Thanks to everyone who sent their best wishes on the start of my new job with KFAI-FM. I’ve had a great first week and have made many new friends. Like anyone stepping into an unfamiliar environment, I’ve felt overwhelmed at times, but I’m confident that my duties will begin to feel manageable before long. I’ve already had lots of help. Being willing to offer and accept assistance is an important part of the deal. After all, they call it “community radio” for a reason! Check out “Taste of KFAI” today (Saturday) at the Ukrainian Center in NE Minneapolis from noon to six pm. Great music and food too! I plan to be there in the early part of the afternoon.
All jobs have their benefits and drawbacks. Sometimes I wonder if it would be fun to plan scientific studies. I know at first blush the work seems dry, but there are hidden creative opportunities and even occasional chances to do comedy.
Don’t believe me? Witness the University of Florida’s Canine Attention Study, which was written up by Tara Parker-Pope in the New York Times “Well” blog.
Basically, the researchers wanted to find out how closely dogs watch us, and if their perception of us changes their behavior.
First the animals (a selection of domestic dogs, shelter animals and tame gray wolves) were taught that the humans had tasty treats to give.
Then the creatures were presented with a choice. They were called by two treat-bearing humans who were standing twenty feet apart – one human was making eye contact with the animals and other one wasn’t. Researchers tracked which human the animals begged from most often.
Here’s a problem for the study planner to solve – how do you indicate to a dog or a wolf that a treat bearing human who is calling him is not really engaged in the task?
Four techniques were used.
In one test, the oblivious human had her back turned to the animals.
In another, she had a camera to her face.
In yet another, she was reading a book.
And finally, (here comes the comedy), she had a bucket over her head.
Yes, please, Ms. Grad Student. Please phone your parents and tell them you’ve been standing out in our yard, calling wolves to come eat SPAM cubes out of your hand while wearing a bucket over your head.
The findings?
Grad students will do anything for a little cash.
How much does your pet know about you?
Trail Baboon 
Morning all! Well, I WISH that my pet knew enough about me to know that being kept awake for several hours straight dealing w/ a dog afraid of storms was not my first choice in life. Sheesh. Where is Cesar Milan when you need him!
The teenager and I have discovered that our dogs have learned the subtle clues that mean a meal is finished. They are both banished from the dining room during meals, but rush in at the slightest movement in our chairs that indicates we’re about to get up from the table. Uncanny. And irritating.
On a side note, here is a list of baboon birthdays from earlier in the week. (MiG, Clyde, Equivoque and Roger… you never responded that it was ok to publish your birthday in this form, so I left you off. If you want to be included (or if you weren’t on the trail the day we talked about birthdays but want to be included anyway), just let me know!)
Cynthia in Mahtowa January 15
Renee February 1
Edith February 10
tim February 23
Occasional Caroline March 5
BiR March 26
Linda in St. Paul WS April 3
Krista in Waterville April 8
Carolyn April 21
Margaret/PlainJane April 27
Ben May 10
Steve in St. Paul June 12
Verily Sherrilee August 4
Jacque August 21
Jim in CG September 3
Beth-Ann September 18
Anna September 20
TGiTH September 23
Donna October 3
Dale October 4
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Sorry about birthday formatting. It looked nice and neat in the comment box before hitting “Post Comment”
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Do not apologize for the failure of technology after you put time and effort into doing something very nice.
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WordPress doesn’t know how to handle tab-delimited data – I copied and pasted into a spreadsheet and the tabs were there.
Yes, I share your passion for spreadsheets – so much of life is more comprehensible when converted to tab-delimited data.
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The trail is so lucky to have spreadsheet-using baboons. Thanks!
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Thanks vs, nice job.
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You may add my birthday as well — looks like I’m in good company! Joanne in Big Lake on October 2.
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The first week of October is certainly a hot one on the trail!
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Happy Belated Birthday Steve!
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Awwww!
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Rise and Shine Baboons!
This is a timely question because we have our new dog that we are adjusting to. She is adjusting to us, too. She spends a lot of time watching us. Our first challenge was potty habits. Her cues to go were not the cues we gave. She was watching us for something that was not going to happen. It took a few days to get the communication down. Now all three of us seem to be on the same page.
She has now spent 2 weeks watching us for cues. Last night she begged for food for the first time–NOT a welcome skill. However, I believe Bootsy now knows more about us that we know about her. We are her full time work.
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I wonder if there are any corresponding studies on our cats. My cat is clearly watching me, but I guess he’s only wondering if I taste like chicken?
