How intelligent are dogs? Do they physically lack the capabilities of self-awareness? Or could we eventually navigate a winding path through their mind to expand their consciousness?
During my training, I keep this in the back of mind and consider the little things I can experiment with that might tap into higher consciousness. My assumption is that it’s impossible, but considering the impossible can sometimes lead you to extraordinary new real-world insights.
What can I do to help my dog better understand itself and the world that it exists in? For instance, I have taught her the difference between sticking out her tongue, opening her mouth, talking (making noises), and speaking (barking). I have her look up at the ceiling and into the sky, a behavior most animals (even humans) don’t do frequently.
Additional thoughts
It seems like there’s a disconnect between myself, the leash, and Ellie. She seems annoyed with the leash giving her commands, but not with me, the puppet-master behind the curtain. I know this because when I lean in to pet and praise her she looks at me happy. The leash is there because of a third entity.
Can you teach a dog to share using direct or indirect training? For example, two dogs learning to share vs behavior that indirectly supports the concept of sharing like teaching release or taking toys away or stopping feeding mid-meal.
Is there risk in my recognition of nuance rubbing off on Ellie? For example, recognizing her fear response. Yes, because intelligence yields understanding of more intricate lessons like these. You can pass on those difficulties to your kin but they will be smarter for it. More refined understanding and recognition of complex emotions and abstract concepts. Conversely meaning that less aware people won’t recognize these things and will instead breeze past them as if they didn’t exist and maybe that lack of recognition can embrace more confidence in your kin as opposed to those that make it clear it exists. By clarifying its existence you risk making it more of a problem, however, I think if you have a game plan to tackle it, that is the strongest route. Awareness, tackle your problems, grow from it. If you don’t tackle it though, it’s probably better to be blissfully unaware in hopes your kin are just as confidently unaware.
Thinking as if you had no idea what an appropriate response is. You need to guide them. This one has struck a chord with me lately on numerous occasions. Realizing the true absurdity of their position. They have no idea what you want for even the simplest commands. Something that seems so blatantly obvious is a guess for them without guidance. They learn basic pattern recognition and comply within their bounds hoping it will appease, but end up confused when it doesn’t. Their confusion, their failures are a failure on our side to perceive and correct. To guide and nurture. It’s hard to reconcile this disparity between your perspective and theirs, especially in the moment while you’re training.
Something really interesting that happened last night was that she was purposely misbehaving to try to get my attention, but, when I ignored her actions or quietly pushed my hand to stop her from chewing on something, she grew frustrated and eventually came over and quietly laid her head on my leg. It was exactly as you might expect a child to do. This also goes to show that she does indeed love me, wants my company, wants my attention, etc. despite the fact we had bad energy going on.
I intentionally disrupt activities, but give Ellie what she wants afterward. This teaches her that I’m on her side. I’ve mentioned before that she comes and allows me to leash her freely because she knows that I will unleash her in the future anyway. She puts up with things because I give her treats, I let her explore, I give her freedom, there is just a cost sometimes or something she must do first. I’m not sure there is a good way to convey this, rather it’s something you need to try to recognize in the moment.