Scientist says new research proves 'dogs are people too'

My dog knows the sound of the phone conversation when my boyfriend orders pizza. As soon as he hears it, he waits by the door until the delivery person comes, and then proceeds to whine throughout the transaction. He has a vocabulary of about 20-30 words, including "car ride," "belly rub" and "go for a walk." He can even spell w-a-l-k, and there is no peace after you've said it. He does a "down dog" stretch every morning accompanied by his version of "hell-o-o." When left alone in the car, we always find him in the driver's seat, sitting up like a person. He loves all pillows and clean sheets.

As best friends go, my Rhodesian Ridgeback-Akita-Golden Lab-Dalmation-Beagle-Yorkie is the bomb. And yes, I anthropomorphize him, but with behavior like that, it's hard not to!

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan


Yeah, even here where I am (45,000 population), the demand seems to be pretty large. There is one pit rescue facility in my town and it sounds like the lady that runs it is up against some of the same issues the lady you speak of faced.
I'm gonna have to donate something. She asks for foster homes to help, and I would like to help there, but unfortunately I can't do that at the moment. I guess monies is about all I can do.

I feel that should say "More like people that we once thought" Saying they are people just sounds dumb imo.

JayinAR
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

Yeah, even here where I am (45,000 population), the demand seems to be pretty large. There is one pit rescue facility in my town and it sounds like the lady that runs it is up against some of the same issues the lady you speak of faced.
I'm gonna have to donate something. She asks for foster homes to help, and I would like to help there, but unfortunately I can't do that at the moment. I guess monies is about all I can do.

A few kennels or runs always helps. And food. If it gets cold, some blankets too.

I am sure she would tell you what she needs if you ask. Those four legged friends may not realize you are helping...but it is more about nursing your own inner self, really.

Zanti Misfit
reply to post by hknudzkknexnt

 


" Researchers out of Emory University have spent the past two years training dogs to go into MRI scanners so they could get the first scans of their active brains. "


Good Luck trying to get my Cat into one of those things..

i297.photobucket.com...

Of course you can't get a cat into one of those things. Cat's aren't people, they're much more intelligent.

Reality defined by scientists..........we're doomed. Reality defined by clergy......we're doomed. Reality defined by "intelligent people", we're doomed.

Dogs are human too? We're doomed.

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

Hey Tex, good for you fro providing a home and love to that little gal and condolences on your loss of Roscoe. I like your idea of how dogs learn from each other, which unfortunately sometimes includes picking up bad habits too, haha. I have tested my dog before we go for a walk, and have masked any cues before going. I just say in my head, loudly, "wanna go for a walk?" She responds from sheer intention it seems. Plus we have seen the test where a camera captures a dogs reaction to owner on their way home, before they arrive. They even switched the time so to eliminate the predictive factor. Amazing indeed, and it's kind of funny that dogs actually evolved by training us as much as we trained them.

reply to post by teslahowitzer


Your're right. I've seem some humans do that as well! Though I'd questions whether humans were quite as intelligent as dogs. Or Chipmunks.

btw I'm reminded of the late, great, Douglas Adams:

"Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much—the wheel, New York, wars and so on—whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man—for precisely the same reasons"

Zanti Misfit
reply to post by hknudzkknexnt

 


" Researchers out of Emory University have spent the past two years training dogs to go into MRI scanners so they could get the first scans of their active brains. "


Good Luck trying to get my Cat into one of those things..

i297.photobucket.com...

You should be grateful your cat won'tr go into an MRI...you'd quickly discover a cat scan would reveal a complete and utter distain for Humanity generally, a deep rooted sense of self importance and an astonishing indifference for your wants or needs.

Basically, it hates you - but pretends to like you right around feeding time. If you cat had an opposable thumb, it would probably try to cut your throat while you slept...keep it well away from the scanner!

It's sad that we need (well, some of us) a study to prove that dogs do indeed have thoughts, emotions, etc.

I've been around dogs my entire life, and it's clear to me that they do indeed have emotions. And despite Cesar Milan being good at what he does, he is DEFINITELY wrong about one thing.. Dogs DO remember something they did 12 hours ago.

My labmutt likes to cuddle with my shoes when I'm gone. She doesn't eat them, she just carries them to her bed and...cuddles with them. If I come home and notice only one shoe at the foot of the stairs, I'll show her the shoe and can tell by her reaction whether or not she took the other one.

