How much do you think your Pet- Dog/Cat understands you?

We got a teleconference style call from our son and daughter-in-law last evening, just we were getting back from our evening walk with our dog. He started going nuts, tugging on the leash, figured they might be parked in the driveway, and when that wasn't the case, maybe the back yard (c'mon, lemmee in there, now). He wouldn't clue into looking at the phone, but sure knew the voices.

 

I know that regardless of where I am in the house or backyard, if I say "momma's home", my rottweiler will drop anything he's doing and run inside to the front door. If I tell him "go run" or "show me how fast you are", he'll immediately run out the dog door, wait at the top of the deck steps until I get there, and then run down the steps to start making laps around the back yard at full throttle. He's such a show off.

My cat? I tell him to "go run" and he looks at me and I could swear he tells me to piss off.

 

They understand -- and compensate for more than any of us realize....

Last night I was in a bit of "pain," self-induced from trying to shore up a retaining wall and collapsed onto bed -- not even sure -- around 6:30 p.m.??? I was immediately surrounded by a cordon of protective canines -- no -- not allowed on furniture and normally, not even supposed to be in the bedroom, but their protective hackles were up, I guess.

Husband Kevin came in to ask if I needed anything and he was confronted by a snarling Golden Retriever pup...

Pup was properly disciplined and sent outside, with the rest of the pack....

.

 

You folks are doing fantastic! I have trouble communicating with my wife.

 

Interaction with many dogs convinced me their 'intelligence' (not an easy term to define) varies widely. And yet...

One was a Dalmatian, a breed better known for enthusiasm than smarts. She learned some basics in puppy school, but nowhere near top of class. Then she and neighbor dog killed an unwise little dog visiting property. I was pretty darned mad and put Dalmatian on severe lockdown. Water and food but no social interaction. After arbitrarily ending that, her behavior completely changed. Everything one could ask of, I dun no, a border collie taking gingko.

It was like she had completely learned all her school lessons but never felt a need to demonstrate them. It wore off eventually, but I'll not forget that they may learn much more than they let on.

 

Y'know those dogs on TV that walk a half step behind you on left side, and when you stop, they sit down and wait for the boss to set off again? It was like that. And with this particular dog, it was startling.

==
Same Dal would play fetch with coconuts. Husks on, fallen from trees in yard, she could just barely get her canine teeth far enough apart to get a grip. She invented that game. Sorry no photos. You'll have to imagine what a Dalmatian hauling a coconut at full run looks like.

 

Inauthentic photo and probably a copyright violation to post. But you get the idea, Looks like an undersize 'nut' to me.

 

And a very strong jaw.

 

In my experience, dogs are all about the good times. As long as you understand that, everyone will get along fine.

 

Fact that owner/s made time to take that picture suggests this dog does understand...them. Infer what you will.

 

We've been watching My Self Reliance on YouTube; some of them, the dog (retriever) is a real scene stealer.

For a lot of years we had cats. I always had in the back of my mind that they were aloof, independent critters. One time we happened to be out in the back yard, and I noticed: the cats had come out too, just hanging with us. Bit of an epiphany.

 

We have a male Rottweiler (Gulliver) and female Husky (Bailey). We already had a solid white cat named Cracker when we got the Rottweiler as a puppy, so he grew up with Cracker watching over him. Other than Cracker totally kicking his "tail" one day, they've been buddies and watch each other's backs. (A very young Gulliver walked between Cracker and another cat Cracker was growling at. I guess it pissed him off, so he jumped on Gulliver's back, fully clawed for battle and actually rolled him over, MMA style. If he could have, I think he would have put him in a rear naked choke. Never heard a dog scream like that, it was horrible).

Any time we take the dogs for a neighborhood walk, Cracker follows in the background, trying to stay out of sight. Once we get about a 1/4 mile down the road, he has a set of bushes where he stops and hides. He stays there, hidden, until we come back. Once we get about 50 feet past him, he comes running up behind us and rubs on Gulliver's legs. Buddies for life..........

 

While still more independent than dogs, our cats have always insisted on a certain amount of time with their humans, and this amount seems to increase as they get older. To get more of this time, they do follow us around the house, will select a nap spot close to us when we sit down various places for reading or office work, or go outside to play or watch or nap nearby as we do yard work. Of course, TV time is the best, as laps are available for an extended period.

This behavior covers only a part of the day, they also need their solo nap times too. And time to go explore outside, which decreases with age, as they get more satisfied with merely surveying their yard domain from the deck seating or from inside through a window. We are on our third generation of cats now, and while each has had its own very distinct personality, all have behaved this way.

 

I took two cats to White Sands National Monument, exited vehicle and started climbing a sand dune. I have no idea what they thought (possibly "this is the biggest litterbox I've ever seen"?) but they followed me around until returning to vehicle.

In no other setting did they ever follow.