What does Brut think about his kids?

I wonder what Brut thinks of his kids?  I wonder what thoughts run through his mind when he sees and interacts with them.

Does he see any of his qualities or traits?

Does he see the possibilities in each of them?

And what he needs them to be as part of pack?

He shows both affection and discipline that he is not afraid to use.  Sometimes it is harsh and other times it is with just a look of his eyes.

I have watched both Brut and Silver shape and mold Fiona and Zappa as they have evolved and grown over the years, yet I can't tell you one thought that crosses their mind between their blood relationships.

I can examine their body language and actions but this only tells me of their behaviors.  What does Brut think of his personal relationships with his son and daughter?  I don't think it's any less than what any parent thinks of their child, I just think it is different.  It can't be based on a human scale.  It is something that that only a dog would know and understand.

But wouldn't it be so cool to understand it?  And to really cross that barrier and grasp that line of thinking?

Like what Silver was thinking as she watched her eight puppies leave out of her care and never come back   again.  There had to be some powerful communication to each of them, that we'll never know.

Or what she thinks about Chance and Blaze coming back?  Does she still know they are her children and what does she think about them and her relationship to them?

I do believe they all know they are related, but it is at a higher level of communication.  I also believe there is a great understanding in the separation and they all know that things have changed.

Always just curious to get inside the mind of a dog.



        

OH NO...ANTHROPOMORPHIZING!!

Are you thinking what she's thinking?

Anthropomorphizing:  to treat nonhuman thing as human: to give a nonhuman thing a human form, human characteristics, or human behavior

Call me crazy but is really such a bad word?  Is it really that far fetched that our dogs may think like us and why are humans so quick to deduce that they don't?  Why do we automatically think dog thoughts are so alienated from our own?

SAY WHAT?!?!

 

Yes, I did just fall off the milkbone wagon and I've always claimed to be a little dog nutty, so have some fun with me and join in my crazy dog thoughts.

Dogs have been living with humans for many years and have evolved with us.  Unless you went out into the woods and plucked yourself a wolf pup out of the den, then your dog was handled by and lives in a human world.

Except that I thought of first!!

We seem to be so afraid that we are anthropomorphizing ourselves onto our pets like it is the root of all evil.  Have you ever shared a knowing look between a spouse, partner or friend and knew what the other was thinking or that you were sharing the same thought?  Ever experience it with an animal?  Why would it be so different?  Did you think it was just some strange coincidence?  A fluke of nature that your dog just happened to look at you at that exact moment you said something to him and gave a response?  Did he communicate with one of those all knowing looks that said he understood?  Isn't eye contact the most direct form of communication?  Your dog knows you inside and out, your movement, your language, your lifestyle, isn't it safe to say he may even think along the same way you do?

I was thinking the same thing!  I am a godess!

How many of you have studied your dogs behaviors, movement and body language to know what he is thinking?  Doesn't your dog do the same thing with you?  Dogs are much more receptive to subtle cues and body language and have keener senses of us then we do of them.  We are more aware of how dogs respond to our emotions, yet we can't conceive how they also think in response to us.  In order for us to feel something, there is a thought to go with that feeling.  Wouldn't it logically have be the same for dogs?

Now if you told me your dog took off in your car and stayed out all night drinking beer and playing poker, then I would say your anthropomorphizing, but signaling he was thinking the same thing you were, well that's unconditional love and just plain cool!

TREAT!  TREAT!  TREAT!

    
I'm not saying that every thought a dog has is centered around us but I think we are too quick to dismiss that dogs are complete and separate creature from ourselves.  We are all mammals with the same basic needs of love, shelter, food and water.  What gives us the right to limit a dog's thought to only what we teach them?

Go ahead, call me crazy!  What are your thoughts?

********************************************

Join us for the Saturday Blog Hop.  Hosted by Life with Dogs, The Two Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.

DADDY'S DOG THOUGHTS

Have you ever had a day where you wondered how you were going to make it through?  Or why the world is the way it is with so many bad things going on?  I had started walking the dogs, beginning with Brut and for the first part of it I was thinking about all of this and a project I had the next day.  It made it hard to remain on the positive side.  About half way through I stopped and had a talk with Brut.  I apologized to him because my mind was elsewhere and how unfair that was to him.  After our talk I began to focus on the woods we were exploring.  I felt so much better afterwards.

After I walked Brut, Zappa and I had a great walk as well.  No thinking about anything except, dog thoughts.  I did the same with Fiona, Silver, Chance and Blaze.

What a difference it made to get back in touch with my dogs and the purpose of the walk, which is our time together. I am able to talk with them and I don't have to worry about them fighting or arguing with me.  I don't have to worry about being criticized for being silly or not doing things the right way.  I am free to be myself.  During our walks I have the freedom to let go and not think about my worries.  I am so blessed to get that quality one on one time while witnessing their individual quirks and the way they attack life so full of curiosity and meaning.  No matter the length of the walk, they let me know that this is always the best walk ever.  The dogs and our walks are something special and I want to treasure each one, not waste it on my problems.

I'm so glad for our family and that I have the 24 Paws of Love.  When I want to escape reality and the world today, I just have to take a walk with my dogs and I can be free and in our own world of dog thoughts.

*****************************************************