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my cats know me in a convienent way for them. they like to be petted in my particular fashion of petting and come by to get some when they feel the urge. they wait by the door for a sneak attack to get outside and witness the majesty of nature but the majesty of the house overrules and has made them house cats to be safe from the wiley coyotes here in the riverbottom.
the dogs are a different story. they would prefer have a bucket over my head most of the time. the basset is plotting to pull food capers all day and all night and i am out to thwart those efforts. zeke the wolf dog is mans best friend and his willingness to take my ideas of how life should be into consideration is always appreiated. he waits for me in the driveway when i am out of town and notices if it has been a particlarly long time since we have seen each other . little dog is the most communicative of the menagerie, he will turn and run whenever i enter the room. under the chair into the corner behind the door, just get moving.
the fish are always happy to see me bringing flakes from heaven and a change of water.
how well do they know me? they probably know me better than i know myself. no aires put on for the dogs, no false faces for the cats. they get the real deal everytime. no filtering circumstances or excuses as t why it didn’t get done. they would have been able to predict the outcome with great precision based on true past behavior.
the beauty about the pets is they also accept me for who i am and make little in the way of requests of me. they don’t care at all if the counter top stays unwiped or the garage in a state of disarray they think it time to be petted not time for chores.
they are a kick and make the world go round. i used to think that having pets was a great way to teach the kids about love and separation when the die. easier than what a grandpa or grandma, i’m not so sure, maybe its harder.
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Our dog, Diamond, is a skilled observer. She knows who is likely to offer food. She knows who is prone to carelessly drop food. And she knows who is selfish about his food. She won’t beg from a person reading a book. She won’t beg from a person watching TV. She will wait underneath the table during a meal, quietly asking gravity to deliver an entree to the floor.
And never, never leave her alone in a room where bread products are near the edge of a table or counter. Never.
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I have had more than one bread-loving dog. The first dog I had as an adult (Katy Scarlet) was, for the most part, extremely well-behaved, so I was often lulled into complacency. One day I had made a loaf of peanut sesame bread and left it sitting on the rack to cool on the counter. Later in the day, I was straightening up, picked up the rack off the counter and put it away. It wasn’t until dinner time that I thought about the bread and looked around for it. Not seeing it, or any hint of it, and not remembering the rack sitting on the counter, I decided that maybe I had thought about making the bread, but didn’t follow through. Two days later, as I was “picking up” in the yard, I discovered two piles of evidence that the bread had existed, but had passed through Katy Scarlet before ending up out back. Sesame seeds don’t digest… they just go right on out the way they came in!
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Slush was a bread eating cat, the one who would leap up on the counter at the drop of a crumb. He also loved canteloupe and anything cooked in the cabbage family.
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My cat Jory goes after bread, too. He likes to chew through the plastic bag and nibble off some crust. For some reason, though, he leaves rye bread alone. Maybe the aroma is too strong for him.
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Glad to hear that it’s not just Zorro… he loves plastic bags. W/ bread in them is a bonus. But you can’t leave a plastic bag around or he’ll get at it…. and he almost always chews through the handle part of the bag. I’m sure this means something, but I can’t figure out what!
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Everybody have fun today…. wish I could join anyone going over to KFAI today. I’m already booked solid – in fact, have already been down at the gym this morning getting the bake sale/car wash set up.
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Our dog lives to eat, so she knows when I am doing something when the possibility of something edible hitting the floor is high. Many times I have wished that we had a door to the kitchen so I could shut her out and cook without having her constantly nosing the floor by my feet for some tidbit. She also knows when I am about to feed her and will try to “herd” me towards the food area so I don’t get distracted by something less important than Her Dinner. Other than food and walks, she doesn’t care too much about me. It’s the younger generation that she loves.
The cat, usually knows where I am. He followed me closely for a long time after he adopted us (the dog found him in our yard). I would go upstairs, so would he; I would come downstairs, so would he. Very flattering. He often seems to know when I would like a friend nearby and will be
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oops, that got cut off. that should end:
“and will be that friend.”
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I have a cat that did that – he came to live on my porch, and he would follow me wherever I went. If I went up the street to Jerabek’s for a treat in the morning, he would trot along beside me, looking up at me with that “we belong together” expression on his face.
Now he waits for me to go upstairs to bed every night. He runs ahead of me a few steps and looks back to make sure I’m coming.
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Good morning to all:
The last dog we had was a Corgi. He was almost entirely focused on getting treats. Like most Corgis, he had a very alert look and looked straight to you with it’s ears straight up Most dogs will look away if you stare at them. This dog did not look away. I think this alert bold look is breed into Corgis. I don’t how much this dog knew about us. He was so focused on getting treats that I think he wasn’t much interested in anything else..
