h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Just thought this was interesting so I wanted to share it. It seems the lowly pooch really is man's best friend!

Was there supposed to be a link in there somewhere

Well spotted Whisky - you passed the test. Link Below

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2956766.stm

Strange they needed scientists to discover this - dog owners have known this for years! My dog does stuff when I point, so it's obvious he can see where I'm pointing!

It's not so much that they can see where you're pointing. It's that they have the social skills to watch your facial and hand expressions and receive information / instructions from them. This isn't to be underestimated. Babies learn this quite early. Not many other animals do - even within their own species, nevermind with another species. Also, it is this "interface" (pardon the pun) which allows human language to develop.

Of course anyone who's ever kept a dog knows they can do far more than this. They can pick up on subtle visual and scent clues that give them incredible abilities bordering on the supernatural.

A dog I one had knew the moment I stood up if I was getting up to go out (I'm coming!) or just to go to another room (Yawn!). He would sit, stand, lie down, stay and come to heel with just a look and could follow the visual instruction even when a conflicting verbal one was given. I could shout 'sit' and have him come to heel - that really confused people. Dogs can be trained to warn people who have epilepsy of an impending attack - minutes before it happens - how they do this remains a mystery.

On the other hand some dogs never learn to look where you point and always look at your finger instead.

F

Growing up I had a dachshund who understood the CONCEPT of pointing... she knew I was trying to aim her somewhere. But she never quite got the knack for tracking the finger properly.

Her solution? I'd bend down so she could reach my hand, then she'd bump her nose against my finger to get lined up properly, then go right where I wanted her to be!

Cute.

You would have to bend down a long way for a dachsund.

Do you pronounce that as 'dak-sund' or 'dash-hund' ? I've always wondered.

F

I know that, by the spelling, it should by a German pronunciation, i.e. Daks-hundt, but I'll always pronounce it the English way, us being English, i.e. Dashunt.
I'm more of a cat person anyway. Cats could probably work out where you're pointing, they just don't care.

In the US, most people say it "dox-und".

Many years ago we had a border collie, born on a farm, that lived with us in the city as soon as she could be taken from her mother. When the dog was a few years old, we were in the countryside and were watching sheep being rounded up by a dog. Our dog went bounding off, for once in her life - literally the only time I can remember - taking no notice of our calls. We thought she was going to frighten the sheep (which would have caused us problems with the farmer) but no, she started "helping" the working dog round up sheep.

Later we spoke with the farmer who complimented us on the dog's "good training" because apparently she had responded to his whistles. Maybe he was exagerating that aspect but she had seemed to do a good job.

Er, the only farm she knew was the one where she was born and that she had left when a few weeks old and that didn't have any sheep..... Too much TV perhaps?

I'm not sure cats could work it out. For one thing many cats have a tendency to avoid eye contact. Have you ever witnessed the phenomenon where a cat entrers a room and goes straight for the lap of the one person in the ropom who hates cats. It's probably because that one person isn't making eye contact with them.

As for cats not caring, I heard a great line about that - "Dogs have owners, cats have staff!".

.. It's also because if they just want somewhere warm to lie but don't want to be fussed over, someonewho's body language says "I don't like you" is the best bet for peace and quiet.

I get lots of body language like that.

B

*gets out the violins*

I'm not really into cats but I heard it was because cats narrow their eyes as a friendly greeting. We narrow our eyes when we see a cat we really don't want sitting in our lap ...

F

Eh, it depends on the cat, really. Siamese, for example, are extremely smart. My cat is only part Siamese, but she has learned to respond to her name, to come when I call, to understand the word "no", and to turn and look me in the eyes to make sure I'm following her when she's trying to show me something (most often her water bowl). At one home, she even learned to switch on the light in the shed. As for the question of pointing, no, she doesn't look at my finger. She first looks me in the face, sometimes meows, and then reluctantly goes off in the direction I'm pointing. I swear if she brought me my morning paper and my slippers, I would think she was really a dog. (In fact, when I was a child, we *did* have a cat which would fetch things and play catch with us.)

And on the other hand, intelligence also varies from dog to dog. Most dogs are smart, yes, but I grew up with parents who loved Bassett Hounds, the dog with easily the lowest IQ in the entire canine kingdom. They are so stupid that dog trainers won't accept them in their classes.

Myjo

I never knew that about cats. I must remember to narrow my eyes at our cat more often.

Yeah, and I must try and *stop* doing it.