Illustrations of Dog-dog and dog-people Communcations
The topic's items "contents" are as follows:
Some BREED Communications; May 4, 2007 ; What is Your Dog Thinking?
Border Collies can tell you what they are thinking, in part by messages for you with their tails, ears, voices and actions that you can understand if you pay attention.
Tail Talk : From their first day in your home, their tails can tell you some of their feelings and plans
a) Tail up - means ----
b) Tail down, tip at ankles, with tip pointing back
c) “Rope tail”, hanging straight down with no apparent control
d) Belly button covered by tail
e) Tail wagging
Ears
1) Ears closely spaced on top of her head
2) Ears at mid-height
3) Droopy low ears
Mouth
- -Big Happy Grin:
- -SNARL - Fiercely show teeth, usually with raised upper lips and a growl
- -Ordinary Voice
-- "Butler Bark"
-- "Go AWAY NOW" Bark
-- Yodel or Operatic Aria
--Kindergarten nap-time talking to themselves
- -Nervous bird-like chirping when puzzled
"I'm Lost" Instinct Chirps
Crying and Screaming
Speaking like people
Imitating their People's common words and phrases
Other Messages from Border Collies to People
“Poking”
“Sitting”
Memory Lessons: Trainer Treats, Cookies and Time-Out
Some BREED Communications; May 4, 2007 ; What is Your Dog Thinking?
Border Collies can tell you what they are thinking, in part by messages for you with their tails, ears, voices and actions that you can understand if you pay attention.
Tail Talk : From their first day in your home, their tails can tell you some of their feelings and plans
a) Tail up - means ----
b) Tail down, tip at ankles, with tip pointing back
c) “Rope tail”, hanging straight down with no apparent control
d) Belly button covered by tail
e) Tail wagging
Ears
1) Ears closely spaced on top of her head
2) Ears at mid-height
3) Droopy low ears
Mouth
- -Big Happy Grin:
- -SNARL - Fiercely show teeth, usually with raised upper lips and a growl
- -Ordinary Voice
-- "Butler Bark"
-- "Go AWAY NOW" Bark
-- Yodel or Operatic Aria
--Kindergarten nap-time talking to themselves
- -Nervous bird-like chirping when puzzled
"I'm Lost" Instinct Chirps
Crying and Screaming
Speaking like people
Imitating their People's common words and phrases
Other Messages from Border Collies to People
“Poking”
“Sitting”
Memory Lessons: Trainer Treats, Cookies and Time-Out
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Observations about understanding Border Collies; by Dr X. Beaufort and Dr K. T.
Note: Writing down for the records is the second step, after observing, in creating scientific data. Practically all modern scientific observations of dogs with their human companions and owners enter the record books as anecdotes, which are sort of little stories of what was seen, the situation, when, where, and how, and the apparent meanings or significant of what was seen. Thousands of people in 2010 were sharing observations of their deaf dogs, just like in the earlier centuries when modern medicine (Pasteur, Lister and other ) and chemistry were being discovered.
OU'RE ON TO SOMETHING! THIS IS GREAT! IN FAITH, Karen
Puppies “talk” to their friends with gestures, sounds and “body language,” by using their tails, ears, voice and in other ways. They learn the meaning of many Big people’s words such as the puppy’s own name, and word commands such as Come, Sit, Off, Lie-Down, Stay, NO and many other words. Border Collies often learn the individual names of many of their toys, and some learn to get a specific toy if their people ask them to get the toy by its name.
As your puppy grows up, she will try to communicate with her people and other canines. If you understand what she is trying to communicate, your puppy can learn more quickly, and you can help him or her to be safe, fun and healthy. They like to learn paw-gestures that they can use to tell their humans what they really want or need to do.
What is Your Border Collie Thinking?
Border Collies can tell you what they are thinking, in part by messages for you with their tails, ears, voices and actions that you can understand if you pay attention. These pups may possibly have unusual skills with words. Their speaking will usually happen only if their owner’s encourage them. If you don’t seem to care, or if they think that you’re unkind, they won’t try to talk in English.
Tail Talk : From their first day in your home, their tails can tell you some of their feelings and plans
a) Tail up - means - "this is fun." or maybe "That (usually a squirrel or a ball) looks like breakfast if I can only catch it." For most Border Collies their tail-up messages begin when they’re puppies.
Happy healthy puppies have their tail up most of the time. Stories from the country of Wales told that the original Border Collies had to get their own breakfasts, so they had fun before work in the morning by chasing small animals for their breakfast. In the US, a ball may appeal to them as a possible "fun-breakfast".
