The more I observed pets the more I am astounded by the extent of what they do.
In junior high school, I had newspaper delivery route. Each day this puppy would follow me home and then I would return the dog to the family he lived with. Finally, after weeks of this, the family gave me their German Shepherd puppy. Now several years later, I had given my German Shepherd to a farm family when I went off to college. Several months after giving Scrappy away, I felt Scrappy was in great danger, but I was 180 miles from home. I then hitched hiked home. The next day I went to visit Scrappy and learned he died after he was poisoned the night before.
We had a very private cat for18 years, Hunter never played with any other cat or dog. When she became ill, my Rottweiler took care of her- bathing her and letting her cuddle with him..This same dog had killed coyotes, skunks and chased bears. He weighed 125 pounds and the cat at her best weighed 12 pounds.
My daughter, Victoria, has a female German Shepherd /Coyote mix. This dog, named Coyote, has the instincts of a animal raised in the wild. She is aware of any new sound and can run for hours in high mountains. My dogs have run with Coyote for as long as 10 hours. My Rottweillers come home exhausted, while Coyote is fresh and is ready for another mountain run. Victoria’s toddler SOFIA, aged 18 month, and Coyote are constant companions. After Sofia spends a morning chasing Coyote, Coyote takes a nap, while Sofia is still raring to go. While Sofia “reads” her book to Coyote, Coyote sits listening attentively. Coyote weighs 70 pounds, Sofia weighs 35 pounds. At this age Sofia has her own language and Coyote seems to understand what Sofia is telling her. Sofia calls Coyote Yoyo. Yoyo seems to respond to Sofia’s commands.
Recently, I have listening to the various sounds my dogs make. They have many different tones and volumes. One dog will ask the other-where are you? Another dog communication is let us go for a run. If one of the dogs is not feeling well, the well dog is very caring to the other. I have observed that one of the dogs is a watch dog, while the other is a guard dog. The watch dog will only bark at something strange. The guard dog will crouch and emit a low growl warning when he feels something is threatening. Otherwise, the guard dog is quiet and friendly to all. The watch dog wants to kiss anyone welcomed to our home. Rottweillers have large heads. This large head with teeth to match, not their conduct, scares some folks.
It seems to me that cats are much more independent than dogs. Cats seem to require much less attention. We can go on a trip and leave the cats at home. They have food that they will need for several days. They use the cat litter and can come and go outside as they please. Our dogs need a baby sitter when we are gone.
Dogs and cats have a hierarchy among themselves. The order of who eats when does not seem to change. Who is the Apha, etc. stays the same until the Alpha ages enough.
There is nothing beyond belief of what our non-human friends are observed doing. . The other day a friend sent my a you tube short film of a dog that responded to numbers- the woman would say a number and the dog would bark the same times as the number spoken. For example, the woman said three- the dog barked three times.
What experiences have you had with pets? I am anxious to read and learn about your experiences.
I saw that utube video and I think she may have signaled the dog when to stop barking or counting. A cat on the other hand may be way smarter then people realize!
Comment by dan — January 2, 2010 @ 9:42 am