Inside of a Dog

I toss a ball into the other room for her. Its her favorite after dinner game. She bounds away, landing with a definitive pounce on the object of her desire. She trots back to me, tail high in the air. If the find was exceptional, or if she caught it on the bounce, she may include a victory lap around the ottoman. Eventually I get the ball back from her. On this toss, I hear no pounce. All is quiet. She trots back in to the room not proud, questioning. She makes eye contact with me and trots right up to me, head in my lap. She's lost the ball out of  reach. 

So Alex got me a book this weekend called "Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know" by Alexandra Horowitz. He knows I'm a sucker for these animals, which is exactly why we have one while we are renters. What I have read so far is not surprising, but fascinating. research shows that dogs are descendants of wolves. 

So how did they get to be so dog like? I mean isn't it incredible that my dog will look for her ball where I point? She looks me in the eyes as if to ask for attention? She knows by which pair of pants I'm putting on (each get a thorough sniff on the way out of the drawers) if I'm going to hang around for a bit, take her for a run, or go to work. Upon recognition, she will lay down in the middle of the room, bounce and play bow and run to the front door, or curl up on her bed and go back to sleep respectively. 

I find this type of research fascinating. I guess thats why I went into biology and decided to teach. But I love to read about it and experience dog-ness. 

Do your four-legged friends amaze you sometimes? Mine does every day.