I just arrived in Atlanta, and am about to settle in, go over my seminar for tomorrow and then watch some foolish movie that does nothing but entertain me and put me to sleep.
But I wanted to write about a magazine that I just can’t get enough of–Scientific American Mind. If you are interested in behavior, both your own and your dog’s, this is a fascinating magazine. It’s true it helps to be fascinated by behavior and the brain (I guess that’s obvious), and that to some it will be far afield from canine behavior.. but that’s what I love about behavior… it is such an eclectic field.
Here are just some of the pages I have marked for further review (and future blogs, articles or book sections….) in the Oct/Nov issue:
p 10: Researchers at the Zhejiang University in China found that honeybees, who have been famous for years because of the ‘waggle dance’ they do in the hive to direct other workers to food, actually learn much of the dance. Many have assumed that ‘bee brains’ were only capable of dancing because of innate ‘hard wiring,’ but bees with different dances from different countries (almost like an accent or a dialect of the same language) were able to learn the other’s dance when they were raised together. How does this relate to your dog? Well… the issue of what is innate and what is learned is still controversial, and how interesting it is to learn that bees with a tiny swelling of neural tissue that can barely be called a brain, can still learn…
p 11: Magpies look at predators with thier left eye (thus stimulating the right side of their brain) and at something interesting but not dangerous with their right eye (stimulating the left side of their brain.) That is especially interesting to dog owners (honest)… did you see the research that found that dog’s wag their tail more to one direction to friends (right) and in another direction (left) to an aggressive dog? I’ll write more about that research soon, but it suggests that many animals have lateralized brains, not just humans with expanded cognition (which some have argued.) I’d love to see more research looking at lateralization and canine behavior. (Did you know that most dogs are ‘left pawed’ but ones who are ambidexterous (holding down a Kong with either paw) have a higher incidence of separation anxiety, just as people who are ambidexterous have a higher incidence of generalized anxiety?)
p15: People who can’t seem to heal from the loss of a loved one (and of course, I’m thinking dog here) react more strongly to reminders of the loved one in the area of their brain called the nucleus accumbens. It’s the area associated with reward, and the anticipation of something good. They don’t understand yet exactly what is going on, but it is interesting that they’ve found a different physiological reaction in people who are still grieving than people who have healed from a loss.
There is also a great article about memory and its fluidity (we pretty much make it up as we go) and the power of the unconscious.. very relevant when people start arguing that only humans are conscious (now there’s a can of worms!)
And oh yes, there’s more. There’s an ad for a new book of conversations bewteeen the Dalai Lama and Paul Ekman. Ekman is the psychologist who did so much work on the facial expression of emotion in people all over the world and was gracious enough to let me use some of his photographs in For the Love of a Dog. I can’t wait to get this book……it should be fascinating. The comparison of the expression of fear, anger and happiness on the faces of people and dogs is truly amazing…
Meanwhile, here’s a little fall from the farm, just to remind me of home while I”m working in my hotel room….
Crystal says
The bit about lateralization is fascinating! But I’m confused- how does a dog wag its tail to the left or to the right? I can envision two possibilities:
1. The wag starts by moving to one direction or the other, or
2. The tail stays more to one side than the other.
I’ve been staring at my dog’s tail for 5 minutes, and just can’t figure it out! And for that matter, what does it mean when you see “helicopter tail” as we call it- a big circular motion versus a back and forth motion? (Generally we see it when she is most excited.)
Good luck with the seminar! And enjoy your foolish movie. Sometimes those are the best. 🙂
Lindsay says
Thanks for writing about Scientific American Mind. I’m going to check it out!
Laurie G says
My dogs do the ‘helicopter tail’ too, mostly when they are really, really happy. I do notice a left or right predominance (#2 above) when they meet new people or dogs and the ‘jury is out’.
Kelly says
I will definitely have to check out Scientific American Mind – who would have thought that those honeybees actually have to learn that stuff? Fascinating! The entire mind, as it can adapt and re-shape itself is an object of endless wonder for me.
I hope the seminar went well, and that your speech/presentation was well-received. I can’t imagine how it wouldn’t be!
trisha says
Crystal: Sorry to confuse you! The ‘right’ or ‘left’ wag is about how far to the right or left the tail moves. The researchers (Vallortigara at the University of Trieste and Quaranta and Siniscalchi at University of Bari) looked at the how far to the right or left the tail of a dog moved, when it wagged in response to seeing 4 things: their owner, an unfamiliar person, a cat and an unfamiliar “dominant” dog. (The implication was that the dog’s posture was somewhat threatening.) A camera directly above the dog allowed the researchers to quantify how far to the left or right a dog’s tail moved in response to the 4 differrent stimuli. The tails moved both right and left to all, but moved farthest to the right when they saw their owners, farther to the left when viewing the unfamiliar dog.
