So what do we know about dogs? As a Psychologist, researcher and dog trainer, who has spent many years studying dogs, I can say that we know quite a bit about their behavior, history and mental processes. Unfortunately, what we know about dog's mind is not always as clear and unambiguous as we would like it to be.
For instance, where do dogs come from? Various scientists claim, each with a reasonable degree of certainty, that dogs may or may not have begun as domesticated wolves. Dogs may or may not be derived from jackals. It is also true that dogs may or may not be descendants of coyotes, dingos, foxes or African wild dogs. Of course some combination of all of these is also possible since every one of these species can successfully cross-breed any of these "wild species" with dogs, and get perfectly sound (although often bizarre looking) puppies.
We know that for at least 14,000 years dogs have been partners with humans. Dogs tried to begin an alliance with Neanderthal man, who was not exactly stimulating company, but early dogs found him to be a better companion than anything else available on the Earth at the time. When humans evolved into Cro-Magnon man, dogs immediately sensed the potential in the new improved human model. Some authorities have speculated that when Neanderthals were abandoned by dogs and left to shift for themselves, these early humans became desperate and tried to domesticate cats. This may explain why, shortly thereafter, Neanderthals disappeared completely.
Cro-Magnon man and dog made an excellent team, and before long they were grilling antelope steaks over something called fire. Some time later, the partners moved into caves and trapped the fire in something called a hearth. Once dogs had comfortably settled themselves in front of the hearth, the dog and human coalition was permanently established. Thousands of years later, when, so-called "civilized men" crossed the Atlantic Ocean and arrived on the shores of North America, they brought with them alcohol, syphilis, trousers, the bible and dogs. All were new to the natives--except dogs.
We know quite a bit about the way dogs' minds work, although far from enough to conclude that we actually understand dogs. For instance, we know that dogs are intelligent. They are certainly smarter than horses, cats, dolphins and some politicians. The best guess is that the average dog is almost as smart as a two year old child and maybe a bit better in toilet training skills.
We know that dogs feel emotions. They definitely feel joy, fear and anger. Some experts claim that dogs may or may not feel guilt, grief and remorse. They also may or may not feel jealousy, ambition, humbleness, smugness or a desire to be a star in funny home videos.
We know that dogs understand language. The question remains, however, "How much?" One researcher claims that his dogs could only learn 22 words. Another researcher claims that dogs can understand 65 words. Further research suggests that there may or may not be 110, 140, 165 or up to 300 words in a dog's vocabulary. Meanwhile I have seen a dog on television that sings "O Solo Mio" with better pronunciation of the Italian language than I can manage. Well, it may or may not be good Italian pronunciation since I know too little of that language to be a competent judge.
We are still learning about the complex interaction between dogs and humans. We know that dog's pact with man involves giving up their freedom--not giving up their independence. We also know that dogs are more loyal to their human friends that to their own convictions.
Given the state of knowledge that we humans have about dogs, perhaps it now time for us to ask "What do dogs know?" We can also ask some other important questions such as "What do dogs think about themselves?", "What do they think of those large two-legged dogs that they share their lives with?" and even "Do dogs have a philosophy of life?" Furthermore we have to ask "Why is it that humans are attracted to dogs?" and why do we form such a deep emotional bond with them.
In successive postings of this blog we will explore the minds of dogs and the relationships that dogs have with people. We will do this by looking at science, history, and current events. In reality it would probably have been better if this blog was written by an intelligent dog, like a Border Collier, however their wide round paws and their absence of fingers makes it difficult for them to type, so, although it means that the material must be presented from a human viewpoint, I suppose that this Psychologist will do his best to interpret the material, in the hope that it will be as good as what might have been produced by a clever canine.
