Ever Wonder How Animal's Think?

Have you ever been around a pet and wondered how it thinks?
For example...We think (at least most of us) in our native tounge. For instance, I am thinking about what I am writing in english while typing it. Is this different from the way animal's think?

I can picture a dog writing in a forum on a computer thinking to itself
"Ruff Ruff Ruff, Grrr Bow Wow!" and typing something similar that would make sense to the other dogs reading it

So do animal's think like we do but in thier own "animal language"?
Or do they think in pictures and connect memories to present events.

For instance, a dog is thirsty, does the dog picture the water and him drinking it in his head? Or does the dog simply think like he would communicating with other dogs, "Grr Bow Wow" "I am thirsty".

If animals think in pictures they would simply be reacting to a stimuli and not perceiveing the world like we do. If they think in "animal language" then we must change our beliefs on how smart animal's really are. If they are able to think like we do then they would be able to form abstract thoughts not related to their surroundings. Such as a monkey sitting on a branch thinking about where he came from, or why he is so different then a hippo.

Anyway, I have been wondering this for some time now. I wanted to see if anyone else here at ATS had the same question floating in their head.

Thanks

I personally think they get mental pictures but most words (aside from very bright animals that can do lots of stuff on command) are lost on them. BTW, I don't ALWAYS get words in my head while I am thinking.

Funny you should bring this subject up as i've just done a study on this very subject. Check out this link for the results. (not what you think)
www.outdooridiots.com...

Jon.

i spend way to much time pondering this same question. the animals i always have wondered the most about are cows. how boring it would be!!

Originally posted by jon1
Funny you should bring this subject up as i've just done a study on this very subject. Check out this link for the results. (not what you think)

www.outdooridiots.com...

Jon.

That is so damn funny! Great research
Thanks for the reply

Originally posted by TarvisK
i spend way to much time pondering this same question. the animals i always have wondered the most about are cows. how boring it would be!!

Your right!
That would be a very boring existance. I guess you would have it worse if you were a beef cow then if you were a milk cow. Then again it would just plain suck to be a cow.

When i was back in Hong Kong last October. I asked my cousin who was born here in Australia how she thinks. Like does she think in chinese or english.
She said that she mainly thinks in English but when she is around people talking in Chinese she will think in Chinese. So when she went back to Hong Kong with me she said she was thinking more in Chinese than in English

Originally posted by iCEdTenG
When i was back in Hong Kong last October. I asked my cousin who was born here in Australia how she thinks. Like does she think in chinese or english.
She said that she mainly thinks in English but when she is around people talking in Chinese she will think in Chinese. So when she went back to Hong Kong with me she said she was thinking more in Chinese than in English

Ive always wondered that, nicely done! How would someone think if they were brought up on a desert island? hypothetically of course.

BTW your avatar kicks a$$
I love DBZ!

I definately think that dogs have some sort of thought. We have two dogs, and they are obseesed like all dogs with balls. All the time they sit in a position waiting for you to get the ball, they know is there. Its weird. I am sure i am not explaining properly, as i am a bit sleepy this morning.

But for me they do have some sort of thought process, and i like the way it seems they will you to get the ball for them, and they never forget where you leave it. I wonder while they are away from it, do they think about the ball.

Or is it just me reading to much into it.

All I know is that dogs can think and understand better than birds. If i yell at my dog to stop barking, it understands me. My bird.... It never shuts the **** up.

I don't think that animals can think in woof woof and bark barks, and i also dont think they communicate with each other that way. I don't think they can communicate at all actually, its just when they're with another dog they have senses and stuff that let them interact freely with the other animal.

That's a great question and one we won't likely know the absolute true answer to for quite some time.

However, this article explains the theory a bit.

Here is the transcript of a discussion on a PBS show, Think Tank.

And here is another article in Psychology Today.

Hopefully these links will answer more questions than they bring up.

Good question and I'm really so glad you didn't ask "do animals think?" Scientists who tell us they're not sure if animals are even conscious get right up my nose. And some scientists DO question that.I imagine animals don't think in words. They probably think in little packets of information or thought pictures, perhaps the same way as a deaf person whose never learned to sign or read lips. I've always believed that animals are just people too with the same weaknesses we humans have. Like us they want food, love, attention, their own space and god help anyone who invades their territories. There's a great news item to be found on the BBC News website right now. It's been going on for months and it's about the love triangle of a bunch of Ospreys. Look up jealous osprey.Just recently when I was out for a drive I saw a pair of pheasants on the road. One of them had just been hit by a car and looked dead. The mate was standing right next to the body risking it's own life whilst the cars continued to shoot by. It was very sad. Obviously he or she was grieving and hoping the other one would just get up. He was probably thinking in pheasant language, "please get up I don't want to live without you." Just a minute later we drove past a woman walking her golden labrador. The dog had a harness type leash on and a strap had slid up over it's eyes. He was trying with both front paws to get the thing down whilst trotting along beside the woman who didn't notice. I imagined he was thinking "why do I have to wear this cr+p anyway?" While I watched that I was thinking that on the way back I was going to get out of the car in front of all the busy traffic and lift that poor bird off the road, hoping it's mate would follow me to safety but when we returned the same route they were both gone. Maybe someone else had been thinking the same as me, or maybe the bird survived. I hope so, I was thinking about them for days afterwards.

I love this question!

I have 4 dogs. I'm a dog person. I've studied and researched a LOT about how animals communicate and how we can better communicate with them.

