Animal Intelligence--Expanding YOUR Knowledge

I would be more impressed with animal cognition if I saw deaf dogs teaching deaf humans sign language though.

I didn't know about that, but it makes sense that they would. I always thought they just used voice commands. However, I can imagine circumstances where they might not wish to make noise, & thus need to signal their dogs silently. I've always known dogs, & many other animals, were getting short shrift in the brains department from humans. I was told, in fact, that animals are not like us because they can't reason, & don't have language as we understand it. Ha! As if! Clearly some birds, equines, primates, & dogs, do understand at least some of our forms of speech, which negates that myth! (Frankly, they understand ours better than we do theirs!) And as for reasoning, let me give you one of my favorite examples of having personally witnessed it in a cat I knew. "Sab" was Elic's cat, & she was super smart! She "played" a zither to greet Elic when she came home from work, could unscrew jar lids, & did other amazing things. She even played little jokes on us. Sab was a gorgeous half Siamese (the apple-headed variety), solid black, & all love. The word "stranger" was not in her "vocabulary." One day we adopted a young Russian Blue cat from the pound, & brought her home. We had another cat, so we knew that Sab, if not Zu, would accept the newbie; we hoped the acceptance would be mutual... We named the newbie Silver, & sat back to supervise the greeting ceremony among them. Zu mostly ignored her, but Sab galloped right up, "Oh boy a new friend" written in every line of her. But Silver cringed. She didn't even run she was so frightened of Sab's exuberant playfulness. She huddled miserably into herself, traumatized by her experiences at the pound & this new, unknown environment. We felt so sorry for her! And so did Sab, apparently. She stopped trying to get Silver to play with her, sat, & just studied her for a moment. Then she slowly stood up, approached the shy & terrified kitty, quietly sat by her & then reached over to her & licked her face. Then she sat right next to her, as if to say, "It's okay. I won't hurt you, & when you're ready, we can be friends." Silver did remain a bit skittish, but she did adjust to all of us, finally. So yeah, you bet they reason! Maggiepie "You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

That's my opinion, as well. I've often though that just having the responsibility of a pet, along with the love it teaches kids, would result in a better adult. I hate it when parents refuse to allow their children to have at least a low maintenance pet, such as a small dog or even a bird. Even science supports my theory of the effect pets can have on people! Then there's the other plus side: not having to have those dogs killed! I'm always ecstatic when I hear of animals being rescued! Maggiepie "You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

I love collies of any kind. Not only are they one of the most beautiful kinds of dogs, I find their personalities loving & playful. And yes, smart, too. And you may be right about the thumbs business! Thanks for the news about the German scientists' findings! That is a surprise. I mean, I already knew they were smart, but hey! Maggiepie "You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

Yes, I've seen such animals, & I'm grateful to those heroes & heroines who determine not to kill an injured animal when it can be saved! The animals can & do adjust! One time years ago, I was so grieved because a kitten had crawled up under a car hood to stay warm in the complex parking lot where Elic & I lived then, & got its leg mangled when the engine started. (This is why on cold days you should ALWAYS thump the hood of the car hard 2 or 3 times, to scare any kitties out!) The owners insisted on having the poor kitten killed because they couldn't deal with a "tripod" cat! Elic & I wanted to adopt it, but they wouldn't let us! Still makes me angry! And hugs back atcha! Maggiepie "You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra