Dog cognition: how much does your dog understand?

What's Bred in the Bone: now available.

Back in August, I wrote a guest post on dog cognition for Booker T's Farm. That blog also later posted a very nice review of What's Bred in the Bone. Booker T's style, however, didn't include the hyperlinks to my sources that I'd suggested.

Because science doesn't stand still, there's also some updated information to add. I've previously written about working dogs on this blog. So I've decided to expand on my August post.

How much do dogs really understand?

Have you ever wondered how much your dog knows? Does she really understand your facial expressions and gestures? Is his behavior mostly instinct and the impulse of the moment, or is it rooted in more complex thought processes?

Recent studies suggest the answers to all of these questions are “more than you might think.” Just how much your dog understands is still being studied, but it’s already clear we have more in common with our canine companions than we might imagine.

This puppy, buried in a Stone Age grave along with a man and a woman in Oberkassel, Germany (today in a suburb of Bonn) shows signs that it died of distemper, and would likely have been cared for over a period of many weeks. Sick though it was, its people apparently loved it. (screen capture from a video by University of Alberta, via National Geographic).

An ancient bond
Humans have a longer history of evolving side by side with dogs than with any other domesticated animal species. Archaeologists have found dog remains with a human burial as long ago as 14,000 years ago. But geneticists have found mutations that would suggest a more domesticated diet that date back some 32,000 years.

There's even a sandstone cliff in Saudi Arabia that offers pictorial documentation of a man hunting with dogs (on leashes?) that’s more than 8,000 years old. This video is short, but informative:



So dogs and humans have had a pretty long time to get used to each other. How much have we “rubbed off on each other”? Some researchers say quite a lot! Neither humans nor dogs would be what we are today, without each other.

That’s true physically, but studies in dog cognition also tell us it’s true in terms of dogs’ brains. This first became clear when dogs showed they could easily understand gestures such as a human pointing to an object, although chimpanzees could not. They are more tuned in to what humans are doing.

Watch the eyes (and the eyebrows!)
Researchers also have shown that dogs pay attention to where we are looking , and recognize the difference between happy and angry human expressions.

According to a study from the University of Helsinki, "the social gazing behavior of domestic dogs resembles that of humans: dogs view facial expressions systematically, preferring eyes. In addition, the facial expression alters their viewing behavior, especially in the face of threat." (Photo: S.Somppi Ja 123RF.DOI: 10.1371/Journal.Pone.0143047)

Moreover, recent studies have established that dogs have more facial muscles than wolves. The muscles that move their eyebrows and give them such expressive faces developed after they'd become a separate species. In other words, they have puppy-dog eyes, and they are not afraid to use them.

Believe it or not, this reflects sophisticated dog cognition. Along with the "pointing tests," it shows that that dogs have a "theory of mind. That’s the ability to intuit how others see the world and even, to some extent, know what they’re thinking," according to studies done by Duke University researchers.

Dogs may not be as smart as humans (yet), but their cognitive capabilities run deeper than many people imagine. We'll look at more aspects of this next week, in my mid-week post.

Till then, I'd be fascinated to learn your thoughts on this post, and read any stories about super-smart dogs you have known, if you'd care to share them in the comments section.

IMAGE CREDITS: The cover artwork for What's Bred in the Bone is © 2019 by Jody A. Lee. The photo of a puppy buried in a Stone Age grave is a screen capture from a video by University of Alberta, posted by National Geographic. The video about the ancient Saudi Arabian petroglyphs of hunters with dogs (on leashes?) is courtesy of YouTube and Science Magazine.  The illustration that describes where dogs typically look at faces depicting emotion is from the University of Helsinki, by S.Somppi Ja 123RF.DOI: 10.1371/Journal.Pone.0143047. Many thanks to all!

Vote Tuesday! Will your voice be heard?

The Artdog Quote(s) of the Week
In many parts of the USA, Tuesday is Election Day. Do you know who (or what) is on the ballot? Have you done your research? Maybe even already voted, in places that allow advance voting? Good for you! When a 53.4% voter turnout is a record year, a lot of people's voices aren't being heard. Will your voice be heard this year?

For those of you asking, "Wait! There's an election?" shame on you! But it's still (just barely) not too late. Vote Tuesday! Will your voice be heard? Or will you be one of those who roll over with a yawn and fail to show up, then complain that your voice isn't heard?

Excuses aren't hard to find. Will your voice be heard?
Yeah, it's an off-year. No big marquee names (at least, none are marquee names now. Political careers begin with elections like the one we're facing this week). But local elections matter precisely because things that happen locally impact us immediately. But they also are the launch-pad for larger careers.

Case in point: who knew, ten years ago, that anyone outside of South Bend, IN would care who its mayor was? Trust me: Small elections matter. And there's no other place where your vote counts more.

As one-time Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill famously said, "All politics is local." Engrave it on your heart and believe it. Small, local elections matter tremendously. So let your voice be heard!

So. What's on your ballot?
In Johnson County, Kansas, it's an ongoing saga. As you may recall, in August, we voted in a primary to narrow the field of candidates for local races (in Westwood, only the Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees, but it was a battle of progressives versus conservatives, and quite an interesting contest). Tuesday we make the final cuts in that race.

But wait! There's more! We're voting for a Mayor and two City Council Members in Westwood, and the local Shawnee Mission School Board has some hotly-contested races. But possibly the most contentious race is for Water District One.

I'm not kidding: the Water District. Climate change and concerns raised by failures in Flint, MI and Newark, NJ have ignited a very active ballot. Think water isn't important? Try doing without! Yes, Local elections make a big difference to local quality of life. Will you vote? Let your voice be heard!

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Country Living and "15 Voting Quotes that will Make you Proud to be an American" for the quotes from Thomas Jefferson, Susan B. Anthony, George Jean Nathan, and George Carlin. The quote from Tip O'Neill is courtesy of Jacobs Media Strategy. Thank you very much, to both!

Remembering matters

All Souls Day, because remembering matters

Yesterday's post questioned who "the saints" in All Saints Day are--and found the answer varies.  Today, however, is a festival "for the rest of us." This is because, no matter who we are or who we love, remembering matters.

All Souls, in some traditions, gets rolled up with All Saints. In some, it particularly focuses on the "innocent souls" of deceased babies or (a more recent take, which informed my choice of a background design for the header) animals. This focus on "innocents" may be seen as more appropriate to All Saints Day,  or the most worthy among All the Souls.

In many Christian traditions, All Souls is the day to commemorate the "Faithful Departed." In other practices, and in non-Christian traditions, it's generally this season in which we commemorate ancestors, departed friends and honored family members whom we personally remember. In other words, "the rest of us."

Rontisha Brown holds a memorial candle and wears a memorial t-shirt for her brother Rahkeem at a New Year's memorial vigil for murder victims in Liberty City, FL in 2019. Photo by Maria Alejandra Cardona.

How do we commemorate a deceased person?
One way is with an album or display of photos or videos, or small items the person used or liked. I've seen many commemorative albums or slideshows at funerals or memorial services that would be equally appropriate for this occasion.

One of my most enduringly popular blog posts described the idea of creating a virtual ofrenda, patterned on the memorial displays set up for the Day(s) of the Dead ceremonies.

Some families create a memorial wall inside their home, where photos of deceased relatives or friends are displayed. There's also a brisk trade done in memorial items, such as statues, candles, jewelry, Christmas tree ornaments, or other items.

Some people create memorial T-shirts, especially the families of those who have died by violence. I've seen memorial statements placed on cars, too. Another way is to create a landmark, perhaps by planting a tree or donating a memorial bench or other feature to a public area. Many create memorial websites.

