Fido Can Read Your Mind

[kirbylux77]

I read this article a couple of days ago, while having my daily coffee & reading the Toronto Sun. Apparently scientists in Vienna, Switzerland, have discovered that it seems that dogs have "Theory Of Mind".

Really, they're just figuring out all this NOW?? Oh come on, anybody who loves dogs & has been around them long enough should know what these scientists have *just* discovered. I have always known that dogs are pretty smart, & can figure out our emotions, read our minds & know what we are thinking. It never ceases to amaze me how such wonderful, loving companions dogs make. As a dog lover myself, I just thought it was kinda cool that what we have always known about our canine friends finally has some scientific proof behind it.

Anyone here got some stories to share about our favorite dogs that have been in our lives?

Rob

PS - A link to what "Theory of Mind" is, in case you haven't heard of this concept before:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_mind
http://www.torontosun.com/2017/04/11/fido-can-read-your-mind

 

[caligula]

Not only dogs but cats too.

All my pets have understood me. My dogs followed my words while my cats simply gave me a look that said 'don't bother me!'

My last dog had personality plus, she was a purebred golden retriever who actually chose me. I know this sounds odd but I got her from a breeder and while her siblings huddled in the corner she move over to see who this human with his fingers poking through the bars was. She then gave me a lick and it was love at first sight for both of us. While she was only three weeks old I knew she was mine. Naturally I had to wait till she was 6 weeks old before I could bring her home. From that day till her last on August 29, 2014 at the age of 11 the communication was ongoing.

Her name was Felecia Dulcinea and extremely smart, she was also extremely stubborn if she didn't want to do something you couldn't make her. As to understanding what I said? absolutely, I swear that brain of hers was human. Was it tone of voice? blind obedience? or instinct? no, she knew exactly what I was saying.

I had this wonderful dog for almost 11 years and she lives on in my heart.

 

[human]

Don't discount feline intuition...

I'm more of a cat person than a dog person and I know my cats are keenly aware of what's going on with me. I used to have a cat who knew when I was experiencing insomnia and she would curl up in the crook of my arm with her paws on my shoulder to make me be still and purr in my ear until I drifted off. Neither of the cats I have now do that but they each in their own way demonstrate an uncanny level of understanding.

 

[caligula]

I also love cats.

I had one who did the same thing. It was way back in 1975 when my first serious relationship was ending. In this case it was a kitten about five months old and he knew when I was hurting. But again it was on his terms, like my cat Caligula he had a don't bother me attitude.

Caligula shown here was the first and only mascot the V.C.C.C. ever had and that's why I use it as my username.

 

[jmurray01]

You are absolutely right Edgar, cats are very intuitive and can pick up on many things that we humans cannot. They can also sense the paranormal, if you believe in that sort of thing.

Caligula was a handsome cat, how old did he live to if you don't mind me asking?

 

[suckolux]

Yes, they pick up on a lot, the trick is for us to learn to read it! Change in many things and Felix has his ears turned and is walking the room, looking to the door. A handy talent if you are a foot tall and on the floor, though he seems to prefer to walk around on top of things, up high.

 

[vacuumlad1650]

I'm a cat person all the way. Haven't had one living here for some time...My sister's are Allergic. Mine lives with my Grandparents.
Here is a picture. She can be moody and she can be loving. It depends on the day.
A

 

[suckolux]

Sounds like a cat!

 

[jmurray01]

<a name="start_34205.370741"></a>"She can be moody and she can be loving. It depends on the day."


 


Yep, that's a cat alright...  Buttons is exactly the same, you will either get an affectionate purring response, or clawed to death!!



 


 

 

[real1shep]

Not to take anything away from dog & cats......


 


But animal biologists discovered that lowly rats read people. It's how they have survived...they can tell from reading us whether or not to flee or ignore us. So you gotta figure dogs & cats have even more intuition with us.


