Dog alerts baby's parents to sitter's abuse

[IrishAyes]

I don't usually post a story like this here, and I picked it up off the DU front page, but every animal lover should read it.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/09/11/1238179/-Dog-alerts-family-to-child-abuse

[Curmudgeoness]

1. Good doggie!!!!

So glad that the dog was there and that they took the dog's actions seriously.

[frogmarch]

2. What a wonderful dog!

Very smart too!

[TorchTheWitch]

3. good doggie!

That was wise of them to be suspicious of the baby sitter because of the dog's actions. I know I always even subconsciously check out my dog's reaction to certain people... I swear they can smell out bad actors.

[IrishAyes]

4. Literally.

Better than an electronic lie detector. Latent aggression produces an odor. Besides, unencumbered by human baggage, dogs have much better ESP. Maybe they're not quite as good at reflection and reason as some of us are, but they're also less in need of it. They have a matchless purity of soul. I don't know what to say about vicious dogs except that I suppose all creatures are capable of mental illness of a sort, plus of course some have bad influences in their lives. But overall as a species, they seem on a higher plane than many humans.

Why do they need to mimic our language when, for instance, my dog can train me to her bidding just by looks? In a probable reaction to losing her alpha status as her sister Brigid grew so much bigger, Molly Maguire taught me to feed her by hand while she sits in my lap. At first I thought she just wasn't hungry when she hopped in my lap, so I picked her dish up off the floor and set it on the coffee table where I hoped the sight would tempt her. She looked from me to the bowl and then back again. So I picked up the bowl and held it close to her. Same result - stare at the bowl, then at me, etc. Finally I gasped, "You don't expect me to .... do you?" The look on her face shouted YES. When I set the bowl beside me and started to hand feed her kibble bits one by one, she wagged her tail in approval and started to eat at last.

Either I'm an awfully slow learner or she's an excellent trainer, I don't know which. But once she decided how things should be, she 'explained' it to me and secured my cooperation. Having something of an alpha nature myself, never in my life had I expected to find myself in such a topsy turvy position. I used to laugh (up my sleeve) at people who did things like that. Now it seems perfectly reasonable.

[TorchTheWitch]

6. that's really interesting

Makes sense, too. I always wondered if aggressive thoughts or other feelings could be sent out from someone as actual odors. People always say that dogs can smell fear, but I never really thought it was meant literally. It seems reasonable that they can though... that we actually exude subtle odors according to our emotions/thoughts/feelings. I always thought it was more of a body language thing, but it certainly could be both. No wonder dogs look at us like we're crazy when we act one way but are feeling another. How strange and confusing we must be to them. I always did get the feeling that dogs politely indulge humans with how we act like this while knowing how we're acting outwardly can be the opposite of what we're feeling inwardly and think they don't know... like we're a bunch of emperors with no clothes.

[IrishAyes]

7. Touche

[hobbit709]

5. My rule has always been that if my dog doesn't trust you, i don't either.