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I once calculated that Katie had a working vocabulary of about 30 English words. She knew what they meant. The two English setters I’ve had were that way. They were very sensitive to words.
It used to amuse me that Katie was indifferent to the way people moved about the house because she could tell that most of the time there was no potential they would be taking her out. At other times, she was highly alert and excited, and would bolt for the door if we got near it. The difference? Shoes. Katie figured out that people in sock feet were going nowhere interesting. People in shoes were about to go outside, and she wanted to be in on that.
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Our fair Twixie knows our car. I have tested this. She lives a lovely life, sitting/sleeping on her cushion on the chair on the porch or hanging out at the neighbor’s side door, where the outdoor water bowl is kept and treats often appear. When I drive up at the end of the day, she hops down and comes to greet me at the curb.
The day the car was in the garage and somebody else dropped me off at the same time, she looked very surprised to see me.
She also knows that if you really, really, really want to get out of the house, and your humans are not responding to your polite request, just start clawing on something and the door will instantly open.
I got a cat care book before I got my first kitten from the guys next door in the Chicago brownstone-the advice that has always stuck with me from that goes as follows: “People do not train cats, cats train people and some people are remarkably quick to learn”.
and Linda, thanks for my new favorite phrase “tab-delimited data”-don’t ask me why, but I just like the sound of it. I told the s&h he was lucky I had never heard Hitchhiker’s Guide before now, as if I had, he surely would have been named Zaphod Beeblebrox-some of us never outgrown that particular bit of delight from toddlerhood, I guess.
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Pippin watches me closely when I talk to him, cocking his head sideways and staring at me intently. It’s clear to me that he’s very interested in learning what the words mean. His interest is so plain that I make a point of teaching him. I’ve never counted the number of words he understands, but it’s quite a few. For example, he really loves his squeaky rubber chicken. He knows this toy as Chicken. He clearly understands some concepts about Chicken, such as: “Go get your Chicken,” or if I don’t want to play, “No more Chicken,” or when we’re going outside, “Chicken has to stay home.” He’ll drop his Chicken and wait for me to get his leash.
Another concept he understands is “new.” When I come home from shopping, he watches me for treats and gifts. He sniffs all the packages he can reach. When I say, “I got you a new bone,” his eyes go wide and he gets really excited and dances in the kitchen while he waits for his new bone. I truly believe he can understand the difference between old and new. (He must have 30 -40 bones!)
He doesn’t understand other things, though, and I really wish he could – like not jumping all over me and scratching me when I answer the phone. He understands that I’m talking to someone and he wants to be in on the conversation. Also, I think he wants to meet the people who are out riding bikes and he’ll try to chase bicyclists. I know he understands when I am on my bike. He knows that I can ride away from him and this is really frustrating for him. So when he sees bicyclists, he tries to chase them. He also likes to pick up lots of things outside and eat them. My response to this behavior is “DROP!” It gets his attention right away and he understands and immediately complies but he doesn’t learn from it and will grab something else the very next second!
I’ve always believed that animals are intelligent but they perceive things differently than we do and are motivated by different things. I think dogs really want to please us and be near us but that cats view us as their servants. Dogs can be motivated by food and toys; cats can take it or leave it and prefer to do their own thing.
Pets are great companions. I think they grieve when someone dear is gone. I believe they understand a great deal about us. Maybe we should watch them as closely as they do us.
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Our cat Oliver spent a lot of time looking for his pal Norma (my prior basset hound) after we had her put down. It took a day or so, but then he realized that wherever she had gone to, she wasn’t coming back. Oliver would circle the house looking at all of the spots where Norma liked to nap, and then he’d circle again. It really seemed like he was looking for his friend. When we got another basset, even after 5 years, he reacted like his pal Norma was back. It took him awhile to wrap his kitty brain around that his hound did not play like Norma or do Norma-things – not only that, this one barked when you came at him from the wrong side (Barney is blind in one eye and barks when he is startled). But, the new hound was willing to nap with a cat like the old one, and occasionally cleans the cat as if he were a puppy, and that seems to be enough for Oliver now.