Archaeologists excavated the bones of two women, along with shells, necklaces, and antlers, in a Middle Stone-Age grave in Téviec, Brittany.

Why create a memorial?
The need to create memorials for deceased family or group members is one of the oldest human impulses we know about--precisely because so many memorial practices are reflected in archaeological excavations of ancient graves. Burial practices, and the contents of ceremonial burials, have yielded many clues about early cultures.

Throughout time, humans have had to grapple with the reality of death, since eventually it comes to us all. The creation of memorials is a way to deal with grief and loss. The creative and restorative process of a healthy grieving cycle is a painful, essential reality of our existence.

The memorials may be different, the lengths and intensities of grief may vary, but the basic human need remains the same. It is embedded in the idea that to be forgotten is to truly be annihilated.

Whether it be collective memory or individual memory, remembering matters. This is why we have funerals, create grave markers, hold vigils, and create public spaces such as the Holocaust Museum or The National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

No matter how we remember, and no matter who . . . very simply, remembering matters.

The Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery Alabama creates a much-needed space to think about and remember a profoundly formative period in U.S. history, a period whose echoes remain strong today. The emotional power of a memorial is hard to quantify, but it fills an essential human need. Photo by Audra Melton/New York Times/Redux

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Fabric.com's "Timeless Treasures Day of the Dead" fabric design collection, which I used for the background of my header for today. This particular one is called "Pups Black." Many thanks to PressFrom and Maria Alejandra Cardona for the photo of Rontisha Brown memorializing her murdered brother Rahkeem Brown. The image of the ancient burial is courtesy of Red Ice. The Audra Melton photo from the National Memorial for Peace and Justice is from The New Yorker. Deepest appreciation to all!

Which saints do we honor today?

Blessings on All Saints Day

This is one of those "universal" days celebrated in several cultural traditions. But exactly which saints are we venerating on this day? Who are they, and where did they come from? That depends on which tradition you mean.

The ever-flexible early Christian Church adopted Celtic Samhain and reframed it in a culturally Christian way. The robust traditions in Poland and other Slavic countries point to pre-Christian roots as well. Missionary priests rediscovered it in their Mesoamerican and Filipino converts a few centuries later.

Thus, neopagans today, traditional Christians, and followers of Aztec, Maya, and other native/First Nations traditions of North America all find themselves in a similar place at this time of year, venerating (or at least remembering) some group of the dead.

So, which saints are which? 
That's a good question. The answer has changed over time. As early as the fourth century, Christians at Antioch gathered to honor those who had been martyred (later codified as the Day of the Dead on May 13th, in the seventh century) At that point, "saint" apparently meant "martyr."

The Martyrdom of St. Alban, from a 13th-Century manuscript now at Trinity College Dublin, was inscribed and illustrated by Matthew Paris. 

Later the definition of All Saints was broadened to all venerated saints, which included a great many "baptized" local gods and goddesses, and the observation was moved to the fall. While not precisely the midpoint between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice, it's within a week of it. Since the earliest pre-Christian observances lasted over several days, it might be called a "season."

Converts from many traditions were brought under the umbrella of Christianity. The early break between the Eastern and Roman churches, and later the Reformation (Might note that Reformation Day is October 31) divided Christians into yet more subgroups and denominations. Each developed its own focus.

Protestants, who don't venerate capital-S Saints with the same understandings as Roman Catholic traditions, often speak "the saints" in terms of "the Church Triumphant." By this they mean all Christians who have died.

But no matter which saints you understand it to mean, I hope you have a blessed day.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to OneQuirkyMoose on Etsy, for the "Day of the Dead" fabric pattern that forms the background of my "All Saints Day" image. The photo of The Martyrdom of St. Alban by Matthew Paris, is courtesy of Wikipedia.

Samhain: a thinning of the veil

I've had my Halloween post for this year up for a couple of days. Time now for a journey back into the roots of our traditions. The thinning of the veil between our world and the spirit realm is traditionally most extreme at Samhain.

