempt to understand a new foster or rescue dog has shown to be yet another educational experience for me… My tools are observation, reading and searching the Internet for answers my friends don’t have… The ‘why’ drives me to distraction sometimes until I can figure it out – or validate its mystery somehow in my mind…
The need to absolutely understand something must be a human character defect, as well as the tendency to own or use things that we don’t totally understand… We go into petshops and buy a puppy, believing we somehow know how to raise one and/or how it thinks so we can counter-think the bad behaviors that they do…
This is no different than owning a computer or a car… How many people do YOU know that own one or the other, don’t have a clue how they run and then in the end, are unable to fix problems as they arise… Makes you stop and think, huh?
And we know dogs think… But the human ego has issues with to what level of thinking they do or any other animal for a matter of fact… There is some internal need for us to separate ourselves, and promote ourselves higher than other species as well…
We used to use the benchmark of the size of our brains… Until we learned that ‘size is not everything’
I am sure I am not the only dog owner that has said countless times, “If only you could talk”… Take the time to Google < “Irene Pepperberg”, Alex> and you will find some really amazing stuff if you have not yet become aware of this researcher and Alex… An African Gray parrot, Alex did not only learn how to speak English and make himself understood, but he actually showed he could think as we humans view that concept…
“What color five?”… “None” Alex responded… Because apples tasted a bit like bananas to him but they looked like cherries, Alex made up a word for them – ‘ban-erry’… I myself do this constantly… And this is cognitive thinking and learning… Something we’ve reserved for humans for hundreds of years as we felt animals were not much more than auto-bots… Early drawings of animals actually have a mechanical feel to them when you do the research… And machines don’t think --- or do they?
Sheep can recognize different faces, and let’s face it (no pun intended) – sheep are not considered the sharper knives in the drawer of the animal world… More than one Border Collie owner has raved about the ‘eye’ his dog had, able to get the flock to do just about anything he wanted them to!
Animals have to do the DMRs (Daily Minimum Requirements) each and every day of their lives… Find a safe place to sleep and eat – find food to start out with… Find a mate and even where there is water to drink… These are all problems that require solving --- or thinking… Just like humans do, oddly enough…
And those animals which live naturally in packs have proven to be better at socialization and recognizing the hierarchy of the pack, herd, etc… Pull a baby from one of these species out of the natural order of things, and they do become anti-social, aggressive without cause, irrational, etc…
So why do we think dogs would be any different in any of these points?
Dogs CLEARLY take their clues about things from our facial expressions… And yet? How many of us are intuned to this fact, and use it to its advantage?... The alpha in any dog pack uses their eyes and body language before they use the snarl, growl or bite… We humans miss most of this and incur a dog bite and/or attack because of it…
It has also been proven that dogs wag their tails in different directions as a validation they know who you are… To their right, it indicates you are their owner or alpha… To their left, it indicates a stranger… Back and forth equally is a neutral ground, whether or not they intend to approach you or confront you… This is no different than we as humans cross our arms which indicates we are closed to further discussion… It is body language and it requires conscious thought processes to happen… Even the Giant Pacific octopus can recognize individuals, use tools and has a distinct personality by individual octopus…
Do you feel as humble as I do at this point?
Google these terms – “Betsy”, “Rico”, Border collies – or go to Wikipedia and look up Betsy there - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betsy_(dog)... These dogs are absolutely amazing and just like Alex, it is not mimicry, it is thinking…
So where am I going with all this rambling?... Two directions…
One… The smaller the dog, the longer the life span… This is pretty much a fact… Great Danes and Russian Wolfhounds live between 7 to 10 years, German Shepherds and Pitbulls live between 12 and 14 years, Chihuahuas live between 10 to 20 years depending upon their health and care…
Those dogs that tend to be clannish or choose to live in packs or pack environments tend to be much better at relationships, understanding how the natural order of things work, etc… Chihuahuas definitely fit both of these criteria because they are exceptionally clannish and commonly ‘pick their human,’ favoring one person over another in any family as well as being one of the longer lived canine breeds…
My personal experience with Chihuahuas (as well as a LOT of observation) has convinced me that they are a LOT smarter than they’re given credit for – to the point that if they don’t want to do something – even if they do indeed know how to do it – they’ll out-think you so they don’t have to do it… I CONSTANTLY watch, observe and learn from my Chihuahuas in an unlimited amount of venues – how they interact, their reactions, their actions…
Accordingly, while they may not be labeled as being one of the more intelligent dog breeds, they certainly do show the adverse affects faster when placed in an abusive situation or even our nation’s shelters systems where the lack of socialization can be limited, there can be a larger amount of dogs without good canine manners and the over stimulus of unbelievable activity can just about do in any balanced Chihuahua if left in that environment too long…
So I pose to you this question… Living longer, more clannish and society-oriented, are we actually abusing these smaller breeds when we subject them to our nation’s shelter systems? Is it not a greater harm than say to canine breeds that don’t think as much and aren’t as dependent upon social interaction amongst themselves?
And two… If animals do think as much as we now believe they do, denying them rights and protection under our laws beyond being just ‘property’ should be tantamount to felonies when abused or harmed… Our states’ cruelty laws are next to nothing but ‘swatting at flies’ when the gross maliciousness and outright tragedies are seldom given more than probation…
Few cruelty cases get to the legal system and even less receive jail time… Is it because we tell ourselves they don’t think and therefore they do not feel?... And is this right, ethical or moral to allow the current status quo to exist?
This is no different to the battle society waged years ago with the mentally challenged folks… It was felt they didn’t think or feel to the level of ‘normal’ folks, so therefore were not entitled to the same amounts of rights and protection… I’m not saying that dogs are the same as mentally-challenged humans… They are not the same or equal to, but just different…
Inhumanity is inhumanity, no matter to what living organism we do these things to… Whenever a living organism is treated unkindly or cruelly and we ourselves are the protectorates of them, we cannot allow others in our species to inflict this amount of harm onto another species, no more than we can allow other humans to destroy our planet, our economies, starve our children, mistreat our seniors, etc… We are the protectorates of those that cannot speak for themselves --- or at least, not in our human language --- and until we ourselves establish a nationwide series of laws defining cruelty and the ramifications of incurring it onto companion pets, we should stop referring ourselves as a humane country, concerned with the lives and welfare of others around our planet! Let it begin at home… if already in your home, then onto your community and state followed by the nation!
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