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

We've got 3 cats, ages 15, 16, and 2 years old.

Animals, I am convinced, are far more intelligent than we (as in most people) believe them to be. Cats, dogs, pigs, or any higher animal which lives domestically with humans must play the game of staying domestic, which necessarily involves learning the rules and schedules of the house. Conformity is the first level of 2-way understanding.

Any pet owner knows that food time is food time, and a pet's internal clock is very very good. I am convinced one of our cats can partially read a digital clock, something he looks at occasionally when sleeping on a bed. When it reads 4am, he knows it is time to leave the room and go off into another room, but not without his usual laptop hug and hold first. The tapping on a leg or arm is a universal seeking permission to do something, like come up to sit on a lap. Every one of the 8 cats we've had has learned to do the tap on their own. The "please, can I?" I like to call it, just has to be connected to thinking through certain future situations.

Another one of our cats has known her name since she was young. We got her at 7 years of age from a nearby shelter. We were told she answered to Ember. In a room of 12 individually caged cats, the shelter worker called out her name and she alone answered with an affirmative meow. She still comes to either of us when called by name, something no other of our cats have ever done. If in a room with Junebug, if we call out "hey Junebug," Ember will look at Junebug and then to us. She knows names and moreover knows the meaning of why names exist. I'll bet a bottle of cat treats she also understands dozens or more words and phrases as well, but can't communicate her understanding adequately to our satisfaction, which is sad and frustrating for her and us.

I've never kept dogs, but when I see owners talking to theirs, the dogs look intently to their human directly in the eye, and turn their heads a bit and flex their ears as we talk with them. I would absolutely love to know exactly what they all (cats and dogs) know. If there is an afterlife for us and I hope also for them, I want them all there and I hope we can communicate on a much more equal level. There's a lot we have to discuss.

The sig I have at the cat forum I participate in is "A cat is more intelligent than people believe, and can be taught any crime." - Mark Twain Notebook, 1895

 

Our two labbies understand us completely, but choose to ignore us...

 

Wise too, huh?

 

One thing (I think) a lot of people agree on is whether their animals like someone (or not) is usually an indication of their good judgement.

 

My spouse fosters kittens for an area shelter. They arrive too young to be adopted out, so most go to foster homes until they reach 8 weeks and 2 pounds and get better socialized, ready for mandatory neutering for adoption placement. The shelter randomly assigns names for their own tracking purposes.

Spouse very strongly bonded with one of the kittens in our very first batch, and adopted him after the neutering. She used the assigned names during fostering, but then tried to change it to something better after adoption. Nope, he had already learned his shelter name, and wasn't going to change. So he kept it for life (which was too short, most likely due to feline HCM).

Now she insists that we don't use their shelter names, so that later adoptive parents can more easily assign their own. We have since fostered around a hundred cats, mostly young kittens, and adopted three (including that first one), sort of on the 'try before you buy" plan. (It was very hard to not adopt many more.)

 

My last pet was a wonderful Rhodesian Ridgeback. If you never had one, they are extremely intelligent and loyal to the bone! We lost her 10 years ago at 14 years of age. Due to just how sweet and human like she was, we haven't replaced her. As an example of her intelligence, when I would spend too much time in the office away from the family, she use to come to the open door and just stare at me, until I would get up and join the family in the living room. It didn't matter what time of day, if I was in the office over 2 hours, she would come get me.

We originally got her from the dog pound. I never had to potty train her. She trained us to know that she already knew where to do her thing. And on rainy days, she would hold it for hours till there was a break in the rain, then bolt thru the doggy door! It was funny! She never vomited, peed or pooped in the house, that is, until the end. And she looked at us with these really sad eyes! We knew something was wrong, so we took her to the vet. The vet told us her kidneys have shut down and that she is dying. Our sweet dog knew it was time to go. There are other situations, too touching to go over without really missing her, so I won't go into other details. She was one special dog!

 

Speaking of food, before the "panic rush" hit the grocery stores, I figured I had better stock up on hound food, just in case. So, instead of the 150 pounds usually kept on hand, made it 300 pounds -- Thank goodness for our local discount store dog food prices.

Told my husband, if we ran out of human food, the dogs would have to share....

