# Do you wonder what your dog thinks about?



## AddieGirl (May 10, 2011)

I did some reading online about studies on dogs' brains, but I want to know what dogs think about when their mind is free (not training, not engaged with other dogs or owner). Also, I am most interested in the more intelligent breeds like our GSD. I know all dogs are intelligent and compassionate in their own ways, but I believe highly intelligent breeds must have more complex thoughts. 

Anyone else ever wonder this and/or have any links to good info?


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## Mary Beth (Apr 17, 2010)

Considering that dogs can hear and smell so many times better than humans, in their "down time" they could tuning into these sounds and scents.


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

We adopted a dog when he was 5 yo. I often wondered if he thought about his previous owners. Were there situations that made him think about his previous life? I also fantasized about him seeing one of his old owners and getting really excited. I would have liked to have seen him get really excited about someone else.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

Sometimes my chihuahua will be fixated in the corner of the room on the ceiling. It could be any room but usually the living room, my bedroom and my daughters room. I know he knows I am watching him and knows I understand he sees something. He will even look at me to make sure Im paying attention as if he is saying in a very subtle way that somthing is there.


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

The last few nights I've gone downstairs to open windows and grab laundry and I find Ty laying on his dog bed wrapped in a purple fuzzy blanket.
I know Andrew wraps him up but I wonder all the time why the heck he stays like that and what's he's thinking about while snugged in.
I also wonder what my clients border collie is thinking about when he watches twilight, he will sit by my big screen and watch the whole freaking movie- and lose his mind if I turn it off, when he spends nights here we mute it and put it on for him when we go to sleep. It's bizarre, I've always thought there was more going on in his head then a regular dog. He also loves nat geo wild but if he sees a lion make a kill he hides in the kitchen and cries-


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

I have always wondered this about Titan!! I wonder what he thinks about me and my husband because he responds to us both differently. I wonder what he's thinking when he perks up during a movie and stares and follows the characters.. Or even when we are training and playing.. what is he thinking?? Is he having fun or is he just doing it to do it? I wonder too if he likes being an only dog or if he wants a fur buddy... endless questions I wish he could answer! lol. 

I do believe a lot more goes on in their heads that people are led to believe.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

I was wondering what Summer's reaction would be to seeing me using the weed trimmer out in the yard for the first time yesterday. She went right along the fence line on her side ripping up grass and wagging her tail.


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## My2shepherds (Jun 10, 2014)

I honestly think sometimes that they believe we are the lesser species and they have to entertain us and keep us busy so we are happy... I mean its not like they go around cleaning our messes and hair off the floor nor do they pick up our poop! We actually go in our houses they even know better than that... (sigh) I am the not-so-bright maid that they feel sorry for...


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

My2shepherds said:


> I honestly think sometimes that they believe we are the lesser species and they have to entertain us and keep us busy so we are happy... I mean its not like they go around cleaning our messes and hair off the floor nor do they pick up our poop! We actually go in our houses they even know better than that... (sigh) I am the not-so-bright maid that they feel sorry for...


I had a border collie when my first child was born. I am convinced that she thought she knew more about taking care of the baby than I did. The sad part is that sometimes I actually agreed with her.


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

Probably nothing. Women have a hard time understanding this. Men know what it is like to think about nothing though.


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## AddieGirl (May 10, 2011)

misslesleedavis1 said:


> The last few nights I've gone downstairs to open windows and grab laundry and I find Ty laying on his dog bed wrapped in a purple fuzzy blanket.
> I know Andrew wraps him up but I wonder all the time why the heck he stays like that and what's he's thinking about while snugged in.
> I also wonder what my clients border collie is thinking about when he watches twilight, he will sit by my big screen and watch the whole freaking movie- and lose his mind if I turn it off, when he spends nights here we mute it and put it on for him when we go to sleep. It's bizarre, I've always thought there was more going on in his head then a regular dog. He also loves nat geo wild but if he sees a lion make a kill he hides in the kitchen and cries-


WOW! The Border Collie watching Twilight is amazing. :wub:


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## AddieGirl (May 10, 2011)

Baillif said:


> Probably nothing. Women have a hard time understanding this. Men know what it is like to think about nothing though.


