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It seems that a researcher in Washington has discovered that when your dog is panting after you've been playing for a while or when he's anticipating a walk outside is actually "dog laughter". He's happy, and that's his way of showing it.
This same researcher has been trying to find some way to ease the stress levels at dog shelters, where dogs are often barking and whining and the conditions aren't that great.
Patricia Simonet, development and program coordinator for Spokane County Regional Animal Protection Service, also found that the sound of dog laughter comforts other dogs. When she played a recording of "play panting" through the speaker system at a shelter in Spokane Valley, all the barking dogs quieted within a minute."I wanted to see if I could reduce (the dogs') stress by playing the sound in the shelter," Simonet said. "I was surprised when they were calm and quiet."
Yahoo! News
I think that's really great, that they've found a way to help calm these other dogs.
But we don't really understand dog-speak yet. Sure, it may be dog laughter, but what if the dogs are really saying, "I'm so happy to be out here in the sunshine and playing with a family that loves me! Those poor fucks in shelters are so screwed! This is the life!"
...and then the researchers play the sounds over the loudspeakers, 'calming' the shelter dogs. But maybe it's not actually calming them, maybe they've given up on life, knowing that they may never get to feel the love of a family, that those sounds of laughter are so foreign to them that they've given up hope, that the sleeping room is just one bark away...
Then again, it might be good for the dogs, so they'll totally kiss up to the people who come by to adopt, just so they could have a chance to laugh again...
I don't know. It's late. I'm off to sleep!
Posted by Yano at December 13, 2005 05:09 AMHey you laugh, but when we resuced Ms. Tilly (our bull mastiff) She said the same thing. She was at a breeder and the breeder was getting rid of her because she was too small. She is only about 80 pounds which is very small for a bull mastiff. She was in a pen with 4 other full size (weight 50 or more pounds than her) female bull mastiffs. They beat Ms. Tilly up all of the time. :( They wouldn't let her eat the food. :( She became thin, had sorse on her head and she was losing her hair. :*( She also slept outside on stones in all kinds of weather for the first 2 years of her life. :**( (Tissues Please!)
We brought her home, gave her a bath, her own food dish and I bought her a soft bed to sleep on. Now she says "If those BITCHES could see me now!" LOL
Posted by: Pridey on December 13, 2005 05:39 AMpridey, my next door neighbor has a bull mastiff (a male) and he's around 200 pounds. he's like a little cow. :)
Posted by: daysies on December 13, 2005 10:32 AMI'm not laughing at dogs in shelters - if I ever get one of my own (our family got Ewok from a friend) I'd love to get one from a shelter. I just found it interesting that dog 'laughter' would be used to calm other dogs. To me, it's like using sounds of people having fun at a party to calm inmates in a jail...because shelters are like animal jails for innocent animals.
I once loved a bull mastiff - he belonged to my boss and once when I was over at her place he tried to push me down the stairs. We made up later as he slobbered all over my pants.
Posted by: Yano on December 13, 2005 07:47 PMAWWW you got doggie kisses. Yano, I can relate to the slobber on your pants. I can never leave the house without "doggie kisses" all over me. :|
Posted by: Pridey on December 14, 2005 07:31 AMMy Apolo yawns just like the real Apolo. When he gets really excited at the door before we go on our walk, he yawns really big and makes cute sqeaky noises.
Posted by: janet on December 14, 2005 11:33 AM
