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pktechgirlbackupI just watched Dogs Decoded on Netflix streaming, and I'm pretty impressed. It was interesting, well explained, well backed up, and while simplified in places, it was not done in such a way as to create misleading impressions. Way to go PBS. My biggest complaint is that in all their talk about how humans and dogs evolved together, they didn't introduce the evidence that humans experienced the hallmarks of domestication (large head, prolonged childhood and maintenance of neotonous features into adulthood, weakening of certain senses) at the same time dogs did, but I can understand not wanting to fit that into a 50 minute program.
The website has a a test to see if you can match dog barks with dog emotions. I did great at the aggressive barks but floundered with various happy barks, which makes sense, because as a lifelong dog avoider those are the barks I'd need to know, but was also the most common pattern among test takers, which makes sense, because if you're in a world with dogs but don't own one yourself, recognizing imminent attacks is more important than distinguishing "I want to play" from "I want a walk". What I find especially interesting is that I was better at identifying the emotions of random dogs I couldn't see than I am at identifying the emotions of cats I have owned and loved for years. Every cat I've owned makes the same noise no matter what it wants- out, food, toys, love- and you guess what they want based on their location. I hesitate to say dogs have a more sophisticated language, but humans do seem to have an understanding with them we don't have with cats. If you have any interest in animal behavior or human evolution, I encourage you to check it out.
Side note: since last Christmas, Surviving Childhood Cat has developed an "I'm being tortured" meow that he uses to request attention and food. 16 years old seems like an odd time to develop this sound.
The website has a a test to see if you can match dog barks with dog emotions. I did great at the aggressive barks but floundered with various happy barks, which makes sense, because as a lifelong dog avoider those are the barks I'd need to know, but was also the most common pattern among test takers, which makes sense, because if you're in a world with dogs but don't own one yourself, recognizing imminent attacks is more important than distinguishing "I want to play" from "I want a walk". What I find especially interesting is that I was better at identifying the emotions of random dogs I couldn't see than I am at identifying the emotions of cats I have owned and loved for years. Every cat I've owned makes the same noise no matter what it wants- out, food, toys, love- and you guess what they want based on their location. I hesitate to say dogs have a more sophisticated language, but humans do seem to have an understanding with them we don't have with cats. If you have any interest in animal behavior or human evolution, I encourage you to check it out.
Side note: since last Christmas, Surviving Childhood Cat has developed an "I'm being tortured" meow that he uses to request attention and food. 16 years old seems like an odd time to develop this sound.
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Date: 2010-12-29 09:39 pm (UTC)