Read Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know Online
Authors: Alexandra Horowitz
Tags: #General, #Dogs, #Science, #Life Sciences, #Psychology, #Cognitive Psychology, #Dogs - Psychology, #Pets, #Zoology, #Breeds
Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know (39 page)
BOOK: Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
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Every dog owner would agree with me, I suspect, about the specialness of her own dog. Reason argues that everyone must be wrong: by definition, not every dog can be the special dog—else special becomes ordinary. But it is reason that is wrong: what is special is the life story that each dog owner creates with and knows about his own dog. I am not exempt from feeling that, even from a scientific vantage. Behavioral scientific approaches to dogs, far from displacing this story, simply build on the singular understanding of the dog owner—on the expertise that each dog owner has about her dog.
When Pump was nearly at the end of her life, undeniably old, she lost weight, her muzzle grayed, she slowed sometimes to a stop on walks. I saw her frustrations, her resignations, her impulses pursued or abandoned; I saw her considerations, her control, her calm. But when I looked at her face, and into her eyes, she was a puppy again. I saw glimpses of that unnamed dog who so cooperatively let us plop a too-big collar around her neck and walk her out of the shelter and thirty blocks home. And then thousands of miles since.
After knowing Pump, and losing Pump, I met Finnegan. I already cannot imagine not knowing this new character: this leaner on legs, this stealer of balls, this warmer of laps. He is incredibly unlike Pumpernickel. Yet what she taught me has made every moment with Finnegan infinitely richer.
She lifted her head and turned toward me, her head pulsing slightly with her breathing. Her nose was dark and wet, her eyes calm. She began licking, full long licks of her front legs, of the floor. The tags of her collar clonked on the wood. Her ears lay flat, curling up a little at the bottom like a felted leaf, dried in the sun. Those days her front toes were a little splayed, her paws turned clawlike as though in preparation to pounce. She did not pounce. She yawned. It was a long, lazy afternoon yawn, her tongue languidly examining the air. She settled her head down between her legs, exhaled a kind of
har-ummmp,
and closed her eyes.
In addition to the sources listed by chapter below, I refer to the following books frequently. Each is a scholarly yet accessible approach to dog behavior, cognition, or training; I recommend them all for anyone interested in further details of dog science.
Lindsay, S. R. 2000, 2001, 2005.
Handbook of applied dog behavior and training
(3 volumes). Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing.
Handbook of applied dog behavior and training
(3 volumes). Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing.
McGreevy, P., and R. A. Boakes. 2007.
Carrots and sticks: Principles of animal
training.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Carrots and sticks: Principles of animal
training.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Miklósi, Á. 2007.
Dog
behavior,
evolution,
and
cognition.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dog
behavior,
evolution,
and
cognition.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Serpell, J., ed. 1995.
The domestic dog: Its evolution, behaviour and interactions
with people.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
PRELUDEThe domestic dog: Its evolution, behaviour and interactions
with people.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
on determining species brain differences:
Rogers, L. 2004. Increasing the brain's capacity: Neocortex, new neurons, and hemispheric specialization. In L. J. Rogers, and G. Kaplan, eds.
Comparative
vertebrate
cognition:
Are
primates
superior
to
non-primates?
(pp. 289–324). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
UMWELTComparative
vertebrate
cognition:
Are
primates
superior
to
non-primates?
(pp. 289–324). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
on the dolphin smile:
Bearzi, M., and C. B. Stanford. 2008.
Beautiful minds: The parallel lives of Great
Apes and dolphins.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Beautiful minds: The parallel lives of Great
Apes and dolphins.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
on the fear grin in chimpanzees:
Chadwick-Jones, J. 2000.
Developing
a
social
psychology
of
monkeys
and
apes.
East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.
Developing
a
social
psychology
of
monkeys
and
apes.
East Sussex, UK: Psychology Press.
on eyebrow-raising in monkeys:
Kyes, R. C., and D. K. Candland. 1987. Baboon (
Papio
hamadryas)
visual preferences for regions of the face.
Journal
of
Comparative
Psychology,
4,
345–348.
Papio
hamadryas)
visual preferences for regions of the face.