 


Kevin

 

[gottahaveahoove]

I, too, am ver partial to cats,

although I love dogs... just never wanted one.
My late Arthur, in particular, was very attentive to me every time I'd suffer a severe headache. These headaches are a weekly event. He KNEW when I needed to be quiet. He's actually curl up beside me and fall asleep. very calming. He, Murphy, and even little Harold, my newest cat, can always tell if a bad storm was coming. It's amazing, really.
Oddly, Arthur never minded the Hoovers. You could run one (of many) up to his nose, then, only then, would he move. You could clean the entire room, and he might stay asleep on a chair.
When my sister's dog lived here, he was very 'aware' of my father's condition. He was a cancer patient, had a stroke, and was blind. That dog was his constant companion. When my father passed, that dog was lost. He'd sit by my dad's chair and cry. Animals like this truly have a 'sense'.

 

[human]

gottahaveahoove wrote: He, Murphy, and even little Harold, my newest cat, can always tell if a bad storm was coming. It's amazing, really.

When I lived in the mountains of North Carolina about 25-30 years ago, there was a mostly black cat that lived a couple of doors down from me who would hang around my house a lot, especially when I had the grill going. He would come inside the house occasionally and sometimes he'd try to disappear into one of the bedrooms. When he did this in the summertime, a thunderstorm would often come up within a couple of hours. In the winter, we'd get snow within 24 hours. It was really uncanny.

The other funny thing about this cat was I didn't know his name (Whiskers) for a long time, so I started calling him "Pluto" after the black cat in the Edgar Allen Poe story. I had a cassette copy of an old radio show of that story, starring Peter Lorre and I jokingly started talking to the cat in my imitation of Peter Lorre's voice. It didn't take long before he started responding to me only when I talked like Peter Lorre. Just for fun, I've put a link below to that radio show.

http://https//archive.org/details/MysteryintheAir/Mita_470918_ep12The_Black_Cat.mp3

 

[kirbylux77]

Caligula - Your dog Felecia Dulcinea was a beautiful Golden Retriever! I bet you were one proud dog owner for sure . And what a wonderful story of how you found her. My ex Craig had a purebred Golden Retriever named Hearst that the photo of yours reminds me of. I totally agree with you about how smart dogs are....they really do read our minds quite well & nearly as smart as humans. And also about how stubborn some dogs can be, I have met & been around quite a few like that. Thank goodness dogs & cats can't talk human, I swear they would talk back to us & we may not like what they think of us & have to say sometimes!!

Edgar - Very true about feline intuition. I can totally relate to that. My current cat, Aries, I think he displays a bit of that. Aries seems to know when I just came home or am about to go to bed....most times if he is upstairs & hears me come in downstairs, within 2 or 3 minutes he is downstairs & greeting me. When I go to bed at night, he seems to know when I have just turned off the lights in the house & in my room....he will show up, wanting on the bed to be pet for a few minutes before wandering off & doing what he wants in the dark. And he will usually come greet me on my bed in the morning, just as I am waking up, wanting to be pet. Or, at times he will be just watching my bed by the door as I am waking up.

Jamie - You are very wise not to doubt a cat's paranormal abilities. I know for sure they can sense & communicate with ghosts & spirits, I have seen it myself! Back in my teenage years, I used to live in a farmhouse that was about 110 years old, built sometime in the 1880's. We knew FOR SURE the house & the property it was on was haunted. There was a small sunporch added onto the house before we bought it, not original to the house. There was one spirit of a old lady wearing a white nightgown that would be seen wandering around the sunporch or outside on the front lawn, she also sometimes was seen in the kitchen area. Our cat we had at the time, whenever this ghost was around, would look up, hiss, meow at her, & then run off. So I totally believe cats are capable of communicating with spirits. Why do you think witches have kept cats as a "familiar" for centuries?!

David - Your Felix is adorable! And very true about them loving to climb & walk on high things. Aries just loves to jump up on the back of the couch, then onto the recliner & then perch himself in my living room window in the basement.

Rob

 

[kirbysthebest]

Goggie usually knows what I am saying

Funny thing. I usually know what she's saying too.

 

[suckolux]

Rob, that is Felix too!

 

[caligula]

Caligula was a cat.

Here he is.
Alex Taber.