If the collie trusts his/her people, Border Collie’s will learn to retrieve, or bring home, a ball or a toy for their people-family. Border Collies who believe that they were treated unfairly by people may refuse to retrieve anything.
b) Tail down, tip at ankles, with tip pointing back - Always means "This is really great work. I'm doing my very best to get the job done for my boy/girl, master or lady, if I have correctly figured out what they want me to do."
c) “Rope tail”, hanging straight down with no apparent control - typically means the tail-owner feels absolutely terrible. "Rope-tail" messages may mean:
1) Medical distresses such as worms, tooth-aches or severe head-ache (maybe should be taken to a dog-doctor.)
2) Sad puppy - "I can't seem to do anything right as far as my girl/boy or master or lady is concerned, and they seem to be really made at me all the time." (Maybe needs to be assured that mistakes aren’t the end of the world. Tomorrow will be better, we hope.)
3) "I don't have the slightest clue what is happening here and nothing that I do pleases the people. Maybe I should just stare at the walls until I die." – deeply sad and very depressed puppy (Needs love, affection and gentle attention with understandable work.)
d) Belly button covered by tail
1) "I really don't understand what the heck is going on. I haven't the slightest idea of what to do next."
2) “The ‘boss’ says I should do this but it sure doesn't make any sense to me." - Such as when ordered to lie down and "Stay" for a picture for the first time with a new scarf tied around the puppy’s neck.
3) "Boy did I mess up that time. Guess I'm in deep trouble." - For example, when she was scolded after she tried to herd a surprised door to door salesman.
e) Tail wagging
Rare for adult Border Collies. Usually tail-wagging by adult Border Collies means happiness with recent work and praise.
Ears
Some puppies apparently can on purpose control their ear postures to communicate. L-- can make hers "floppy" or "pointed" on command or for her own amusement, or even one up and one folded. With practice she can hold them in one or another posture, ranging from up to fully lowered. L-- can point each ear in a different direction, such as one ear forward and the other backward, to keep all-round track of events:
1) Ears closely spaced on top of her head, as close as 1/4 inch apart almost touching at the base and forward pointing. That usually indicates maximum concentration such as watching another Border Collie moving sheep at a skills Trial.
2) Ears at mid-height - may mean "I'd really like to do have my ears scratched." or "Gee, I'm sorry that I messed up that job."
3) Droopy low ears way down on the sides of the head - seems to usually indicate extreme distress from gross illness, physical pain, or emotional misery from being severely punished. We've seen that happen when a puppy was scolded by other puppies for biting too rough.
Mouth
Big Happy Grin: Several of the puppies display their happiness in their face expressions with a big open mouth happy grin (with their lips on the sides hiding their side teeth). Other puppies seem "Straight-faced" regardless of what ever happens.
SNARL - Fiercely show teeth, usually with raised upper lips and a growl: - means "You should stop what you are doing and probably should leave or I might decide that I should pinch you to persuade you to go away and leave me and my people alone."
Ordinary Voice - As early as their first seconds of life they could “bark” and cry, and these puppies by 5 weeks of age could do other voice expressions.
"Butler Bark" - Means that a person arrived who probably deserves the attention of her people. This sort of voice usually doesn't sound fierce to people who know the Border Collie.
"Go AWAY NOW" Bark - Means the Border Collie believes that the person should go away immediately, with or without their sale brochures, tickets or other things that they brought with them. Insecure salespeople might run from the premises.
Yodel or Operatic Aria: - Some Border Collies express their unhappiness at being left alone behind when their family leaves them at home. Usually the Collie will cease singing when she or he concludes that the family has gone so far that they can’t hear her any longer.
Kindergarten nap-time talking to themselves - Especially boy puppies seem to talk to themselves for a while before going to sleep, just as some little boys do before naps in kindergarten.
Nervous bird-like chirping when puzzled - Some puppies at first when in a strange situation will "Chirp" for a few minutes to let their parents and people know where they are, and that the puppy is worried about what is going on. This is not a sign of fear or timidity, but instead indicates high intelligence. Usually an adult Border Collie will not hurry much when they hear “chirps” by puppies.
