I just did what every dog owner should do at least once a year. Get down on the floor and crawl around the house. Look at the world through your pet's eyes. Lay on your back and look up at high the ceiling is. See what they see. Look up and see just the edge of the kitchen counter. They can't tell if you're making dinner or making them a snack because they can not see beyond the edge of the counter! Also, if your dogs own you like mine own me, then crawl into the bedroom and look up at the bed from the same height as their eyes. Looks pretty high up there doesn't it? If you allow your dogs on the living room furniture (like we do) then keep your head at their level, your eyes at the same view as they have and look up at the couch. Crawl over to their bowls of food and water and get an understanding of just how dependent they are on you for both. The cold fact is that, if not for you, most of the time your dogs would die without your help. See what your dog sees! Look at the people world the way they do and you'll gain a whole new understanding of your dogs and what their world and life is like. It'll make you closer to them and more understanding of them too.
So get own on the floor and crawl around once in awhile! See the world the way your dog does! If you don't well then I don't think you can ever really understand them. Just IMHO.
Get down on the floor! You don't even have to crawl around (though I think you should), but get your eyes down to their level and look at the world, especially inside of the house, the way they do. It'll give you a whole new understanding of them and their world and make you closer to them. IMHO.
I hope you won't mind me posting this other part of seeing the world out of a dog's eyes:
Please don't make me bite you....
Many dog owners don't teach their children the warning signs of when a dog feels threatened and then something terrible happens. Learning to understand your dog, is very important, and would prevent a lot of heartache for so many families.
I was doing this just last night, but for a different reason. I let the cat outside and he came back with a mole to play with. I got him to drop it, but it ran and hid, so I played hide and seek with the mole for a half hour before I gave up. I found him this Easter morning, but unfortunately he was a little stiff. Apparently, he doesn't have Jesus's magical powers. If he does rise, he's not going to be too excited about coming back to life in a bag of cat poo inside the trash can.
One thing that I see people doing a lot of is when they take their dog for a walk, and they pull him/her along when it want's to stop and smell the roses. People, it's the dogs walk, let it them enjoy. Their nose is an eye to the world.
Perrie's comment/photo is perfect. Learn your dog and their warning sides when you have children.
Randy, I have a mini doxie, she is as low as you can go, even when I lay flat on the floor I still can't get to her level...But what you say is very true, try looking at the world from the view.
People, it's the dogs walk, let it them enjoy. Their nose is an eye to the world.
Absolutely. My 13 year old Shih-Tzu is nearly blind, but he gets around the yard and the house just fine, because he smells his way around. His sense of smell is more important then his eyesight.
I read an article in one of those weekend magazines by Marilyn vos Savant who is supposed to have the highest I.Q. on record (or some such thing) and she claimed that cats and dogs do not know their own names. That they associated the sounds of being called by their name with things like meals and treats and did not realize that their name was individual just to them in the household. I have three Shih-Tzus and, like your cats, they are all very distinct in personality. When I refer to them by their individual names, they know damn well who I am talking to.
She may be one of the smartest people who ever lived, but she doesn't know squat about most kinds of pets!
Get down on the floor! You don't even have to crawl around (though I think you should), but get your eyes down to their level and look at the world, especially inside of the house, the way they do. It'll give you a whole new understanding of them and their world and make you closer to them. IMHO.
Very true Randy and an excellent point.
I hope you won't mind me posting this other part of seeing the world out of a dog's eyes:
Please don't make me bite you....
Many dog owners don't teach their children the warning signs of when a dog feels threatened and then something terrible happens. Learning to understand your dog, is very important, and would prevent a lot of heartache for so many families.
Perrie, love the pic!
If you really want a dog's eye view of walking beside its master, try walking beside an elephant.
I was doing this just last night, but for a different reason. I let the cat outside and he came back with a mole to play with. I got him to drop it, but it ran and hid, so I played hide and seek with the mole for a half hour before I gave up. I found him this Easter morning, but unfortunately he was a little stiff. Apparently, he doesn't have Jesus's magical powers. If he does rise, he's not going to be too excited about coming back to life in a bag of cat poo inside the trash can.
One thing that I see people doing a lot of is when they take their dog for a walk, and they pull him/her along when it want's to stop and smell the roses. People, it's the dogs walk, let it them enjoy. Their nose is an eye to the world.
Perrie's comment/photo is perfect. Learn your dog and their warning sides when you have children.
Randy, I have a mini doxie, she is as low as you can go, even when I lay flat on the floor I still can't get to her level...But what you say is very true, try looking at the world from the view.
People, it's the dogs walk, let it them enjoy. Their nose is an eye to the world.
Absolutely. My 13 year old Shih-Tzu is nearly blind, but he gets around the yard and the house just fine, because he smells his way around. His sense of smell is more important then his eyesight.
This doesn't just apply to dogs. We've got five cats and there are five very distinct personalities involved in living with them.
I read an article in one of those weekend magazines by Marilyn vos Savant who is supposed to have the highest I.Q. on record (or some such thing) and she claimed that cats and dogs do not know their own names. That they associated the sounds of being called by their name with things like meals and treats and did not realize that their name was individual just to them in the household. I have three Shih-Tzus and, like your cats, they are all very distinct in personality. When I refer to them by their individual names, they know damn well who I am talking to.
She may be one of the smartest people who ever lived, but she doesn't know squat about most kinds of pets!