I don't think they think like we do. It's more about pictures, thoughts without words, and most of all, energy. A dog can say a thousand words-worth when he walks into a room just by the way his head, ears and tail are held, the rigidity of his back, how far his eyes are open and how his his mouth is held. Of course, he's not thinking, "Now remember to hold my ears like this and my tail like this..." He just projects the energy and his body follows suit to "display" the energy for the other dogs (or humans who happen to speak the "language").

They also respond to energy with energy (and displays) of their own.

And I don't think they think, "Hmmm... I'm thirsty, better go get water." They just know they're thirsty and head for the water bucket.

I'm sure other species have their ways of thinking and communicating, but I'm totally fascinated by the way dogs communicate and by pack dynamics, which I also deal with a lot. Their communication is always clear, if you know what to look for.

I had a cat "tell" me once that she wanted a "way to go up high". Once I figured out what she meant, we built platforms for her to climb to the top of the 12' vaulted ceilings and she spent all her time up there. She also stopped the unwanted behavior that caused me to question her in the first place. So I think animals CAN communicate with people, it's just a matter of bridging the language gap and that takes effort on both ends.

I have wondered many times what and how animals think. I remember one time I saw a farmer loading up a load of hogs to take them to the slaughter house. And I never in my life heard a group of pigs squeal so much. I wondered then if they new they were going to their death but now I think they were probably crying for the pigs to which they had become attached and were leaving behind. Animals obviously develop very deep feelings to other animals and humans. A horse will often whinny all the way out of site when you take him from his fellows for good.



One of the most facinating stories I have ever heard about a dog came from a fellow who I met working. Anyway his Sharpae dog had taken a liking to some homebuilders down the street and would be gone to wait on them to arive every morning Monday thru Friday when he went to work. Saturday and Sunday the dog never left the house, she layed right there in the yard. Its interesting the men didn't work on Sat and Sun so the dog didn't leave to go and wait on them. Did she know what day it was or did she just sense they weren't coming or perhaps she had wasted time on a Sat and Sun once and learned they wouldn't be working? I don't know but it was an amusing story.

We had an old cat one time that wouldn't leave the door and I thought she might want out so I finally opened the door and low and behold there was a strange cat on the doorstep. How did my cat know there was another cat outside? The strange cat was not making a sound .


A very facinating subject too I might add. I wonder constantly what animals are thinking.




[edit on 7-7-2007 by Voyager1]

Great thread. must chirp in. I firmly believe dogs do think and probably are in some ways more aware of the universe around them than humans.

Let me explain a couple of brief examples. First, we have all seen stories where dogs are paired with epeleptic humans. The dogs have demonstrated the ability to "sense" seizures before they happen and alert it's master or other humans. I also recall a story about dogs "anticipating" earthquakes as well. And then there is their superior sense of smell like cadaver dogs.

My current dog seems to anticipate the arrival home of my wife who takes yoga and exercise classes each week. She gets home at varying times between 6pm and 7pm and invariably, Yogi will go sit at the door 5 minutes before she walks in the door. Uncanny...or rather Quite Canine. ;-)

Lastly, I know that my last couple of dogs dreamed. While sleeping, they made muted barks and their little legs would jerk and twitch. Perhaps they dreamt of chasing squirrels or running in a field. Sometimes we would wake them and they, just like a human, would require a minute or two to grasp their current surroundings and realize it was a dream. For me, the bottom line is if they dream, they think.

Great thread.......Kinda Kurious

[edit on 7-7-2007 by kinda kurious]

I have a parrot, dog, turtles, and a fish and they all are very in tune to the daily schedule around my house. Maybe my dog is the smartest or more capable im not sure but they all are very smart and they think just like humans.
What is amazing is if I hurt my dogs feelings by getting on to him for something he should not be doing he forgives me instantly. The bird and dog like to be loved and that is enough proof for me that animals think like humans.

What about scarred dogs. They seem to always remember there torture or haressment. That must take some sort of thinking.

Yeah, our dog must dream. He will quiver and squeak sometimes when he's sleeping.

I think animals mostly rely on body language for communication and try to pick up on our body language, but since even our body language isn't the same as theirs, there may be some "miscommunication". Body language, repetition, and tone in what you say, in my opinion, are probably most important.

My girlfriend's sheepdog is a wild man. When I get to her house is is all over me and likes to bite my hands, arms, anything he can get. Playful, but still biting. It takes him a while to calm down and I do my best to let him know I'm his friend. Then the next time he sees me he starts all over again. Like he suddenly forgot who I was! Very strange.

He's also very jealous. He knows I'm the guy that takes his master away. So, that may have something to do with it.

I try to talk to small children and animals pretty much the same way I talk to adults. I try not to use the "cutesy" language that everyone has a tendency to do. I think that disarms them (animals and children) a little and kind of gives you a level playing ground. Neither really know what your saying anyway.

It's a good thread, I believe animals think much like a primitive human would if in a survival state of mind. Unless of course you mean domesticated animals, then I think well they just try to live a simple cat/dog/fish/what have you life. The main things like eat, sleep, poop, play(replaces hunt), relax. Not too much thinking about anything unecessary. For instance, I have a cat, Kedie, and she is a lap cat, she often will sit on me and sleep, like right now. IF she wants food she will meow, if she wants water she will meow, if she wants to poop she will scratch at the door to let me know, if she wants to play she will lunge at me. Overall I personally think she is a very smart cat, but she's just a cat. Nothing spectacular about it. From this experience, when I die I wanna come back as a cat, they have pretty sweet lives...

Some animals are smarter than they know they are and have better senses than us but lack mental storage space to keep facts stored along with emotions.