Hetzer

Who knows what other factors were involved in this one example. In nature there's a mechanism of correction in that if you're rude or aggressive, you'll be dissuaded from that sort of behavior one way or another. The whole purpose of play in any specie, including humans, is to create an understanding of behavioral protocols. I know humans love to think they're super special and know best, but the natural world has done fine for millions of years without human orchestration and will continue to do so long after we're gone.

Hi Mrs Tornsocks, I think there's a balance between allowing a dog a chance to develop and exercise its own social and canine etiquette skills to communicate appropriately with other other dogs, and restraining it for the sake of a SWF owner who thinks anything over 5KG is Godzilla. I believe the element of human involvement in dogs meeting and greeting is the real hindrance. The off-leash areas would probably run smoother without people and their very human attitudes. I couldn't agree more. Play is a mechanism for learning about life, and over-protective owners shield their SWF's into a world of neurosis that matches their own.

Otherwise $6.50 per day. I read an article where it calculates raising a child to adulthood in the technological era of today can cost about a Million dollars (article here). Compared to that the canine pet is astoundingly good value I think.

I was so inspired by the show I deliberately delayed my evening walk with my dog until it was dark to get that "run by moonlight" adrenalin rush. Kimmi's superior senses really come into their own in the dark.

When you got angry at Kenny, he obviously didn't have a clue what you were angry about. All he could do was attempt to appease you in your emotional state. And since he's clever, he's being cautious because he doesn't want another dose of that manifested anger. He could probably sense tension and suspect "over-eagerness" in your overtures to atone - in other words, not your normal behaviour. I don't think you can "make up" for what happened. The best thing in my opinion is just to assess what happened, which is exactly what you've done, and be wiser for it.

Running around in the dark with a GSD would be my idea of a perfect job!

The Police Dog is trained to act with menace and aggression in order to project authority and physical supremacy. It's a bit like a good cop, bad cop routine. The human Police Officer can make a deal with the criminal - "If you behave yourself, I'll control my furry buddy here... but if you don't then I think he might just take you down a notch". It's an impression deliberately manufactured for a specific psychological purpose. Pretty effective, huh? The fact that you were intimidated just watching him on TV means it's mission accomplished.

Wow nature really proves "actual reality" is a lot more amazing that virtual reality and CGI. Thanks for sharing those superlative images.

After reading this thread I saw an advertisement on SBS about a documentary series now available on DVD called HUMANIMAL. Its about the intelligence and emotions of animals and I can't wait to purchase it. Has anyone seen the series? On another note, with regards to animals, there's often an "us and them" approach which I think stems from the pre-scientific era when the notion of animals not having "souls" precluded them from having the respect they truly merit. I remember reading how some people thought animals were just like clockwork mechanisms, that could not even feel pain. Personally I find my dog a brilliant example of emotional honesty and living in the moment, something we humans appear to require numerous religions and countless self help books and "gurus" to construct in their lives.

Thinking you're a snob is an attitude stemming from ignorance, and is a function of jealousy and envy. Given this is the case, perhaps its safe to assume that their attitude is of no consequence, since to satisfy them you'd have to lower yourself to their level. And then they'd think you're a snob because you're wearing two matching socks...

Hi there Rileys Mum. Good on you for your decision. I think your dog will be glad you made it. Do you feed your dogs any bones ie chicken neck or chicken wings? I must admit I've been buying BARF patties for the convenience. After reading your post I did some reading on Dr Billinghurst's BARF website and there's books/DVDs on BARF so you'd probably get your answers there. www.barfaustralia.com

That was a very interesting article. Thanks for the post.

My girl is really interested when she hears dogs barking on TV, but couldn't care less if she sees them on there. Interestingly, it's my cat who is fascinated by my dog training DVDs. We were watching a tracking one a few weeks ago, and she couldn't tear her eyes off the screen. I'm sure she knew it wasn't actually a dog (or she'd have been gone from the room), but all the same there was something in the shapes on screen that was weirding her out. Dogs on TV are another issue altogether. I think what a dog might perceive depends a lot on the nature of the image and sound reproduction. The refresh rate (flicker) and speaker quality might make the TV reproduction a lot less realistic to a dog than a mirror's reflection. I know many of us have had moments where its pretty obvious the dog knows what's on a screen.

I feed Kimmi twice per day. I figure that just like in people more, smaller meals per day is better than one big one, for the sake of optimising metabolism.

If I was closer I'd definitely participate with my dog. I have always wondered what it would be like to perceive the world from a canine perspective, and the concept of self-awareness would be a big part of that immersion. I don't know if I'm prone to a little anthromorphising, but its difficult for me to imagine a dog as having all those emotional, problem-solving and social skills without having a concept of "self". Maybe this is simply because as a human you always have your own consciousness as a limiting reference point.

This will be an interesting experiment. When a dog perceives a mirror image, could that perception also be influenced by their other senses? There would be an absence of any animal smell or sound from the mirror, so perhaps that is a factor in a dog perceiving no "other dog" as opposed to saying to himself "ah, that's just me". From what I've observed, however, over many hours in my home gym where I have a couple of mirrors, is that my dog knows what mirrors are and what she's looking at. But the term "self-awareness" has many levels. I mean, not all human beings are at the same level of self-awareness...

Hahaha! That is a classic! So I guess April 14 is now officially Cutaneous Marginal Pouch Day. This anatomical anomaly still fascinates me, and its interesting to observe it on dogs and cats. I have noticed on my dog's floppy ears that it influences the location of where the ear folds over when in the upright alert state. I also wonder if it gives the ear a little extra elasticity at a point where tearing would be more likely to occur otherwise.

The Akita from Hachiko is very endearing, and Jack London's novels are fantastic - I haven't seen the film adaptation for White Fang though. Sounds like its worth finding.

How about Buck Bundy from 'Married with Children'? :D ...or Puffy from 'There's Something about Mary', especially when he attacks Ben Stiller with a zeal that only a dose of speed can give! PS - I love Inspector Rex too

I had a close friend use the "it's just a dog" routine on me, and initially I thought "OK, they're just not into dogs as much as me, which is OK since everyone has different viewpoints". However, ultimately the sentiment really started to really tick me off. It's such a negative thing to say, and smacks of selfishness, ignorance and jealousy. The dog is a sentient entity with which a human can have a very strong emotional bond. Not being able to grasp that concept is a limitation on the part of the person saying "it's just a dog". Such an attitude is not consistent with being a friend, since a defining attribute of a friendship is having an appreciation of what matters to the other person.

Super photos from the Royal. Thank you for posting them in your FLICKR gallery, Shell - much appreciated

Congratz to the Whippet that Whipped it good! ;) Thank you SO MUCH for the "live feed" of information. Megz, those posted images really helped me visualize what was going on bigtime. THANK YOU!

Go GSP! C'mon for the Gundogs! ;)

Please... no teasing or faking ;)

Jeez I just did that google search... I really need to set my filter in google. hehehe - my excitement is purely for the "best in show"