 
I'm convinced that our male dog only thinks about dancing food bowls and flying treats, but our female is much more complex.


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

Tessa thinks what ball can I get them to throw for me, please, please, please throw the ball. Della is thinking what is the big deal about that dang ball anyways....


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

Baillif said:


> Probably nothing. Women have a hard time understanding this. Men know what it is like to think about nothing though.


Good point..


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I was totally wondering last night when I kept hearing "plopp" and turned to find Seger digging his ball out of the water dish. So I watched him for awhile and he just sat and watched me back. I turned away...and heard..."plopp".


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

For now all they think about is eliminating all flying insects from the planet.


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## AddieGirl (May 10, 2011)

Jax08 said:


> I was totally wondering last night when I kept hearing "plopp" and turned to find Seger digging his ball out of the water dish. So I watched him for awhile and he just sat and watched me back. I turned away...and heard..."plopp".


Can totally envision this!


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## Rangers_mom (May 16, 2013)

AddieGirl said:


> I'm convinced that our male dog only thinks about dancing food bowls and flying treats, but our female is much more complex.


I was going to say something very similar. Our female dog was always thinking, always paying attention, always trying to assess the situation. Our first male dog was completely the opposite. I always said he spent 23 hours and 56 minutes each day thinking about the 4 minutes that he was eating.

Our current male dog is somewhere in between.


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## wyoung2153 (Feb 28, 2010)

Baillif said:


> Probably nothing. Women have a hard time understanding this. Men know what it is like to think about nothing though.


Touche! Lol! This makes me laugh. I really have no idea what it's like to literally be thinking of nothing.. You guys have a nothing box. (have you seen the clip on this?" and it's why you can sit around fishing for hours doing nothing in your nothing box :wild:


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## AddieGirl (May 10, 2011)

Rangers_mom said:


> I was going to say something very similar. Our female dog was always thinking, always paying attention, always trying to assess the situation. Our first male dog was completely the opposite. I always said he spent 23 hours and 56 minutes each day thinking about the 4 minutes that he was eating.
> 
> Our current male dog is somewhere in between.



Yes! My K-Bar is just as you describe your first male. He lives to eat. Poor guy, he just gets so excited about food. He's gained ten pounds from age 4 to age 6 and his waist was starting to disappear, so he's now on a strict diet. I caught our female Addie saving her food for him. It was the strangest thing! I thought he must be bullying her somehow even though she is definitely the boss of him. So I watched closely a few times and found that she would eat half of her food right down the middle, then step aside, and allow K-Bar to come over and finish it off. She would just watch patiently. I have no idea what she was thinking lol but he was enjoying the deal, and she was in control of the situation completely.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

AddieGirl said:


> Yes! My K-Bar is just as you describe your first male. He lives to eat. Poor guy, he just gets so excited about food. He's gained ten pounds from age 4 to age 6 and his waist was starting to disappear, so he's now on a strict diet. I caught our female Addie saving her food for him. It was the strangest thing! I thought he must be bullying her somehow even though she is definitely the boss of him. So I watched closely a few times and found that she would eat half of her food right down the middle, then step aside, and allow K-Bar to come over and finish it off. She would just watch patiently. I have no idea what she was thinking lol but he was enjoying the deal, and she was in control of the situation completely.


Now that's what I call a great big sister.


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## newlie (Feb 12, 2013)

Silly, but I often think of him pondering just what kind wolf he has for a leader. Does he think "Hmm,,,I love Mom, but she is very strange. I wonder what land she came from, I am sure that I have never seen any other pack leader make you wash your feet before you can come in the den. And she uses a little stick to clean her fangs and puts pink stuff on her toenails and does so many other odd things...."


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## WateryTart (Sep 25, 2013)

Baillif said:


> Probably nothing. Women have a hard time understanding this. Men know what it is like to think about nothing though.