If you define "person" as an individual with a personality, thoughts, desires, quirky habits, likes and dislikes, individuality.. Then dogs are absolutely people too.

reply to post by hknudzkknexnt


Dogs are awesome. No doubt. I never had a dog growing up, but inherited one when I met my now wife. I couldn't imagine life without a dog now. Riley (my dog) is one of the best things that happened to me ever, and we have such a connection it's surreal sometimes. She can tell when I'm annoyed, and tries to comfort me. Love this - need more stuff like this on ATS!

reply to post by AndyMayhew


Hear, hear!!

Such great and pertinent literature will not be seen again soon...
Frank Herbert was our last one. The 'Dune' series.

(I didn't know Douglas Adams had died.... )

Dogs are better than humans, in many ways.

I have never seen a human, after being tortured, beaten, starved and half dead from battling another dog, come home only to want to please their owner more.

No creature, on this Earth, has this kind of personality.

Not your cat, not your turtle, not your snails, not your family members, no one, nothing. A dog, would and have many times proven this in the past.

I'm mostly talking about the dogs that were bred to fight to the death.

reply to post by hknudzkknexnt


It's important to keep the quotations in place. "Dogs are people too". If by people, we mean they are capable of socializing with human beings at some level, then yes. But when we say people, we mean so much more than that, don't we?

For the sake of clarity, dogs, dolphins, and all non-human animals, are not persons, though they are capable of a surprisingly coherent degree of communication with us.

Persons, as in human beings, however, are emotionally and conceptually complex creatures. There's not a single animal on this planet that comes anywhere near our complexity.

Even when we say the "genius" of dogs, or dolphins, it should be put in quotations; nothing they do is inherently "genius". When a dog does some amazing trick, people forget that he was coaxed into doing that; some combination of positive and negative reenforcers got that dog prepared to do the trick.

Humans, on the other land, are existentially different from this. Our experience can be consciously directed, planned, and mindfully attended to. It should go without saying that this puts us in an ontologically different category.

reply to post by graceunderpressure


BTW, the whole brain-imaging method is fraught with problems. When you get a dog to sit still in an MRI machine - no small feat given the loud, unnerving beats of the machines pendulum - you have to keep in mind that the DOG IS being compromised by the training you have affected.

Psychologically, the dog must be dissociating from the context it finds itself. Normally, the sound of an MRI machine would make it anxious; so what are the trainers doing to the dogs to keep them so still? And how would this psychological effect appear on an fMRI scan??

It's hard to tease apart the effect of the training from the apparent happiness a dog experiences when it plays with it's owner (this doesn't require an fMRI to demonstrate)

truthseeker84
Dogs are better than humans, in many ways.

I have never seen a human, after being tortured, beaten, starved and half dead from battling another dog, come home only to want to please their owner more.

No creature, on this Earth, has this kind of personality.

Not your cat, not your turtle, not your snails, not your family members, no one, nothing. A dog, would and have many times proven this in the past.

I'm mostly talking about the dogs that were bred to fight to the death.

Agree.

It's something we Humans can learn from: Forgiveness and Letting Go.
Even Human Kids do this better than most who call themselves Human 'Adults'.

reply to post by truthseeker84

I have never seen a human, after being tortured, beaten, starved and half dead from battling another dog, come home only to want to please their owner more.

Ever heard of Stockholm syndrome?

The part of the brain that makes a dog loyal to an abusive owner also exists in humans; it's called the mammalian brain, comprising parts of the basal ganglia and other non-cortical areas.

No creature, on this Earth, has this kind of personality.

Most mammals are capable of this behavior.

Phage
Nah. Dogs ain't people. People wouldn't eat the things my dog picks up of the ground and scarfs before I can get to him.
People don't do shoulder dives and roll around it foul things (the fouler the better) like my dog does before I can get to him.
People don't endlessly run after, get, and bring back tennis balls.

That don't mean my dog doesn't really like me...an vice versa.

edit on 10/7/2013 by Phage because: (no reason given)

they do all those things, sometimes they just do in in more unoticable ways, like perfume and candy

Beaver Anal Glands a Common Ingredient? Dam Right!

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Together man and dog get rich for the love scent of whale vomit!

Women love it it seems!

Man finds rare whale vomit worth $65k
www.abc.net.au...

I have an English Mastiff who is the smartest most gentle dog I have ever owned, and the massive dog food bill every month is well worth it.

I would probably go into a massive depression if something happened to him.

Also I have a black lab who is getting older(breaks my heart), and a Golden Retriever/Collie mix that is too smart for his own good!

All three are very obedient and not at all pets.
Other than my brother they are also roommates!

It doesn't take an MRI scan to know this but it is pretty cool to have it backed with more scientific evidence than previously.