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My prior basset was quite aware of her human(s) and our quirks. She trained a roommate to give her a treat whenever she (the dog) came in from outside by sitting down and staring at the top of the refrigerator where the treats were kept. No barking, just stared at the top of the fridge. Roommate gave her a treat every time. She did not always do the same with me. She also recognized the “getting ready for bed” movements of turning off lights, brushing teeth, etc. and would hop up on the bed when these activities commenced – on occasion, if I had guests over and the guests stayed past what the dog considered bedtime, she would come out and stare at the humans until they took the hint. She also trained me to put all food away as she was a counter grazer, and was quite stealthy about it. Like VS’s dog, she nabbed a cranberry loaf off my mom’s counter when no one was looking – and mom didn’t think of it until a couple weeks later when she thought about serving the loaf she remembered buying to some guests. Went to look for it in the freezer (figuring that it wasn’t out after our family meal because she had decided to save it for later), and couldn’t find it…finally after asking my dad about it, and Dad remembered finding the wrapper for it on the floor (he figured that either the dog had taken just the wrapper out of the garbage or one of the grandkids had), the figured the dog had stolen the bread, taken the wrapper off and snarfed the loaf – all while several humans should have been within ear and eye-shot of the events, yet she remained unobserved. She also retrieved a bag of state fair mini donuts from a zipped backpack, and was so pleased with her quarry that rather than eat them right then and there, she brought them out to show me her fabulous treasure.
While the current hound is quite charming and friendly, he is not so stealthy (or interested) in human food. He does, however, recognize the sound of frozen sweet potato cubes (a favored treat) in his dog dish. it took him about a month of school last fall before he gave up on trying to go with us to the bus stop in the morning – the prior year he went along to the stop most mornings, but this year school started later, so Daughter went to a before-school care program instead of riding the bus. Barney was vastly disappointed when the leash wouldn’t come out in the morning. Now he just hops up on the arm chair until we leave – then he comes to the front window to watch as the car pulls away. He knows where the leash is kept and watches for us to reach for it, and gets especially excited when a plastic newspaper bag gets fished out of the bin in the kitchen as he knows this means it will get tied to the leash and he gets to go for a walk (the leash without a bag may just lead to hanging out in the front yard, still good, but not as exciting as a walk – a plastic bag means new smells and possibly other dogs on leashes).
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Springers are apt to suffer from separation anxiety, and that was true for two springers we had. One time when we were at my cabin it came time to pack up and go home. About halfway through that process, we noticed we were short by one dog. Tessie was gone. We stopped packing and began looking for Tessie, calling her over and over. After fifteen minutes of frustration we found Tessie curled up on her dog pad in the back of the car. She had jumped in on her own, something she had literally never done before. Obviously, Tessie recognized the packing and knew it meant we were heading home. She was afraid of being left behind, so she jumped into the car to make sure she would be included on the drive home.
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One more party left for tonight — phew!
My dogs have figured out that the very very last thing I do in the morning before I head downstairs is to put on my shoes. As soon as I begin putting my shoes on, they start dancing around and “talking”.
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All these stories make me wish we had a dog.
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If I knew you walked in front of me
I would run, I would run after you.
Oh, if only, I knew you were in front
I would run, I’d run so fast after you.
If I knew you came, you came behind me
I would sit and wait, I’d wait for you.
Oh, if only, I knew you came behind
I would sit and wait, I would wait for you.
If I knew you were here, here beside me
I would go and stand, I’d stand beside you.
Oh, if only, I knew you were here
I would go and stand, I would stand beside you.
Where else could you find that kind of devotion?
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Sniff.
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nice linda
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Growing up I had a cat that ate potato chips. (?) That’s pretty awesome to watch and show your friend when you’re a teenager. 🙂 Spent the last two days with my grandgirls. Best part of my life! Anyway, I really want to like dogs, and I LOVE how people really love their pets. I’m still working on it. I walk in parks often, and my first reaction is to avoid dogs, but when someone comes up to me and his/her owner wants me to enjoy him/her, I want to, but I’m afraid of dogs. As I said, I’m working on it. Any suggestions?
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Dogs have an uncanny ability to sense what a human is feeling. If you mistrust them, they’ll be pretty cautious around you. When you approach a dog, stand still and hold the palm of your hand open, relaxed and facing the dog. This says to the dog, “You can trust me. I trust you.” Don’t try to pet a strange dog’s head before making his/her acquaintance in this way. When your palm is open it signals trust and friendliness. When your hand is facing down over his head, it signals dominance.
If a dog is not moving, staring at you and making eye contact with his tail down and not wagging, stand still. This dog is wary of you and might not be happy about your presence. It’s best not to make eye contact – that signals a challenge. Look away, hold your hand open and stand still. Let him check you out. When the tail starts to wag, you’re OK!
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i find th signals are similar with people
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I think I’m more inclined to avoid people, because if I don’t know them I never know quite what to say. But if they have a dog, then there’s something I can talk to them about. I usually carry a small container of dog treats in my pocket, so I ask them if the dog can have a treat, and what’s the dog’s name, and what breed is he, and so on. It’s hard to make a social misstep with a dog, especially when you have treats.
