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Town Hall
Animal Bonding (NovemberDecember 2009)
In this month's Muse, we met a scientist and a parrot with a very special bond. Alex learned to talk, but it also seemed like he and Dr. Pepperberg had something deeper going on--they understood each other's emotions, not just words. We met another scientist, Dr. Toni Frohoff, who believes that the Baja gray whales are trying to make friends with human whalewatchers. Do you talk to your pet? Can animals and people really understand each other? Why do people say that dogs (or starfish, Komodo dragons, dingoes, etc.) are man's best friend?
Somtimes, my Mom and I can say to my dog, "Go get them, girl!" and she runs to my little sisters' bedroom. Somtimes I really talk to her, not just tell her to do tricks. I don't think she can really understand me.
(November 14, 2009 - 12:01 am)
I think your dog can kind of understand you but not in words, your dog may be using your speech patterns as guidance of what she should do.
(November 23, 2009 - 8:25 pm)
I agree with Lily because I have a hamster and she just goes crazy whatever I do. Then again, gray whales and presumably parrots have bigger brains than hamsters.
(November 30, 2009 - 5:40 pm)
I think pets-and animals-can understand us. When I say lie down, my dog lies down.He also knows when i'm scared and comes to comfort me, even if i haven't said anything. And dolphins are friendly to humans without us training them. That proves they understand us.
(November 14, 2009 - 6:11 pm)
I think that when you say 'sit' or 'lie down' to your dog and your dog does it, it just means you've trained your dog well. When you train it, it probably learned, 'oh, if I do that, I'll get a treat' which is usually how dogs are trained. They might not actually recognize the language, but by listening to the sound of that certain word, might know what to do...
(December 31, 2009 - 9:29 pm)
You both make valid points. Dogs, along with many animals, empathize with us and seem to know exactly what we're thinking. I think most of this is just instinct; animals don't speak the same language as we do. However, they have the natural ability to pick up on how we feel. But if you tell a dog to lie down and it obeys, chances are it will behave that way. Animals often also have heightened senses -- they can tell if a storm is coming by tension in the air, and will react accordingly (i.e, hiding under the bed.)
(January 3, 2010 - 9:26 pm)
i think it's odd (but cool) that animals can tell how people are feeling. like whenever i'm sad my cat rubs against me and purrs. but when i'm happy she playfully goes afer my toes while i'm walking. Also my friend's cat says bless you whenever someone sneezes. she says meew.
(August 29, 2010 - 8:58 pm)
I think that animals understand a LOT more than humans give them credit for. I mean look at Alex. My dogs and cats understand when I'm upset, and try to comfert me. Bo and Crraw are Talking Animals! How can you say they can't understand us when they teach us all this cool stuff?
(November 18, 2009 - 2:58 pm)
No kidding! It seems mean to say that in front of Crraw and Bo!
(December 19, 2009 - 2:49 pm)
I have never tried to talk to my fish but I have played my violin near them and have had no effect. However I have never tried to play my trumpet near them and I probably will and see if there is an effect. In the past I have trained them feeding techniques but stopped a few months ago because it was getting to hard to remember.
(November 23, 2009 - 8:19 pm)
I always talk to my dog like it is a human. You might say my dog is my best friend. I did the same thing to my cat. All animals have a special way of listening. They really do understand what you say. You might not feel the same way, but that's how it is for me.
(November 27, 2009 - 7:27 pm)
I totally agree! My canine cousin has the strongest tail, and when he whacks me with it he knows he hurt me and comes back and licks my face. And I think they DO understand us!
(December 12, 2009 - 2:56 pm)
alex is the funniest bird!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(November 30, 2009 - 4:50 pm)
I think if animals' brains are big and complex enough, the can follow your tone or your speech patterns, like Henry said. But how can there be enough info in, say, a mosquito's brain to even just tell it how to move its wings? Or is everything just scaled down a ton?
(November 30, 2009 - 5:45 pm)
You know, i think to know how smart animals are, you need a definition of smart. For example, a dog may know what a squirrel sounds like, and will know its around long before you, while humans won't have such an easy time identifying the sound.
(December 11, 2009 - 7:12 pm)
i think that if an animal is smart, it's like Alex, that parrot and it doesn't have to know things like tricks to be smart. i don't think that dogs are smarter than cats because they know tricks and actually a cats brain is closer to a human brain so they think tricks are stupid.
(December 14, 2009 - 8:43 pm)
i talk to my pets all the time i think they can understand us alo i think they refer to dogs and other pets as mans best friend because most people consider pets as friends
(December 14, 2009 - 10:18 pm)
And don't forget guinea pigs! My guinea pigs are wonderful! They can even go left/ right when I tell them! And they are the most wonderful pets ever! My dad is a naturalist, so he brings us back loads of pets (crayfish, rhinoceros beetles that do morning workouts, frogs that like strawberries, whatever) but the guinea pigs are my favorite. No, my dad did not bring them from South America. I got them from a pet store on my birthday after getting free dessert at Zapata's.
(January 1, 2010 - 11:50 am)
Could you give more information on the rhinoceros beetles' morning workout? That sounds unusual!
(January 3, 2010 - 1:52 pm)
Well, y'see, first it would run laps around whatever food it had, then it would flip over and wiggle its legs, then it would flip rightside-up, and finally it would drink some water and repeat about 3 times.
(January 6, 2010 - 4:26 pm)
When we say "Get the leash! Leash! Get the leash!", our dog gets really excited because he knows he's going somewhere. So today my mom said "Fuzzy blanket! Fuzzy blanket!" in the same tone of voice, and he just looked at her, as if to say, "I know that means something... but I don't know what." Then when she said "Get the leash!" like normal, he got really excited again. In my mind, this suggests that dogs, even if they don't actually understand our language, can associate specific phrases with specific events, not just understand our tone of voice.
(January 6, 2010 - 5:28 pm)
I think animals are WAY smarter then we give them credit for. I mean, if we came from animals, then animals must be pretty smart too, right? Also, we are animals. Have you ever looked into an animal's (maybe your dog or cat) eyes and seen something there? I probably sound like a hippie animal speaker or something (no offence to hippies or animal speakers) But why would we spend millions of dollars a year on our pets if we didn't think they were important and intelligent enough to undersand we were helping them. As a *hopefully* future vetrinarian, I really hope that people realize that animals are not "dumb" and understand more then we think. Not saying animals are as smart as we are, but you never know. They are smarter then us in some things though, like not having wars and issues with death. Live in the moment, like the animal within!!!!!!! WEEEEEEHAAAAAA! And you bet I talk to my pets. (Bunnies, bird, cats, dog)
(January 31, 2010 - 7:57 pm)
Whenever I feel sick (or just bad in general), my cats always come up and stay in the same room as me, and it makes me feel better.
One time, my brother's cat protected my parents from a black racer snake-not poisonous, but pretty amazing all the same.
Last topic: sometimes I can sort of talk to my cats. I don't understand them, precisely, but I sort of understand their feelings...
(March 4, 2010 - 12:26 pm)