It seems like a long time since Xmas. January, which is normally the longest of months, dark, damp and dreary, has rushed past and thoughts of spring and warmer weather are emerging from their winter dormancy. Yet this story goes back to a family gathering just after the big day.
We all have busy lives and each of us in our extended family has commitments over the festive period and so it has become increasingly difficult to get us all together. Somehow we managed it.
One issue to deal with though, was what to do with the dogs during the party. My brother has one, as does one of my nieces. My sister also looks after dogs from time to time and so there was the possibility of three coming together. In the end there were only two as my niece left hers at home. There was a labrador and a border terrier, the latter wearing a cone of shame.
Everyone hoped that they would get along. Both seemed placid enough but with young children running about, risks could not be taken. As soon as they saw each other, however, they both set off barking and snarling at each other. The intense burst of squabbling set the kids scurrying for the relative safety of the sofa and Nana’s arms.
What got into the dogs we will never know. We can only speculate about what it was that set them off yet there was clearly something about each other that they didn’t like. Perhaps it was a dominance thing though neither of them was on their own turf.
What interested me was not what they were thinking but rather how they thought. When I think, I hear the words in my head. Indeed, as I write this blog the words form in my head as my fingers tap the keyboard. I can’t think without words and I can’t think how I would think without using words.
So what happens in a dog’s brain? How does it articulate its thoughts? Is there a language in which it thinks? Perhaps dogs think in barks. They all sound the same to us yet perhaps there are subtle differences in their barks which only they can interpret.
It’s a big leap, I know, yet dogs dream and so must be capable of abstract thought. To do this they must have a language of some sort to act as a medium for their thoughts. Perhaps one day we will find out. In the meantime we can but wonder.
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 