I have a fear of heights, and it’s not a rational fear that I’m going to fall. Even when I know I won’t fall, I’m still afraid of the height itself. So I suppose that’s what it’s like to be afraid of dogs, even if you know the dog is friendly and won’t bite you.
I don’t know what works, but maybe petsitting for friends might help, if you could start with something small and non-threatening. You bond with an animal when you care for it.
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Linda, that’s so true. I’m inclined to avoid people too. My Bailey couldn’t wait to run up to everyone he saw and as a result I have lasting friendships that I wouldn’t otherwise have had. Pippin is friendly too, but Bailey felt that it was his personal mandate to meet as many people as he could in his short life. He succeeded in a big way and had made lots of friends within just a few years.
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Good advice LiSP(WS) – carrying a few treats for dogs you meet on the way is an excellent way to meet dogs in any easy way. The folks who will stop are more likely to have good natured (and hopefully better behaved) dogs.
Carolyn – if you have a friend or acquaintance with a dog, see if they can help you out. It may help if they keep their dog on a leash when you come to visit. Let the dog sniff your hand, so they know who you are. It helps if you can find a dog that isn’t prone to jumping, that might make it easier for you – but this is also why it helps to have the dog leashed, that way his/her human can keep them from racing at you or leaping up to say hello. Once you have let the dog sniff you, try giving the pooch a little pat on the head or back (you might want to ask if the dog has a preference – my dog does not, but he is blind in one eye, so it’s better if you approach from the non-blind side). If you can be in the yard or room with this dog and work your way up to a little pooch affection, perhaps giving a doggie treat if that’s not too intimidating, you can work your way into it one step and one dog at a time. I have a friend who was somewhat afraid of dogs, and I learned to leash my dog when she would come over – if I could keep my dog from being so enthusiastic about a guest, it allowed my friend to get in the door without feeling intimidated. Then as the visit progressed, and the dog got over her initial “so happy to see you” energy, I could let the dog off the leash and she would calmly go visit my friend if my friend thought it was okay – other friends did the same with their dogs, curbing them when she first arrived until she was more comfortable with the dog. This friend will never be a “dog person,” but at least she is more wiling to visit friends with pooches.
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Wow! Thanks for the suggestions Krista, Linda and Anna! I guess it’s too late to make this a “New Years” resolution, but it is a goal of mine to be more friendly to dogs and proactive about it. It does help a lot if I feel as if I have reaction time to all the doggy love that comes on my walking trail. My house mate just lost her dog of many years and I think I feel a bit guilty I wasn’t more friendly to her (the dog, I mean). She was old and very low maintainence. I often didn’t notice her because of it. Now she is missed. Good night from EST!
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Happy Fathers’ Day to all the fathers here on the trail. Additional greetings to Blevins and all the other males who take time to nurture children and/or adults. Your actions can change the world!
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NIce, Beth-Ann. Ditto to fathers.
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Morning all. Hoping for a rain-free Father’s Day for us today!
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My dog stayed with a family friend yesterday while Lou went to see his dad for FD. There were two little girls to play with and two adults to dote on Bootsy. However, the dog spent the day in a chair near the window, whining and waiting all day for me to return from my art class.
When does the dog’s behavior cross the line from bonding to the new owner to obsession? Soon I hope she learns that I return when I go away, and that the time time passes more quickly if she is engaged with other people. We shall see what happens today when she goes back there!
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Jacque, that sounds like separation anxiety. It can be quite troublesome if you don’t find ways of working with it. Google the topic for some tips on what to do to reduce it.
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THanks Steve. I’ll do some research on it.
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Happy Father’s Day to all you dads!
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My last dog, Jacques Brel, knew that when I took a shower I was going to leave the house…but leave him a treat before I left (initially done to forestall separation anxiety)…usually bits of hot dog thrown on the floor.
The horses know when I approach them with the intent to catch them, even if they can’t see the halter behind my back…and get out of my way.
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Lots and lots of dogs down at the bandshell this afternoon (free concert by Cantus) but all amazingly well behaved!
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http://www.gocomics.com/onaclaireday
Today’s funnies – On a Claire Day is amazingly appropos.
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Yes, my cats share the philosophy.
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Happy Fathers Day to all the guys on the trail.
My wife said I have a gift– for getting more paint on myself than the project…
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i think I share that gift…
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Anna and Ben please do not re-gift 🙂
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It’s a wonder isn’t it Anna?
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the paint shirts do become like dekonnings or pollack paintings if you are god enough t keep them going as smocks for a while.
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