We do not have a dog. We like dogs, but do not feel that owning one would be compatible with our lifestyle at this time. We have many friends with dogs and we have one come to stay from time to time. When I was a kid, we had a dog.
A while back I read an explanation of why humans like dogs [and cats actually, but I don’t understand cats, so I’ll stick with what I know]. The thing about dogs that they have in common with us, but not with some “lower” lifeforms, is that they experience emotions. This helps us to relate to them and benefit from their company. But it goes further than this. A dog’s emotions are quite simple. He/she might feel sad, happy, excited, scared, angry, etc. However, at any one moment, a dog only feels a single one of these emotions. On the other hand, a human can experience multiple - even conflicting - emotions at one time. This is why dogs can be easier company than other humans.
I wondered what is going on in a dog’s brain that results in this emotional limitation. And then I got it! Dogs live for the moment. The understand “now”, but do not have any sense of the past or the future. They have no regrets or guilt about the past and no forebodings about the future. A human’s emotional landscape is a composite of what they are feeling about in relation to the past, the present and the future.
Is there anything that we can learn from dogs? Obviously I can say that we should all live for the moment, but that is easier said than done. Perhaps there is a compromise. Maybe we cannot block our emotions the relate to past and future, but perhaps one can endeavour to focus on those that relate to what is going on in the here and now. I would not say that I am great at this kind of focus, but I heard about the use of conscious, regular deep breathing as a means of getting to sleep. This seems to work; it gives me a way to stop my mind racing all over the place.
People say “it’s a dog’s life” when they refer to something unpleasant. I am not so sure that being a dog would be that bad.
How can you/we know any of your assertions about canine states of mind? Moreover, I assert that many (most?) humans are bereft (most of the time) of the complexity of thought and emotion you graciously attribute to them. We have two dogs, both miniature poodles, one of which leads a very rich emotional life and a surprisingly complex intellectual one. For example, he has become close friends with my father-in-law entirely over the internet, greeting him, licking his face on the screen and presenting him with toys via FaceTime, even checking to see if we are chatting with his virtual buddy or with someone else. All in Portuguese and Italian. I know lots of humans who can barely turn on a mobile device.
ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective. I did not comment on intelligence [of dogs or humans] ...
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