Lessons From and For 4 Legs

Admittedly I am biased, but how could these faces not bring a grin to yours? I know they make me laugh every day!

Although there were so many things we learned during the c/t contest on the Training Levels Yahoo Group one thing I loved seeing was how we reacted to a simple game with our 4legged friends.

One point of the contest was to help us improve our clicker skills. There are other things I have done to try and increase my skills such as clicking when a commercial changes or when a traffic light changes. I know others have tried these and other tricks also. But this game has a motivating benefit that the dogs love it. When you are watching them “hoover” up the treats one after another, clearly thinking they won the treat lottery, their joy is contagious.

As the times started pouring in people were getting faster and faster. And people kept trying and reporting over and over, making and posting video’s. (Which you should really check out!) I have to wonder would we all have got so excited over contest to click commercials? I think the fact that the dogs loved this game so much made us love it.

So does that work in reverse? Could our excitement have been helping our dogs be excited? Was our joy helping them be “in the game”? I think so. (And I’m sure the treats didn’t hurt!)

What other anecdotal evidence is there that joy is contagious no matter how many legs you have? Meeka is good example. If we start laughing, at anything, she will nearly always respond with excitement. Even if something strikes us funny on the t.v. she responds to our reaction.

How? She turns into “wild-girl”. Wriggling, prancing, nubbin waggin’, growly and woofing. The more excited we get the more excited she gets. Is she joyful because we are? I’d like to think so.

Maizey? She expresses her joy starting with her tail. My grandpa says its like a flag waving in the wind. When she is happy it’s like a sail that moves the rest of her body. (I love tails!) She also seems to think happy or sad Maizey kisses are the best way to let you know she’s with you.

My conclusions about dogs and human emotions? Anyone that shares their life with a 4legged friend knows that our pups react to us, happy or sad. But we know even more is that our pups stimulate and motivate our emotions. Even if the only  emotion is loving them!

Yesterday: Little Man and Meeka’s reaction to sadness. Today: Maizey.

Maizey is an interesting case. She is most certainly affected by sadness, and I would go so far as to say by discomfort in humans. She has a very interesting way of expressing this concern. She thinks she should smash her face into yours. (We affectionately call this “face hugs”.) She also will lick your face, if allowed. Apparently in Maizey world the way to comfort someone is to basically smother them with Cavalier ears!

The differences in Maizey’s concern though are fascinating. While she most certainly is emotionally enmeshed (to continue a theme) with me, her concern is not limited to me. I have seen her try to comfort many of our 2legged friends in this way.

Once I even saw her try to give face hugs to a friend whom I have never seen her physically interact with very much at all. The only thing perceptible to me that was wrong with our friend was that she had the flu, but Maizey obviously thought she needed cheering up cause she hopped right up onto her chest and proceeded to smother her in cavalier ears! It worked too, as we all got a good laugh out of it, but being smothered by cavalier ears and kisses is something not too many would truly appreciate for long!

Another difference in Maizey’s reaction to human sadness is the effect it has on her. Unlike Little Man she does show classic signs of stress to severe sorrow. I have seen “Wale” or “pop eye”, easily observed in great big Cavalier eyes. Also increased panting, and heart rate. Pacing and general nervousness are other things I have observed.

She not only exhibits the drive to comfort human sadness, she seems to be personally affected by it. Her sorrow at human sorrow? Again I’m not going to go that far, perhaps it is more on the level of personal survival. If I, as one of the key 2legged members of her pack is unstable does she perceive it as a threat to her stability? I really don’t know how she is perceiving it, I just know that she obviously is in some way.

"You okay crazyhumanperson? I can smother you if it will help!"

Obviously there are so many layers to this subject which I am (obviously) not qualified to address. Kathleen commented in the last post about emotions the difference in breeds, (“sneak peek: Rotties were ranked low for “Demand for Affection” and “Excitability”").

But it is not only breed that affects how a 4legged friend will react. What about sex, intact or not, history, etc. etc. etc. Hopefully as we go through these posts we may come to some conclusions about these matters. And at the end of it all, why does it matter so much? On this I have some definite theories in the making!

First though, what about the other end of the spectrum? What about joy and happiness? Or excitement? Please again inspire me: How do your pups react to human happiness? After you have given me your stories come on back and see what I have observed of this in my 4legged friends.