dogs think

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do dogs think? (6)

liuyinlong @liuyinlong (8) • China 21 Dec 06

The creature in the household with the most to lose from a new arrival, he probably simply fought for what he had. Then, once aroused, he was more dangerous. As trainers know, dogs under pressure have two options: fight or flight....

liuyinlong @liuyinlong (8) • China 21 Dec 06

Since the Cornell behaviorist made sense to me, I conveyed his analysis: The dog didn't know how to behave with Heather gone. Crating Blue would reduce her anxiety and give her less chance to act up. I persuaded Heather—by now...

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do dogs think? (4)

liuyinlong @liuyinlong (8) • China 21 Dec 06

Yet that remains a powerful, pervasive view of dogs, the reason Heather's vet, trainer, and mother all agreed on Blue's motivations. It's almost impossible not to lapse into theory-of-mind reasoning when it comes to our dogs....

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Do dogs think? (3)

liuyinlong @liuyinlong (8) • China 21 Dec 06

Dogs can get unnerved by this. They bark, chew, scratch, destroy. Getting yelled at and punished later doesn't help: The dog probably knows it's doing something wrong, but it has no idea what. Since there's nobody around to...