Pets are Talking

Do Animals Love?

Jon Katz, famous writer of thoughtful books about dogs, has come down squarely on the side of believing that our dogs do not love us. Instead, they exhibit "opportunistic, manipulative behavior" in the form of wagging tails, nuzzling and licks. 

Here's the article that really sent me over the edge . According to Katz and Eric Zorn, dogs don't love. They just manipulate. When we leave them, they turn to whomever has food and "act" like they love him. 

There's one way we could tell if Dogs love us. We could hook them up to brain scans and see what lights up when they encounter their family members. 

They could do that to us too. They could see if we love. 

That is, if we knew where the love part of the brain is. We don't. 

So, we observe behavior, instead. 

Katz and Zorn say that when dogs are left by their owners, they don't pine and whine, but instead take food and affection from someone else. (Please, come observe my dog, Mr. Katz and Zorn)

Because of this ability to get along with others, that means that they don't love their owners.

That is the most bizarre if-then statement I've ever heard. 

If my dog is a decent creature in my absence, he doesn't love me. 

If he doesn't completely lose his ability to cope, he doesn't love me. 

Is that what love is? It's the inability to cope if your family leaves? 

Those of us on either side of the debate can point to behavior until we are blue in the face. 

What I know is that I've talked with hundreds of dogs. Many of them talk about how they love their owners. Not all of them. Not all the time. There are a few out there that would trade their owners for a good grilled cheese. The same can be said for children or spouses. 

This kind of thinking, that animals don't love, is the kind of thinking that separates us from non-humans. If they don't love, do they feel? Do we need to treat them with kindness and respect. 

Jon Katz says dogs can't love because they can't build a narrative. Nor do they have the language skills to love. 

Because we need language to love.  

And because dogs don't have language. 

Tell that to the dog I talked with this morning. 

The only way that we can prove that our dogs love us is by how we feel in their presence. This is the same for cats, for husbands, for children, for everybody. 

When the Honeymoon is Over

 God made animals cute for the same reason he made babies cute. There are times when that cuteness is a saving grace! 

To wit: the dog who recently ate all the payroll checks for her parent's business; the cat that likes to jump on counters, jumping right into a full pan of delicious frosted brownies; the horse who has learned how to untie any knot with her dextrous mouth, and thus, cannot be trusted to be tied anywhere. 

(These are all from pets I've met this week!)

We're attracted to pets for a specific reason. Animals comes into our lives to teach us something that we need to learn about ourselves and the world we live in. We, in turn, are here to enrich their lives. 

This circle of love and learning and enrichment seems possible, even easy when the new pet comes into our lives. They're cute! And they are ours! 

Pets are usually on their best behavior, until they get comfortable. For some, this is about 30 seconds. 

What happens when things start to skew chaotic and your new pet starts doing things that are not, in any sense of the word, appropriate? What do you do? 

Here's what you do. Get a cup of tea. Sit down. Remember back to when you first saw your new friend.

What was it that you saw in this creature that you wanted for yourself? What is it that this pet is here to teach you? 

See your pet as you first saw your pet. Because the pet you see now and the pet you saw then are the same pet. 

Don't assume that your decision was a mistake. A naughty pet is a chance for us to realign our lives. 

I would LOVE to hear about your naughty pet stories, and what you may have leaned from a naughty pet.Please Comment!

Right now, though, I am going to talk with my cat Leo, who has the awful habit of clearing my desk to find a place to sleep (ignoring the perfectly good wicker basket that I've put on my desk for that specific reason). 

My brave dog faces a bear

Our dog, Benny, has a peculiar habit. He only wants me to let him outside. Perhaps I let him sniff the yard longer, I don't know. If my sweeter half lets him out, he just sits on the porch. 

So, last night, I decided to break him of this silly habit. He asked me to let him out. I told him that only Dad could let him out. Dad let him out. He sat on the porch. His business remained undone. 

An hour into sleeping, I felt a wet nose on my elbow. It was Hunni, our little blond dog. 

I'm a terrible sleeper, and I'm a real bear if anybody tries to wake me up. If I can't fall back asleep, everybody else in the house will stay awake with me. I'm loud. I'm crabby. It is in everyone's best interest to let sleeping Bridgets sleep. 

I told Hunni to go back to sleep. She decided to pace around the bedroom instead. Our floors are wooden, so we were treated to a tense clickety-clack.  I snarled at her. Not my finest moment. 

Brave Hunni came back over to rest her wet nose on my elbow. This must be an emergency of epic proportions.  

So I got up, and followed her as she rushed to the front door. I opened the door. She stood aside as Benny raced out to relieve himself. 

I grumped my way back to bed, and fell asleep 3 hours later. 

This morning, Hunni rested her nose on my elbow. "Come on." I whispered, lifting up the covers so she could hop up and get comfortable. By this time, I was able to think about something other than sleep. I could hear her loud and clear.

"I am so sorry!" she said. "I didn't want to wake you up. But Benny really had to go! And he said he wouldn't bother you. He was squirmy and I thought he was going to pee on our dog bed!" 

"It's okay." I said, as she snuggled up. "That was very nice of you to do that for Benny."

She fell asleep immediately, and with her warm breath on my arm, I did too. 

Are you tired of hearing about the bad state of the economy?

Our dogs are too. I've heard it repeated a number of times in the past month or two. Most dogs don't understand the concept of money. They do understand feelings of lack and the anxiety that comes from not feeling like you have enough. 

Do a favor for you and your dog. Stop worrying about whether you will have enough to live on and be happy. You will. 

This economy crisis is a big fat attitude readjustment. It's a time to turn away from the stuff we spend money on and to turn towards our family and friends. It's a time to take stock on what really matters to you. 

For me, it's my family and it's helping out people and animals. 

Please do two things today. Please tell your pet not to worry about money, and that there will be enough.  And then, please make a little list of the things that really matter to you. Odds are pretty good that the list is non-monetary in nature. 

P.S.- Why did I mention dogs, specifically? Cats aren't really so worried about the economy. They fully expect things to work out. Horses, as a group, are used to hard times. It's the dogs that take our anxieties and worry. I have a worrier at my feet as I write this!  

Pet Psychic Semantics

As an intuitive animal communicator, I get a little bothered by this phrase, "Pet Psychic". It makes me feel like what I do is out there. That it's woo-woo, when really it's just using a skill we've all got.

The term, Psychic, forms a wall between those of us who can do this, and those who can't. The assumption is that you're on one side of that wall and there's no way to get across to the other side. That assumption is not true. Not true at all.

I don't know where my intuitive skills will take me, but I feel like the most important thing that I can do is help others learn how to use their intuitive skills.