Telepathy?

Discussion in 'Labrador Behavior' started by Granca, Jun 19, 2017.

  1. Granca

    Granca Registered Users

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    Yesterday while I was walking Wispa on our local, on-lead walk my youngest son came to collect his car from the drive. Tuppence was home (having just had her walk) and my son had to go into the house to get his car keys.

    When I returned with Wispa I noticed the car had gone, but didn't consciously react. However, when I opened the door, Tuppence greeted us as usual, but instead of making for the treat cupboard so they could both have their post-walk treat Wispa dashed to the back door to look out into the garden, then dashed upstairs, hoping to find my son. Did Tuppence tell Wispa he'd been and she'd missed him?!
     
  2. Lara

    Lara Registered Users

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    More like Wispa's amazing snout telling her he'd been :D Their noses never fail to amaze me. I had a disasterous stay exercise with Indie in her training class because she kept trying to turn around sniffing the air - it turned out my husband had arrived to pick us up and was outside the compound (out of sight and completely silent). Maybe it's stinky men :p
     
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  3. Snowshoe

    Snowshoe Registered Users

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    But I think they do have telepathy and what's more use it to know things we don't even know we are transmitting to them. Look at the studies on dogs who know when their owner is coming home, even when the owner changes the time to leave work and the methods of getting home.
     
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  4. selina27

    selina27 Registered Users

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    Yes I think they are quite remarkable in this way, part of the enjoyment of having them I think. They operate on both those levels so differently to us.

    My neighbour has a white terrier puppy who is deaf. Yesterday when I was in my garden my neighbour drove back in to his car park, about 50yds from his house and before he had stopped his car or got out the puppy started yelping, it had been perfectly quiet while he was out. It got me thinking, either the puppy is not totally deaf or she has some other way of knowing her owner is home. Intriguing.
     
  5. drjs@5

    drjs@5 Registered Users

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    Hey!
    These are animals that align themselves with electromagnetic field to pee/poo.
    Telepathy is no problem :)
     
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  6. SwampDonkey

    SwampDonkey Registered Users

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    They can detect cancer and seizures. They've guarded our families and homes for thousands of years.they look after our flocks and help us hunt.they guide us when we cant see and help find us when we're lost.They find the most unloveable of us loveable wonderful creatures. Its not a mistake the dog is God spelled backwards.
     
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  7. Granca

    Granca Registered Users

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    I did later tell my son that he must smell! :D
     
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  8. Oberon

    Oberon Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    There aren't any well designed studies of 'telepathy' that have shown that dogs can reliably tell when their owners are coming home or are thinking of coming home. Claims have been made and books have been written.... many years ago I read Rupert Sheldrake's book "Dogs who know when their owners are coming home" (or whatever it's called) and it was all pretty flimsy stuff. I wouldn't call it a good quality or objective piece of work. Up there with animal communicators, IMO.

    Dogs are masters of scent and masters of body language but there's no evidence that they're able to read our minds or emotions without actually seeing, smelling or hearing us.
     
  9. MF

    MF Registered Users

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    My husband often comments that Snowie gets jittery about 10 minutes before I come home, starts looking at the door and not wanting to relax. And I come home at random times from work, not a fixed time.
     
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  10. Oberon

    Oberon Supporting Member Forum Supporter

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    In Rupert Sheldrake's book he investigates that kind of situation - testing dogs in their own homes and documenting their behaviour while owners think about coming home, or start to come home and then change their minds and turn around, or actually drive home etc etc. I'm not sure that the studies were very rigorously designed.....in my reading of it it looked like they also were very quick to find reasons to chuck out data that didn't fit the hypothesis. Despite trying, they couldn't mount a convincing body of evidence that it was anything but random. Human brains are very good at perceiving patterns even when they are not really there....

    But I think we can at least all agree that our dogs love us and are pretty happy when we do finally walk through the door :)
     
  11. Sven

    Sven Registered Users

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    I think overall they might just be more in tune with us more than what we give them credit for.

    Vanilla know when we come home. She hears the car and comes to the baby gate sitting all nice waiting.
    Same when we eat she somehow knows when I have finished eating compared to others at the dinning table. Even when I think I have placed the cutlery quietly, she still seems to know.
    Plus some others, but overall I think they just know...that is what I think anyhow
     
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  12. Dexter

    Dexter Moderator Forum Supporter

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    It would be really lovely if there were telepathic.When I'm having a moment staring into Dexter's eyes it's nice to think he really understands what I'm thinking ....he doesn't of course ,his earnest return stare is him basically trying to puzzle out what I'm doing or what I want him to do :rofl: My Mum says we are telepathic but we are just products of a very routined life.Dexter is nearly 5 ,all his life he's been sent to bed if we don't want him around when we are food prepping or eating ....Now ,5 years of practice later ,I just need to have a knife or plate in my hand and look at him and he will go to his bed.It looks telepathic and amazes my parents but it's really not! I've just read that back :rofl: wouldn't anyone do what they were told if someone looked at them with a knife in their hand? :rofl:
     
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  13. snowbunny

    snowbunny Registered Users

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    or, rather, how to get a tasty treat :)
     
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