Because this story is so intriguing and rich with theoretical possibilities, I will indulge in speculating out loud. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/parkinsons-treatment-wheels/story?id=8109965 When I draw on the blackboard my model for the mind of a dog, I feature the bi-focal “vision” that I consider a prerequisite for movement. In any state of attention there is the obvious external […]

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/TPpf5WBaJR0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>   https://www.facebook.com/RantPets/videos/633147973490209/ While these videos are humorous, in a way that’s too bad since the profundity of what’s being revealed gets lost. The question: why does the hind end of these dogs virtually levitate while they’re feeding? Answer: Emotional momentum. Emotional momentum is physical momentum that an animal associates […]

  Anytime a book merges canine behavior with thermodynamics (the study of how things move) it represents a milestone in Dogdom. “How Dogs Work” by Raymond Coppinger and Mark Feinstein, (University of Chicago Press) is such a book. “It’s not too far off the mark to say that, for ethologists, what evolution really “cares about” […]

    Anika is a “periphery” dog by which I mean that she feels most comfortable moving along the outer “emotional valence orbital” as there’s less resistance along this track. She’s analogous to the outermost electron in an atom. As such she ranges as far as she can from her handler while still maintaining contact.  I believe […]

A lot of things  dogs do are really funny. But this can obscure that a fundamental truth is being revealed. So first enjoy a good laugh in the video below that’s been making the rounds, and then try to answer: Why do dogs do this? It’s no laughing matter. Below I will add my interpretation. […]

Most treatments of behavior, as far as I know, treat the brain as the seat of the mind and the sole computer of behavior. In my reading of canine behavior however I’ve learned that anatomy is more important in how the mind composes its view of reality than cognitive processes. An organism learns about the […]

I don’t think it takes any leap of imagination to see the emotional leverage the moose in the video below enjoys over the dog as predator. Because a Moose has a strong predatory aspect, its head is very high, it triggers deep physical memories in the dog, which is why it is barking in a […]