Journal
of
Comparative
Psychology,
4,
345–348.
de Waal, F. B. M., M. Dindo, C. A. Freeman, and M. J. Hall. 2005. The monkey in the mirror: Hardly a stranger.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
102,
11140–11147.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
102,
11140–11147.
on chicken preferences:
Febrer, K., T. A. Jones, C. A. Donnelly, and M. S. Dawkins. 2006. Forced to crowd or choosing to cluster? Spatial distribution indicates social attraction in broiler chickens.
Animal Behaviour, 72,
1291–1300.
Animal Behaviour, 72,
1291–1300.
on muzzle biting and standing-over in wolves:
Fox, M. W. 1971.
Behaviour of wolves, dogs and related canids.
New York: Harper & Row.
Behaviour of wolves, dogs and related canids.
New York: Harper & Row.
on shock experiments:
Seligman, M. E. P., S. F. Maier, and J. H. Geer. 1965. Alleviation of learned helplessness in the dog.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 73,
256–262.
Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 73,
256–262.
on umwelt, ticks, and functional tones:
von Uexküll, J. 1957/1934. A stroll through the worlds of animals and men. In C. H. Schiller, ed.
Instinctive behavior: The development of a modern concept
(pp. 5–80). New York: International Universities Press.
Instinctive behavior: The development of a modern concept
(pp. 5–80). New York: International Universities Press.
on pessimistic rats:
Harding, E. J., E. S. Paul, and M. Mendl. 2004. Cognitive bias and affective state.
Nature, 427,
312.
Nature, 427,
312.
on dog kisses:
Fox, 1971.
on the dog's sense of taste:
Lindemann, B. 1996. Taste reception.
Physiological Reviews, 76,
719–766. Serpell, 1995.
Physiological Reviews, 76,
719–766. Serpell, 1995.
"dogs have … a striking way of exhibiting their affection …"
Darwin, C. 1872/1965.
The
expression
of
the
emotions
in
man
and
animals.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, p. 118.
on the variety of canids:
Macdonald, D. W., and C. Sillero-Zubiri. 2004.
The biology and conservation of
wild canids.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
The biology and conservation of
wild canids.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
on raisin toxicity:
McKnight, K. Feb. 2005. Toxicology brief: Grape and raisin toxicity in dogs.
Veterinary Technician, 26,
135–136.
Veterinary Technician, 26,
135–136.
etymology of "domesticated":
I drew this wording from Samuel Johnson's 1755 dictionary:
domestical
and
domestick
are both partially defined "belonging to the house; not relating to things publick."
domestical
and
domestick
are both partially defined "belonging to the house; not relating to things publick."
on the fox domestication experiments:
Belyaev, D. K. 1979. Destabilizing selection as a factor in domestication.
Journal of
Heredity, 70,
301–308.
Journal of
Heredity, 70,
301–308.
Trut, L. N. 1999. Early canid domestication: The farm-fox experiment.
American
Scientist, 87,
160–169.
American
Scientist, 87,
160–169.
on wolf behavior and anatomy:
Mech, D. L., and L. Boitani. 2003.
Wolves: Behavior, ecology, and conservation.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wolves: Behavior, ecology, and conservation.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
on domestication:
There are many current theories of dog domestication. The one presented here is corroborated by both the recent mtDNA findings, and by a better understanding of the genetics of selection. It is elaborated in R. Coppinger and L. Coppinger. 2001.
Dogs:
A
startling
new
understanding
of
canine
origin,
behavior,
and
evolution.
New York: Scribner.
Dogs:
A
startling
new
understanding
of
canine
origin,
behavior,
and
evolution.
New York: Scribner.
Clutton-Brock, J. 1999.
A
natural
history
of
domesticated
mammals,
2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
A
natural
history
of
domesticated
mammals,
2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
on earliest date of domestication:
Ostrander, E. A., U. Giger, and K. Lindblad-Toh, eds. 2006.
The
dog
and
its
genome.
Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
Vilà, C., P. Savolainen, J. E. Maldonado, I. R. Amorim, J. E. Rice, R. L. Honeycutt, K. A. Crandall, J. Lundeberg, and R. K. Wayne. 1997. Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic dog.
Science, 276,
1687–1689.
Science, 276,
1687–1689.
on development:
Mech and Boitani, 2003.
Scott, J. P., and J. L. Fuller. 1965.
