An American Question!

I was recently contacted by a veterinary student in America attempting to complete her thesis on canine emotions.

She  posed me three questions. This is how it read…………..

From: Alyssa Ferri
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2010 6:55 PM
To: theladydogwhisperer@tiscali.co.uk
Subject: I have a question to ask of you…

Hello, my name is Alyssa Ferri. I am a college student whom is currently doing a research paper, and I really think you could help me. My whole paper is on the reasons of why dogs are so loyal to us. My thesis is because they are instinctively pack animals and see us as their Alpha. I have a few questions that I would be delighted if you would answer for me.

1. What are your thoughts of why dogs are loyal?

2. Do you believe that dogs think and therefore dream?

3. Do you believe that dogs hold emotions like love?

If you would answer these questions with your honest opinion and knowledge  I would be forever thankful. I believe someone as your self would know more about this subject than anyone else.

Thank you,

Alyssa Ferri

—–Original Message—–
From: Amanda Astley Jones [mailto:theladydogwhisperer@tiscali.co.uk]
Sent: Thu 12/2/2010 2:13 PM
To: Alyssa Ferri
Subject: Re: I have a question to ask of you…

I have a question to ask of you…

 

Hi Alyssa,

I’d be delighted to answer your questions and will endeavour to do so by the beginning of next week at the latest, assuming that this is ok with you.
Just out of interest, where are you studying and what are hoping to do with your future post education, not that we ever really stop learning, at least I hope we don’t!

Amanda

Amanda Astley Jones
‘The Lady Dog Whisperer’
01600 714678
07753 149147
http://www.theladydogwhisperer.wordpress.com

From: Alyssa Ferri

Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2010 8:48 PM

To: Amanda Astley Jones

Subject: RE: I have a question to ask of you…

 

Goodness Thank you so much Amanda!

I don’t want to Inconvenience you, but i’ve been having a difficult time finding someone to even respond to my e-mails. If you could answer them over the weekend or at least by monday, that would be wonderful. I have to turn in a draft on tuesday, again I don’t want to Inconvenience you.
I am studying at a little community college called St. Clair County Community. It is located in Port Huron, Michigan. I am in my last semester here and am transferring to either Pennsylvania State or Michigan State in the fall. I am studying to become a veterinarian, which has been a long time dream of mine.

Also, is it ok that I use your exact words for my paper? I want to make sure before I turn it in. Another note, if you would like I can send you a copy of my paper so you can see how I used your words, and the final product.

Alyssa

 

Hi Alyssa,

I am happy for you to use my ‘exact words’ in principal, although I would of course like to see a copy of your paper with credits, before it is submitted (if possible). I appreciate that you are on a tight time line, so hope this reaches you with sufficient to spare!

Your questions provoke interesting and varying responses in anyone involved in canine behaviour, and my answers reflect my overwhelming belief, backed up by extensive research in wolf behaviour, the domestic dogs’ closest genetic relation, that dogs are intelligent, (although this does vary from breed to breed, and along breeding lines) social, instinctive, innovative and opportunistic pack animals, who thrive in a social group, crave company, respond to clear pack leadership and therein lies the essence of their great success to date.

I don’t think that dogs are loyal per say, and only show loyalty-a human trait we choose to infer on our canine cohorts- when they have been given clear leadership with which to be loyal too.

I’ll try and give you an example of this through my own pack, regularly given the ‘loyal’ name tag by observers, clients, friends and family alike. They have in me a clear and consummate pack leader. This means that they are able to relax and ‘follow’ without confusion, the need to challenge or the want of it either. Most dogs, and I really do mean most, are what I call natural ‘followers’. In the wild, they would look to be led, not to lead, something most of my clients have not realised and therefore their dog presents an imbalanced, confused demeanour, often with tragic consequences. All too often I’m told that the dog is in charge, something, quite frankly, it is unable to do without causing it huge amounts of stress and imbalance. Just like we all need boundaries, so too do dogs. I wouldn’t say more so, after all we, as humans, have managed to stretch boundaries often to the point of breaking, resulting in anarchy, war, the blind following of dictators and the dissolution of democracies, and that’s just for starters!

My pack literally follow my lead and therefore live in peace, balance and harmony, and yes, if we want to use a human term, show me absolute loyalty. But, that’s only because I’ve earned it in their eyes, and must maintain clear, calm assertive leadership at all times or chaos and carnage would ensue.

I absolutely believe that dogs think and therefore dream. But, and here’s the rub, only in an instinctive way, one that can be conditioned to do a job, serve a purpose or fulfill a role which we denote appropriate. Again, left to their own devices it would be chaos!

As humans, we tend to infer human thoughts and emotions on pretty much every animal we come in to contact with, and, whilst this can be very amusing to involve them in our cerebral playground, we do so at our peril.

Dogs, canids, are highly instinctive animals, who feed off energy, both positive and negative, and I believe their thought processes are based very much along these lines.

They will chase something that runs-hunt, they will track a scent-track and hunt, they will jump through hoops and over obstacles-conditioned learning : results=rewards, etc.

My working gundogs are encouraged to use their natural breed strengths : marking game down, following scents, hunting a bird down by following it’s scent, retrieving to me. And there’s the point; they are doing their job to please me, their pack leader, and as their pack leader I encourage them to think for themselves in the process of doing their job, but, if they weren’t doing it for me, lets be honest, they would do all the above but, instead of retrieving the bird to me, they would surely think ‘yum’ and disappear in to the undergrowth and gobble it to their hearts’ content!

Dreaming is another human term, but it does seem clear to me that dogs experience ‘dream-like’ processes fairly regularly, some more so than others. Otherwise, how do we explain their cantering legs, moans and groans if not for dreaming? However, unlike Freud, I wouldn’t attempt to try and analyse them! (Perhaps that’s something for you Alyssa, when you’re looking for a future research project!!)

And finally, although I’ve pretty much said it all in the above paragraphs, emotions like love, like, loyalty, are all human emotion all too readily inferred upon our canines. No is my simple answer, I don’t believe dogs experience love, we just want to believe that they do because it suits us to do so.

At one time humans too were instinctive creatures, and then we learned to speak and read, reason and debate, pray and philosophise, and ignore these instincts that had kept us safe since the beginning of our evolution. How often do we say ‘my gut instinct told me something was wrong’, but then allowed ourselves to be persuaded or dissuaded as it suited, only to find ourselves wanting?

Animals, and we’re talking particularly about dogs, only listen and behave according to an instinctive process, something they simply cannot shut down. They cannot be reasoned with, persuaded, cajoled or bought-off. How much we could learn from them indeed.

Alyssa, I do hope this has answered your questions in a useful and coherent way, and that it has arrived in time to be of some use in your research paper. If you haven’t already done so, have a look on my blog, where I think you’ll find some interesting thoughts which you might be able to add to the above.

I look forward to reading the finished paper and wish you the very best of luck with it.

Amanda

Amanda Astley Jones
‘The Lady Dog Whisperer’
01600 714678
07753 149147
www.theladydogwhisperer.wordpress.com