"I'm Lost" Instinct Chirps - Within seconds to minutes of each puppies birth, it will use its instinctive call signaling to tell its Mother where it is and that it needs gudiance to find her milk spigots. The call has a rising pitch into ultrasonic tones (above ordinary human hearing), repeated usually three and possibly four times. S. Coren, A Miklosi and Coppingers 2000 all commented on that special call, apparently almost the same for all breeds. Border Collies of all ages, puppies through old age, males and females respond to such calls from puppies and even other adults (even humans). Coppingers however, asserted that their dogs refused to rescue puppies older than some age such as perhaps 6 weeks. [Also immediately within seconds after being borne BC puppies were recorded on digital files while making tiny "barks, chirps, and miscellanious varied sounds. Each litter of puppies soon had a distinctive shared litany of calls, barks, yips and other sounds that was different from the litany of the other litters whose calls were recorded.
Crying and Screaming - A Border Collie parent will come at a run to protect a puppy that is crying and screaming. A human who mistreats or without permission picks up a puppy, or a human child who cries or screams for help may find out how quickly a Border Collie "Mom" or "Dad" responds to a danger or hazard to a puppy or a girl or boy. Usually, if a human adult has hurt a human child the Border Collie may try to protect the child, even if that might mean the Border Collie's own injury or death.
Speaking like people - Border Collie puppies may decide to learn to imitate and use in proper ways human words and phrases that they hear their people use often. These puppies’ Mom is a “talker.”
Imitating their People's common words and phrases - L-- and most of her puppies can imitate sounds that they hear. L-- uses some words in proper context. An earlier Border Collie of ours imitated our phrases in proper occasions, on his own initiative. L-- first learned and repeated to us the words "Ah-ah," which we say to mean "stop doing that" when she wanted us to stop doing something. She learned the word "NO" by which we meant - "Absolutely don't even think about doing that now or any time in the future (such as stealing chocolate cookies off the table.)” L-- used the words to indicate that she preferred NOT do something that she had been asked to do, such as get in the bathtub for a scrub that she didn't believe she needed.
She, when requested to do so, will dash through the house to find and announce "Dinner is ready!" to any of us not yet at the table. A Border Collie of ours used to instruct people "OFF THE RUG" when they came into the carpeted room where we used a computer. He was forbidden to come in because he shed hair that got into the computer, but was permitted to lie outside the door with his nose on the carpet.
Many puppies imitated each other, and several were heard to "Sing along" with songs on the radio. Usually the songs were Celtic - Scots, Welsh or Irish music. Possibly the reason for their interest was an inheritance from Welsh, Scots parents and an Irish parent?
Other Messages from Border Collies to People
“Poking”: Many Border Collies get the attention of their people by poking their people with a nose or by touching a person’s leg with a paw. They do that with each other as tiny puppies, and it just seems reasonable for them to do the same with their people as they grow up, if their people don’t mind. Some adults and children can be surprised by being poked with a cold wet nose or a paw unexpectedly.
“Sitting”: These Border Collie puppies often sit down nearby, on even on a person’s shoe or bare foot - as a message that they want to be picked up for attention and petting by a person. Adult Border Collies may sit nearby for attention, and perhaps use a paw-poke as well. Deaf Border Collies may lie down with a paw touching their favorite person, to keep track of their movement if the person starts to move away while the dog is asleep.
Memory Lessons: Trainer Treats, Cookies and Time-Out
While teaching a Border Collie lessons such as SIT, people may give the puppy a treat for each correct answer. Border Collies in exchange for affection and appreciation enjoy learning new activities with their people, and if their people fail to participate in new and interesting activities their Collie will usually develop their own challenges, or can sink into a “closed-down” mental condition where they’ll do almost nothing. When a deeply trusting bond is formed, treats and cookies can become counter-productive because then the requested actions become mere commercial transactions. If their obedience becomes commercial, they may decide to go home without you if you run out of treats while on a walk; as L- did one day.
When a treat is used, it should be only a token that the puppy remembered correctly what was wanted. Mature Border Collies are likely to refuse a treat or cookie if they believe that they failed to correctly carry out a request of their owner. Similarly, when we visited Bulgaria, we quickly learned their words at restaurants, fast food places and museums, where our newly learned Bulgarian words when used correctly produced prompt "rewards" for our success. When we failed to choose the correct Bulgarian words, or pronounced them poorly, usually people looked at us with surprise and confusion. Phemie only began to use her golf-putter in our home after we asked her people what Phemie called the thing; it was a “Blue-tool.”
Punishment should be limited to verbal scolding, perhaps with time-out in a safe room alone like a delinquent’s kindergartner. Border Collies are very social so isolation is punishment, but gives them a chance to think about what they did and how to do better next time.
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