I’ve often heard people say that dogs think they’re humans.
I understand what people mean when they say that; their dogs act less like animals than they do their human partners. And dogs do that. It’s what makes them dogs and not wild.
But dogs definitely don’t think they’re human.
You can see it just in the way they interact with us as opposed to their own kind. They treat us with an attention that’s special. We’re powerful, mysterious, weird, and wonderful creatures to them. Other dogs are either companions, a threat, or something to be ignored when there’s a human around.
I’m not saying that dogs understand us. Quite the opposite. I’m convinced that dogs spend more than half their time completely confused as to what we’re doing, what we want from them, and how they should give it to us.
Cooper and Coco, for example, understand the following: sleep time, affection, play time, the joys of sunlight on the skin, safety, the cool of the indoors, outside adventures, going potty, and food, food, food.
I’m just saying they know the difference. They recognize a human from the rest of the creatures in the world. And they recognize us as individuals, too.
I was on the phone with Liz today as she was coming home, and I was out on the walk with Cooper and Coco. Cooper heard me say hi to her, and then he spotted someone walking on the opposite side of the street, in the opposite direction, and concluded that I must be saying hi to Liz on the other side of the street. He got very anxious and excited to go over and say hi.
He put that together in his head. Me on the phone, the woman on the other side of the street, and the desire to see Liz asap because he missed her.
That’s a mystery I think our dogs don’t understand: why we leave them alone. It’s not natural for a dog. A dog never leaves its pack. Why do humans do this? It doesn’t make sense.
Watching TV I think they understand, at least in part: rest time. Let’s just sit in this safe place and stare out the magic window for a while. Sounds good to me.
Nap time is a big fun time in our household. Both for Coops and Coco. They love it. Cooper will literally lead me back into the bedroom when he knows its late afternoon. Nap time. Let’s do this. Waggy tail.
But, they don’t think they’re human.
Humans are special.