We know that dogs are smart, and that they can be taught desired behaviors. But did you know that your dog also may have instinctual intuition which he uses to interact with his humans? After studying dogs for many years, scientists have come to understand that our pets may have some mental capabilities we don’t quite understand. You all consider your fur babies to be brilliant, but here are some surprising capabilities of these intuitive dogs.
- Empathetic : There are behaviors which researchers have come to understand as your dog showing you empathy and solidarity. He wants you to know that he sees what you are experiencing, and he empathizes with you. For instance, it appears that dogs yawn when they wish to identify with the emotion you are expressing at the time. Dogs also understand when we are in a bad mood, sad. or hurting. They will often approach, bow their head in order to allow us to pet them, and wag their tail to show their affection. Dogs make spectacular therapy dogs for their apparent knack for understanding when we need them. Intuitive dogs can make anyone feel better about a bad day. How do they know what we are feeling so accurately? Experts believe that they quite literally see it in our face, and have learned to read facial expressions.
- Visually Perceptive: In an interesting experiment, researchers put dogs and humans on opposite sides of the room, with low barriers in between them. All of the barriers were solid except for one transparent section. They then laid toys on the dog’s side of the barriers. When the human used the command “Bring it here” to dogs who were trained to respond to those words, the dogs brought the toy behind the clear barrier every time, It seemed they understood that was the only toy that the human could actually see, therefore it must be the one they want. When the human turned their back or went to the next room, the dog would randomly pick any of the toys, seemingly understanding that the human was not looking at one specifically. They also know when we are watching. Many dogs would virtually ignore food left out on a table when their owner was present, as they knew they were not allowed to touch it. As soon as their owner walked out of the room, however, they readily chowed down.
-  Directionally Gifted: Many of us have tried to no avail to get a toddler to look in the direction we are pointing. But point to an object with your dog in the room, and he is likely to look. In fact, intuitive dogs will often look at what you are looking at, without any pointing. They seem to understand that an item is of interest to you – and therefore it is of interest to them.
- Â Trusting: Our dogs trust our judgement and will look to us for guidance. Dogs who routinely beg at the kitchen table may not be responding to the food itself, but rather to the fact that you are enjoying the food. If you are enjoying the food, they know they will as well. This is especially true if you are cooking or preparing and you keep putting pieces in your mouth. A human who is sampling the food over and over is to be trusted – it must be good! To test if dogs were actually paying attention to what we liked and taking it as a recommendation, researchers placed two plates of human food in front of dogs – one large, one small. They then instructed the owner to eat a few pieces from the smaller plate. Dogs routinely ate from the plate their owners had eaten from first.
The concept of intuitive dogs is nothing new to pet owners who experience acts of love, loyalty and understanding on a daily basis. From hero dogs who save lives, to every day companions for the elderly and shut in, dogs seem to be perfectly suited to live life alongside us; loving without judgement.
At Gulf Coast K9 Dog Training , we celebrate the unique bond between owners and dogs every day.
