The first and most important step to building a strong, healthy relationship with our dogs is to truly understand how they think, feel, and learn.
It’s incredible to think about how much time we spend with our dogs and yet how little we often appreciate about their perspective.
Not only do dogs perceive sights, sounds, and smells in their own way, they also have their own unique ways of expressing needs and communicating emotions.
Dogs are mammals, like people. Yet researchers continue to discover fascinating facts about canine senses, and how canine hearing, smell, taste, touch, and sight differ from ours. Researchers have found, for example, that dogs see a different range of colors than we do. Dogs also boast a vastly larger number of scent receptors, with specialized olfactory organs that give them a clear edge in the odor detection department.
With their unique sensory input - and living much closer to the ground than we do - dogs are bound to see and experience the world in their own unique way.
On a day-to-day basis, we share so much with our dogs - living spaces, food, attention, and adventures - and we're lucky to get to know these fascinating creatures as individuals. But what else do we need to understand about how these exceptional animals experience the world?
People and dogs experience the world differently
Thanks to the ongoing advances in the scientific community, our understanding of our canine companions is constantly evolving, providing us the opportunity to look deep inside the dog’s mind and answer the questions that prove how deeply connected dogs are to humans. Science continues to teach us much about how dogs think, how they communicate through body language, vocalizations, and play, and even the types of emotions they feel.
We're learning more and more about dogs' emotional experiences and the ways in which people have been misinterpreting some pretty key signs from them over the past few decades. Understanding your dog’s experience and gaining insight into how his mind works can truly make you a better teacher, caregiver, and companion to him. Seeing the world from your dog’s perspective will help promote communication and enhance the relationship between you.