Genetics and the social behaviour of the dog.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Genetics and the social behaviour of the dog.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
on poodle/husky difference in development:
Feddersen-Petersen, D., in Miklósi, 2007.
on wolf rope task:
Miklósi, Á., E. Kubinyi, J. Topál, M. Gácsi, Zs. Virányi, and V. Csányi. 2003. A simple reason for a big difference: Wolves do not look back at humans, but dogs do.
Current Biology, 13,
763–766.
Current Biology, 13,
763–766.
on eye contact:
Fox, 1971.
Serpell, J. 1996.
In the company of animals: A study of human-animal relationships.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
In the company of animals: A study of human-animal relationships.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
on breeds:
Garber, M. 1996.
Dog love.
New York: Simon & Schuster.
Dog love.
New York: Simon & Schuster.
Ostrander et al., 2006.
on leg length-chest depth ratios:
Brown, C. M. 1986.
Dog locomotion and gait analysis.
Wheat Ridge, CO: Hoflin Publishing Ltd.
Dog locomotion and gait analysis.
Wheat Ridge, CO: Hoflin Publishing Ltd.
on the Ibizan and Pharaoh:
Parker, H. G, L. V. Kim, N. B. Sutter, S. Carlson, T. D. Lorentzen, T. B. Malek, G. S. Johnson, H. B. DeFrance, E. A. Ostrander, and L. Kruglyak. 2004. Genetic structure of the purebred domestic dog.
Science, 304,
1160–1164.
Science, 304,
1160–1164.
on breed specs:
Crowley, J., and B. Adelman, eds. 1998.
The
complete
dog
book,
19th edition. Publication of the American Kennel Club. New York: Howell Book House.
on the dog genome:
Kirkness, E. F.,
et al.
2003. The dog genome: Survey sequencing and comparative analysis.
Science, 301,
1898–1903.
et al.
2003. The dog genome: Survey sequencing and comparative analysis.
Science, 301,
1898–1903.
Lindblad-Toh, K., et al. 2005. Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog.
Nature, 438,
803–819.
Nature, 438,
803–819.
Ostrander et al., 2006.
Parker et al., 2004.
on aggressive breeds:
Duffy, D. L., Y. Hsu, and J. A. Serpell. 2008. Breed differences in canine aggression.
Applied Animal Behavior Science, 114,
441–460.
Applied Animal Behavior Science, 114,
441–460.
on sheepdog behavior:
Coppinger and Coppinger, 2001.
on packs:
Mech, L. D. 1999. Alpha status, dominance, and division of labor in wolf packs.
Canadian Journal of Zoology, 77,
1196–1203.
Canadian Journal of Zoology, 77,
1196–1203.
Mech and Boitani, 2003, especially L. D. Mech, and L. Boitani. "Wolf social ecology" (pp. 1–34) and Packard, J. M. "Wolf behavior: Reproductive, social, and intelligent" (pp. 35–65).
on dog and wolf tracks:
Miller, D. 1981.
Track Finder.
Rochester, NY: Nature Study Guild Publishers.
Track Finder.
Rochester, NY: Nature Study Guild Publishers.
on feral dogs:
Beck, A. M. 2002.
The
ecology
of
stray
dogs:
A
study
of
free-ranging
urban
animals.
West Lafayette, IN: NotaBell Books.
The
ecology
of
stray
dogs:
A
study
of
free-ranging
urban
animals.
West Lafayette, IN: NotaBell Books.
on Italian free-ranging dogs:
Cafazzo, S., P. Valsecchi, C. Fantini, and E. Natoli. 2008. Social dynamics of a group of free-ranging domestic dogs living in a suburban environment. Paper presented at Canine Science Forum, Budapest, Hungary.
on the wolf socialization project:
Kubinyi, E., Zs. Virányi, and Á Miklósi. 2007. Comparative social cognition: From wolf and dog to humans.
Comparative Cognition & Behavior Reviews, 2,
26–46.
"blooming, buzzing confusion":
William James used these words to describe the lack of organization of the information that an infant first receives through her inchoate senses: James, W. 1890.
Principles of psychology.
New York: Henry Holt & Co., p. 488.
Principles of psychology.
New York: Henry Holt & Co., p. 488.
"white and shapeless lump of flesh …":
Pliny the Elder.
Natural
history
(tr. H. Rackham, 1963), Volume 3. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, Book 8(54).
SNIFFNatural
history
(tr. H. Rackham, 1963), Volume 3. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, Book 8(54).
generally interesting readings on smell:
BOOK: Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know
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