 

Not easy letting go.

At the moment, somehow, I am stuck with four hounds. I only "have" two, but between various and sundry sob stories from friends and relatives, well../...

So, hopefully, once this virus thing goes away, I will only be stuck with two again (a puppy, that really is not a puppy anymore) and an older dog that is extremely special.

But, when (if???) the other two go away, it will be difficult -- although I imagine the dogs will appreciate getting back to their "real" families....
kris

 

We "dog-sit" a neighbor dog quite regularly. We have a fenced yard. If we did not let him play in the yard with our dogs, the poor rat terrier would be stuck inside all day. That makes a terrier VERY hyper.

 

I should note that the our very first foster kitten, the first (of a litter of three) to step out of the pet carrier and immediately follow the spouse down the hall -- she just couldn't give up. We kept him for life. Since then, the shelter has banned new foster families from adopting out of their very first batch.

The other two of that litter did go back on schedule, as spouse 'needs' at least one Siamese, which this litter was not. Though it was not easy to release them either. Spouse then promptly purchased a Siamese kitten to keep the shelter kitten company. They made excellent playmates for later foster batches that year. The Siamese then acted as an excellent mother to additional foster litters for the rest of her life, while the male would be better described as 'mostly tolerant' of them, occasionally needing to just get away to nap somewhere that the ankle-biters couldn't disturb him.

With volume, it does get somewhat easier to let them go. It also helps to have permanent pets staying behind, so that foster return doesn't leave the house empty. I also had many more pets and farm animals around in my youth than my spouse had, so was more conditioned to seeing them leave or expire.

From what I've seen, including having the dog-in-law left at the farm during a few of my farm and elder care shifts, they can adapt very well to any good family. But they do get extra excited when their primary family returns.

 

My nut job Jack understands way too much.

About 7 years ago Alabama had some very bad tornadoes many people died and Tampa & Pinellas County (mine) ASPCA went up there and brought back 50 dogs owners mia from the tornadoes.
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My Wife was prowling around ASPCA & Humane looking for a dog and found our little guy about 15 minutes after he was neutered and put back in his cell. It was cute little him and 40 pit bulls that were just scary.

He understands just about everything I say. Git-stop-go-up-here-get in- shut up- eat -drink-and goes crazy if I say wheres mama. Half jack half chihuahua. Notorious ratter.
One person dog and I'm the one person. Wont leave my side stays in the window waiting for me till I come home. Its weird because I'm not lovable lol. Kinda sad really for my wife. Wife complains alot about that. Ignores her when I am home. But we wrestle alot and I groom him.

For some reason he spends alot of his time sitting up on his hind quarters. Quite the weirdo.

And terrified of storms when he hears rumbling coming in he hides under things and wont come out. I built him a little bomb shelter in my office he likes. I suspect the ceiling fell in on him during the Alabama tornado.

Hey You know what dags love? Training treats! Put your dog in the bedroom close the door and then hide training treats all over the house.
Let him loose he will have the time of his life finding them while we chant TRAINING TREATS!!!! Man he loves that.

That an doggie day care. He knows the street to get there and second we get on that street he starts howling lol.

 

A smart poodle prevented me from burning down family house, while in high school and family away. So, beyond lovability and language skills, ex-wolves at times perform irreplaceable domestic services.

 

I love the training treat idea.

Several jerky treats for the dogs -- maybe outside -- sort of an Easter egg hunt...and a bottle or two of IPA for the immature one in the house...hint, he's male and over 30 and that is not in dog years.

 

Dogs can save our lives and cats can save our sanity. Neither certainly will, but both might. That's all I've got without writing overly long in reply. I'd much rather read here about others' INTERACTIONS with them, our 10k-year companions.

 

Can’t HE hide the treats to leave you with the IPA?

 

I recently bought these grooming gloves on Amazon to help de-shed my dog. He's a short haired dog that has terrible shedding. They work great he doesn't mind them they really bust alot of hair loose the metal bristle brush wasn't getting. I recommend these.

 

I've got one cat who might cause our insanity, but the other two cats will certainly save the sanity we lose with the one.

Anyone else have a passive-aggressive pet? This one will switch on us in a half second.