Pronounced something like "Sah-ween," according to my sources, it springs from ancient Celtic tradition. Its popular, secular descendant is the contemporary craziness that is Halloween, but in its origins and in some of the rising spiritual communities of today it is celebrated more as a time of spiritual renewal.

A thinning of the veil
I see a common thread in the concept that the barriers of the spirit realm become less firm at certain pivotal times of the year.

Two disparate cultural threads in my own experience come from the ancient Celtic traditions in the form of Samhain, and from Mesoamerica via the increasingly popular Días de los Muertos. (Yes, many people celebrate only one, but the Oaxacan tradition observes at least two). Whatever their other differences, they agree about a thinning of the veil.

You don't have to worship your ancestors to feel a sense of connection with them, even if they have long since passed on. We are, as Linda Hogan has so elegantly written, "The result of the love of thousands." For many people Samhain can be a time of reconnection to our families and the cultures and traditions from which we grew.

This is the Xoxo Cemetery in Oaxaca during the Day of the Dead celebrations sometime before 2009. Photo by Greg Willis.

How do you reconnect with someone who died years ago? The Circle Sanctuary's Selena Fox offers some representative suggestions.

Graveyard Visits. Once again, the Oaxacans have elevated this to a fine art form. They clean, decorate, and then settle in by their ancestors' graves, sometimes for days. Meals are picnics. Music and "Ancestor Stories" abound. It's a community party. What ancestral spirit wouldn't want to come to that reunion?

Consider a family "Ancestors Altar," "memory niche," or display, rather like the ofrendas created for Días de los Muertos.

Have a Feast of the Dead, with a place setting held empty, either on your table or on the altar/ofrenda, and leave a food and drink offering there. A Celtic tradition is a "Dumb Feast," or "Dumb Supper" when no one talks, in recognition of the fact that our deceased ancestors can no longer speak directly with us.

My favorite approach (imagine that) is telling "Ancestor Stories," tales that have been passed down through the generations. There's a whole contemporary movement of writing down, recording, or otherwise preserving ancestors' stories.

This labyrinth is illuminated at dusk for an "Autumn Candlelight Labyrinth Walk" at the Copper Beech Institute in Connecticut during a retreat.

Natural connections and reflection
Many neopagan communities find this a particularly apt moment to reconnect with nature, too. Since mindfulness of our connections with the natural world are essential to our continued survival (in my humble opinion), You might want to try some of these approaches, even if you follow a different religious tradition.

Go on a nature walk, or walk a labyrinth in a beautiful natural setting, and contemplate the year, your place in the grand scheme, or other spiritual matters. Many spiritual traditions (including Christian) find a labyrinth a deeply spirit-feeding experience (there's a labyrinth inside Chartres Cathedral, for instance).

Gather with your community around a bonfire. In earlier times a bonfire was seen as a hedge against evil spirits; Circle Sanctuary's Selina Fox suggests a ceremony of shedding old habits or other unhealthy things in your life by writing them down on a piece of paper, then casting them into the flames.

Selena Fox also suggests that other forms of reflection and spiritual renewal may come through reflections on the past (perhaps via journals, photographs, etc.), renovation or refreshing some part of you home, office, or life, or seeking guidance.

A traditional Samhain bonfire may offer an opportunity for reflection, and also possibly parting ways with old habits or unhealthy attitudes or influences in your life.

However you celebrate Samhain (or don't), and however you experience the thinning of the veil (or don't), I wish you a deeper connection with the most important things in life.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Slingofest, for the gorgeous Luluna Slings "Salana Samhain" wrap (glitter) that formed the backdrop for the title image. I am grateful to Tripsavvy and Greg Willis, for the photo from the Xoxo Cemetery. It was originally posted on Flickr (but now it's a 404 error on the link).  I also appreciate Druidry.org's article on a deeper Samhain, for the photo of the Samhain bonfire.

Halloween is for the adults?

