Showing posts with label talking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label talking. Show all posts
Monday, December 8, 2014
Things I never thought I'd say before owning Elka
Just a quick list of things I never thought I'd say before owning Elka. I'm sure these aren't Elka/Doberman specific, and I'm sure there's more, but this is what I can think of. I'm told parents also have similar lists (human parents, not "pet parents") but either way, feel free to share 'em!
Friday, February 21, 2014
Canine News Roundup
The weather is blah and my post is late and so you're getting some interesting dog news that I've seen recently. Enjoy!
Apparently many US athletes at Sochi are adopting stray dogs. Russia's official solutions to stray dogs in general, and at Sochi specifically, were heartbreaking at best, and but for the diligent work of some individuals forming rescues, many many dogs would have been euthanized for the sake of public appearances. Our country has a stray dog problem as well, though at least they tend not to be viewed as "biological trash" (or one might hope not).
In other (and even happier?) news, scientists have discovered/decided that dogs do, in fact, know what we're saying. Or at least understand that we are speaking to them, as they have centers in their brain dedicated to speech, discovered in another study using MRI. They're also sensitive to emotions (but I'll be you knew that already!).
I last wrote about Detroit here in November (I think) when I posted about an organization who was doing "Thanksgiving Dinner" for Detroit's stray dogs. Well, on February 18, animal advocates in Detroit stayed overnight in dog houses, to "raise awareness about the dangers of leaving pets outside at night". I understand that my dog values are not everybody's dog values, nor are they necessarily common, but it blows my mind that people will regularly leave their pets outside through all sorts of temperatures and weather. If they changed even one person's mind, it's worth it, and I hope they reached a lot of people, and changed a lot of minds. Dogs (and cats) die outside in the winter. They're mammals, just like people. These are not difficult facts.
Apparently many US athletes at Sochi are adopting stray dogs. Russia's official solutions to stray dogs in general, and at Sochi specifically, were heartbreaking at best, and but for the diligent work of some individuals forming rescues, many many dogs would have been euthanized for the sake of public appearances. Our country has a stray dog problem as well, though at least they tend not to be viewed as "biological trash" (or one might hope not).
In other (and even happier?) news, scientists have discovered/decided that dogs do, in fact, know what we're saying. Or at least understand that we are speaking to them, as they have centers in their brain dedicated to speech, discovered in another study using MRI. They're also sensitive to emotions (but I'll be you knew that already!).
I last wrote about Detroit here in November (I think) when I posted about an organization who was doing "Thanksgiving Dinner" for Detroit's stray dogs. Well, on February 18, animal advocates in Detroit stayed overnight in dog houses, to "raise awareness about the dangers of leaving pets outside at night". I understand that my dog values are not everybody's dog values, nor are they necessarily common, but it blows my mind that people will regularly leave their pets outside through all sorts of temperatures and weather. If they changed even one person's mind, it's worth it, and I hope they reached a lot of people, and changed a lot of minds. Dogs (and cats) die outside in the winter. They're mammals, just like people. These are not difficult facts.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Conversations with Dogs
Every time we have a "new" person, they must acclimate to Elka. I don't mean in the "we let her do what she wants and so they have to deal with it" way. I mean in the "this dog is as intelligent as a toddler and that can be kind of mind blowing at times" way.
Elka tries very clearly to communicate with us. I sort of get the impression that a lot of Dobermans, and other intelligent breeds, do as well. They want to get their point across. And because we've always talked so much to Elka, her comprehensive vocabulary is pretty good. I've never tried to count how many words I think she knows. I don't mean cues or commands specifically, I mean words in general.
Elka tries very clearly to communicate with us. I sort of get the impression that a lot of Dobermans, and other intelligent breeds, do as well. They want to get their point across. And because we've always talked so much to Elka, her comprehensive vocabulary is pretty good. I've never tried to count how many words I think she knows. I don't mean cues or commands specifically, I mean words in general.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
I have a post on Dogster.com!
Hey folks!
Not sure if any of my regular readers also read Dogster.com, though I do. They have a section (column?) called Dogster Confessionals, for which they accept reader submissions. I sent one in, and it's running today!
So, hop on over, if you'd like, and read "I'm Not Hearing Voices: My Dog Talks to Me"
Not sure if any of my regular readers also read Dogster.com, though I do. They have a section (column?) called Dogster Confessionals, for which they accept reader submissions. I sent one in, and it's running today!
So, hop on over, if you'd like, and read "I'm Not Hearing Voices: My Dog Talks to Me"
Friday, September 28, 2012
The Silent Treatment
On Tuesday, I read a blog post called A Simple Trick for Calming an Excited Dog, on the True to Dogs blog. While Elka isn't Super! Excited! All! The! Time! I thought that it would be interesting to try, for my own sake. There are times I talk too much, I know it's true.
For the experiment, we went to a park that we had not visited before. It was totally empty when we pulled up, which was pretty rad. I put the long leash on her, and attached it to the leather leash around my waist. If I was going to go words free, why not hands free too, right?
For the experiment, we went to a park that we had not visited before. It was totally empty when we pulled up, which was pretty rad. I put the long leash on her, and attached it to the leather leash around my waist. If I was going to go words free, why not hands free too, right?
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