This week’s column is another one that’s a little different than what I usually write…but interesting just the same. I hope you enjoy it.

Things I’ve Learned About Dogs and From Dogs

1. Dogs are a lot smarter than many people realize. Because dogs communicate mainly through body language, they are much more adept than humans at picking up even the slightest nuances. Here’s an example: You’re thinking about taking the dog for a walk. Like magic, Rover hops off the couch, goes to the place where his leash is kept, and turns toward you with an expression of anticipatory delight.

Of course, you are now thinking, ‘Wow, my dog can read my mind!’ It’s not your mind he’s reading, it’s your body language. Dogs are keen observers; Rover recognized some physical action on your part that you have done on other occasions when a walk was about to happen. These ‘clues’ are usually so subtle that humans do not pick up on them at all. Another clue may have been your tone of voice. If you spoke to your dog prior to getting out his leash, you may have been using a higher-pitched, more enthusiastic voice, which along with your cadence of speech, your dog interprets as a good thing about to happen. (‘Walk? Me? Of course! That sounds like a wonderful idea!’)

2. That cute little black (brown, pink) button in the middle of your dog’s face can sniff out almost anything. The average dog’s nose is over 10,000 times as sensitive to odors as a human’s, with some breeds who specialize in tracking and search/rescue having much more sensitivity than the average dog. Dogs are being trained to ‘sniff out’ such things as cancer and diabetes, as well as alerting an epileptic person to an oncoming seizure. How do they do that? It’s because these illnesses cause certain extremely subtle changes in a human’s body odor. (And it doesn’t matter that you put deodorant on after your shower this morning.)

There are numerous documented incidents of this occurring. For example, one woman’s dog kept climbing on her and nosing at a particular spot on her chest whenever the woman sat down. The woman visited her doctor, who found a minuscule malignant tumor which was removed. If the woman hadn’t paid attention to her dog, she may have died from breast cancer. Another incident that comes to mind is about an older couple who adopted a little mixed-breed pup from a shelter. The man didn’t really like the dog but kept him because his wife adored the little creature.

One evening the man came home from work with what appeared to be the start of a flu bug: chills, aches, fatigue. He went to bed early, and his wife followed a couple of hours later. She awoke in the middle of the night with the little dog sitting on her chest, barking and whimpering frantically. It was then that she noticed her husband moaning, speaking gibberish, and shaking violently from head to toe. They went to the hospital, where doctors discovered that flesh-eating bacteria had gotten into the tissue of one of the man’s legs and the infection was spreading rapidly. Fortunately, because the woman paid attention to the dog, the man’s life was saved. Guess who really loves the dog now??

And on a note closer to home, a friend of mine has two young daugthers who both have juvenile diabetes. The family has two dogs that are very close to the two little girls. One night, my friend was awakened by her Pit Bull, who was barking at the bedroom doorway. She told him to be quiet, but he ran down the hall to one of the girls’ rooms and began barking again. My friend got up and went into her daughter’s room and tried to wake the child, who did not respond. She tested the girl’s sugar with a meter, and realized that the child was about to go into diabetic shock. Because of the dog, my friend was able to stabilize her long enough to get her to the hospital.

3. Dogs don’t feel guilt. Your dog may look guilty as you’re scolding him for chewing up your good shoes or getting into the garbage, but he’s just responding to your negative body language and the tone of your voice. Unless you catch him in the act, he’s unlikely to realize that he did something he shouldn’t have.

4. Dogs do feel empathy. Again, subtle changes in posture, body language, tone of voice, and chemical odors indicate to your dog that you are sad about something. He may not know why you’re sad, but most dogs will try to offer comfort however they can. Here’s an example that happened with my Golden Retriever, Cosmo, a few years ago. Cosmo and I were at the vet’s office for a routine visit and were in the waiting room. One of the examining-room doors opened and an older couple emerged, both with tears running down their faces as they walked to the front desk to pay for services.

I suspected what had happened, so Cosmo and I walked over to them and listened as they spoke of their dear little dog that they’d just had put to sleep. He was 17 years old, blind, deaf, and had had a stroke, so they obviously did the right thing, but the dog was their baby. As I commiserated with them, Cosmo, wearing a look of concern, got between them, stood on his hind legs, put his paws on the counter, and leaned his head into the man’s chest. Although I am sure he didn’t know why the couple was upset, he was offering comfort in the only way he knew how.

Another story–this happened just a couple of weeks ago. For some reason, I started thinking about our Golden Retriever/Collie mix, Buster, who died from adrenal cancer in November of 2007. Buster was a ‘damaged’ dog when we adopted him in May of 2000 as he had suffered abuse and neglect in his short life (age 2 1/2 at the time of adoption) and we spent 7 1/2 years (and lots of money) trying to undo the damage. Sadly, he passed away at age 10, but because of the early abuse and neglect, he aged rapidly and was more like a 15-year-old dog when he died. My husband and I were absolutely devastated, and to this day, I miss him.

Anyway, as I said, I started thinking about Buster and how I ultimately wasn’t able to save him and how much I still miss him. This made me very upset and I began to cry. When this happened, I had just gotten out of the shower and was still in the bathroom with the door closed. The next thing I knew, our little Border Collie mix, Tara, was pawing and whimpering at the door. I opened the door and she came in, put her paw on my shoulder (I was sitting on the floor), and licked my face. So she knew I was upset and offered comfort.

5. Dogs are non-judgmental. (This may be one of their best qualities.) They don’t care what you look like, how much you weigh, what kind of clothes you wear, or what kind of car you drive. They just want love and attention (and good food), and if you give them adequate amounts of those items, you will be repaid many times over.

6. The following statement is actually on a t-shirt, but I think it’s a good philosophy (to a point). This is how to handle stress like a dog: If you can’t eat it or play with it, then pee on it and walk away.

Go hug your CBF (canine best friend)!