A Halloween Quote of the Week

It's not quite Halloween yet, but many people I know have been preparing for weeks already. Making or reserving rental costumes, planning parties, and putting up sometimes elaborate decorations takes time. That's just for the adults. It really does seem that, more and more in recent years, Halloween is for the adults.

Adults rule the night at the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade in New York. This photo is from the 2011 event. Photo by Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images.

No, Halloween's not for kids anymore--if it ever was. I guess there may have been a brief period when it was mostly all for the kiddos. But that's hard to imagine, these days.

Today, grownups are definitely out in large numbers for this holiday. And all across the land, police forces have to be ready. Most lay on extra officers. Some do outreach beforehand to connect with the community and take the opportunity to spread safety tips. An article on Halloween policing gave us our Quote of the Week.

Halloween definitely involves our companion animals, too. A few years ago on this blog, The Artdog did a Countdown to Halloween Pet Safety. It included: #1 Food Safety; #2 Lost Pets; #3 Pet Costumes (if ever there was a sure sign that Halloween is for the adults these days, it's the proliferation of pet costumes, especially in childless homes); #4 Pet Fire Safety (especially including cats in Jack-O-Lanterns); and #5 Electrical Safety.

Even when we involve the kids, dress up the pets, or do any of the other fun things available to do on Halloween, it's still up to the adults in the room to keep everyone safe. So don't go crazy, out there!

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Emmanuel Dunand, AFP/Getty Images, via USA Today, for the photo from Greenwich Village. Deepest gratitude to Tithi Luadthong and 123RF for the image that brings the Wyllie quote to life.

Happy Diwali!

Today is the first day of Diwali, a five-day celebration of lights and of the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil. Happy Diwali!

Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs all over the world celebrate this holiday, each based on their own traditions. Sometimes likened to a "Hindu Christmas" rolled up with a New Year celebration, most scholars believe it originated as a post-harvest festival.

In contemporary times, Diwali is celebrated all over the world, wherever Hindus, Jains, or Sikhs have dispersed. It is an important through Southeast Asia, notably Thailand. The "epicenter," however, remains India.



The wide spread of the festival is notable, however. The Mayor of London last year called for it to be made an official national holiday, along with Eid. Click here for his clarion call to embrace diversity. 

Despite differing traditions and sometimes slightly different dates, several important elements are important to any Diwali celebration. For me, that's a happy thought for Diwali!

Lights

Clockwise from upper Left: A municipal fireworks display for Diwali; a Rangoli with burning diya lamps; festival lanterns; and more diyas on display.

The name "Diwali" actually means "a row of lights." This is a celebration of light/goodness in triumph over darkness/evil. Thus, lights--everything from the traditional little clay oil lamps called diyas to massive municipal fireworks displays--illuminate everything like it was Christmas on the Country Club Plaza.

Rangoli
Rangoli are created by drawing the design first in chalk, then filling in the centers of the shapes with colored rice, sand, or something similar. This is an amazing creative art form that all kinds of people create. Here are some designs, but if you look online there's no limit.

Here's a range of incredible rangoli created for Diwali.

Food
Food is another essential ingredient for the holiday--especially snacks and sweets. Recipes abound, and the variety is endless. But breaking bread together is a universal value, and an essential part of having a happy Diwali.

There's a whole range of Diwali food. This collection offers a sample.

No matter how you celebrate, I hope you have a happy and prosperous Diwali.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Amonwipu Injad, via 123RF, for the beautiful "Happy Diwali" greeting graphic. I deeply appreciate the video from National Geographic, via YouTube.  Many thanks to the Express UK, for the images in the "lights" montage: of the fireworks, diyas on the rangoli, and the overview of diyas, via Getty Images, and also for the lanterns in lower right. The rangoli are from (upper left): Deepika Pant, via YouTube, and Express UK (for all the others). The montage of Diwali food is from the Food Network UK. Many thanks to all!