This is just one more fascinating example of lateralization of brain function. Here’s another: male chameleons show more aggression when looking at another lizard with their left eye than with their right. There seems to be a strong asymmetry in many species related to approach and avoid, or negative and positive emotions….
After I read about the tail wagging research I started watching Will and sure enough, his tail wags farther to the right when he’s greeting me or Jim than when he wags his tail when seeing an unfamiliar dog (who he is not completely comfortable with.) Of course, that’s not research, but it’s great fun to watch your own dog and see what you find.
Linda says
I have seen and perused many a scientific american, and am always fascinated by something they have.
I’ve often watched my Toby when he is so happy to see me and noticed that when he is excited, his body has a tendency to curl in a c to one side also. And he always smacks his tail one way instead of a brush stroke from side to side. I haven’t ever noticed which way he’s going when he’s being a not so nice guy (his tush is usually behind me). But, I wonder…. he is typically on my right side, and I am between him and the other animal. He will stare straight on, but will most likely watch the animal pass from left side glances. If the animal is on the right side, he has a tendency to turn his whole head and watch. I wonder if it is anything like the magpie.
As far as ambidextrious doggies and seperation anxiety. Our other little dog Manny will hold his kong between his paws, and he’s a mess. Toby will hold w/ one paw, and he doesn’t seem to care. Interesting…
Crystal says
Ah, now it makes sense! Thank you! I’ve been watching my dog, and noticing a trend in tail wagging when I or my husband talks to her… however, it seems to be opposite for her? (Maybe I’m just getting my lefts and rights confused?) I’ll try and pay attention to what she does when we go to training class tomorrow.
I did notice that she is definitely left pawed, though!
Paula Krause says
I’ve been an avid reader of Scientific American Mind for years (its “parent” magazine, Scientific American, frequently has behavior articles as well, so you may want to check that one out too.) Just wanted to let you all know that you can link a “headlines” section to your iGoogle home page (that’s the “personalized” Google homepage that you can create.) Each weekday I get three links to articles from the magazine. (You may also want to check out Science Daily. Just click on “add stuff” (upper right corner), then enter “science” in the search box, and a list of links will come up. Simply click on “add” and, voila, there it is on your home page! You don’t have access to all of the magazine’s articles so you’ll still have to get the hard copy, but it’s a great way to keep up on the latest theories, developments, etc. Highly recommended.
Tales about tails – As a youngster, my “baby”, Brady, used to wag his tail to the left when my husband would greet him. Now it’s a full out body wag!
Trisha, thanks for all you do for dogs. You personally helped me through a very difficult decision a number of years ago at a seminar at Kellyann Conway’s place in Florida, and you’ve been helping me and my doggie daycare dogs ever since through your beautiful writings. Please don’t ever stop sharing! Oh, and, terrific seminar in Atlanta!!!
Dena Norton says
I’ll pay careful attention to Ford’s tail when he greets me tonight.
trisha says
Paula: Thanks so much for the advice about linking to articles from Sci American. I am way behind in keeping up electronically. (My friends are amazed that I have a blog. We all think it’s a strange word, much less a novel concept! Where did the word “blog” come from, anyway? It’s a strange sounding word. I still expect someone to say “I’m so sorry” when I say “I have a blog.” But, I digress….
I do get Sci American, although I have to admit that with all the dog and cat magazines (7 total I think), Sci American, Sci Am Mind, Natural History, Smithsonian and National Geographic, sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed. Surely I’m not alone?! And thanks for taking the time to let me know that I was able to help during a tough time (and the kudos re Atlanta!)
dan dunphy says
Hey Patricia. I’ll bet you get this a lot. My wife is a dog trainer and did some research on behavior. I have only picked up the crumbs of what she has showed me. I am the one that tries to undo what she has done with her dogs. Shame on me. It’s not good to get my dog to jump high for a toy? Etc. Anyhow, I am facinated with dog behavior. I always find myself asking her why to something. I was a mechanic and now in college for Nursing career. Learning the stuff about our bodies instantly gave me hunger for why dogs do what they do. I am now forever looking at head, tail, and other positions and it is simply amazing to watch dogs interact! I was letting out two hyper dogs for a friend while getting home from classes and just find it cool to see how they play and what is play and what is frustration etc.
Also when I wash my wifes clothes, little treats are found in the tub after wash is done. Gosh, I am married to a dog trainer. Hot dog bits and cheerios and God only knows what else. Fun! Thanks
carolyn says
for christmas i asked for a subscription to scientific american mind after reading your high praises about it on this blog. just last week i received my first issue in the mail. i was amazed when i flipped through the pages to realize that 3 different articles applied to 3 different classes in which I am currently enrolled. each article applied to some topic of discussion that we were covering that very week. talk about timing! so thank you for recommending this magazine.