Oh no. I sometimes very much enjoy slipping into a headspace where I'm doing nothing more than existing. It's glorious after a long day.

Outwardly, my dog always seems to be busy unless she's sleeping, but I have never assumed she sits around and thinks about stuff. I do see the wheels turning when she's trying to solve a problem or when she's turning over whether anything bad would ACTUALLY happen if she decides to ignore a command one of us has just issued, but I'm doubting there's any real reflection or pondering about life.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

During downtime, he is penned.

I'm sure he thinks about getting out of the pen and finding his ball.
If I am not there, he thinks about getting to me, 'cause he waits at the door looking out, no matter who is with him in the house.

I think dogs are more reaction driven than introspective.


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## AddieGirl (May 10, 2011)

Daisy&Lucky's Mom said:


> Now that's what I call a great big sister.


I'm sure she has some motive, but I can't figure it out. Maybe to slowly cause him to get so fat that he can't take her spot on the couch?


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## argonne (Nov 16, 2012)

Jack turned 2 recently. Along with other changes in his behavior brought on by his reaching adulthood, he has decided that he doesn't like the tractor, and snaps at the 5 foot high tires when it moves.

What is he thinking? Not much!


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

Cookie the shepherd is always thinking "What's that sound? oh nothing. Wait now what is that.... still nothing. OH that has to be something to bark at..... Nope still nothing." She is always on watch. When not on guard duty she is thinking about Frisbee, Biking with me in the woods, and meeting her dream dog!! She really does have a type. BIG Male Shepherds, Wolfmix, or beefy Pitbulls are her Fav. There was this Big awesome wolf Malamute mix that she just LOVED! I think she might dream about that dog. 

My little Pom mix. He is also always listening and waiting to bark too. little Yappy thing. Most of the time he sits and looks at you thinking about all the food you might drop. I think he dreams about going to the beach with my husband. He thinks more about my husband than I do. It's his dog. 

Meatball My OLD pitbull is hard to tell now. He is so old I don't think he thinks much at all any more. He lays in the grass dreaming of a time when he could chase a grown black bear up a tree. He really did do that. That dog lived his life to the fullest.


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## Pepper311 (Sep 11, 2011)

argonne said:


> Jack turned 2 recently. Along with other changes in his behavior brought on by his reaching adulthood, he has decided that he doesn't like the tractor, and snaps at the 5 foot high tires when it moves.
> 
> What is he thinking? Not much!


He is thinking " SHUT UP !!! SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!! I will bite you if you don't SHUT UP!"


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## BoyOhBoy!! (Apr 30, 2015)

I'm 3/4 through the book "How Dogs Love Us", written by a neuroscientist from Emory University in Atlanta -- the book is about him attempting to get functional MRI's of dogs. The book goes into a lot of detail regarding the training involved with getting the dogs to stay still for the scans while being fully alert and awake. It's VERY interesting. Anyhow, the first fMRI scan was looking to answer the question of whether dogs differentiate rewards / reward quality by providing the dogs what HE thought were high value and low value rewards (hot dogs and peas). The results were interesting! I'm looking forward to finishing the book, hopefully by tomorrow. 

Mom to Remi


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Baillif said:


> Probably nothing. Women have a hard time understanding this. Men know what it is like to think about nothing though.


 :rofl:


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

I'm totally "old school" but like to keep up with current research. Some of the stuff that they are doing with the top 3 most intelligent dog breeds (GSD included) is pretty amazing.

They have new methods to test intelligence. There are now papers out there that are backed up by other top research institutes that say;

The dog has the intelligence of a 2-3 year old human child, but - has the reasoning and mathematical/problem solving skills of a 4-5 year old human child. The dog definitely experiences and responds to emotions at the upper level of the 4-5 year old human child. 

If this is true, and it is according to the "experts". A bit of a mind blower, wouldn't you say? So, putting thing in that prospective.... I'm pretty sure mine wants to know; Why don't you just want to play all the time like me, why can't I have every yummy food you have, why do you leave me alone, I don't want a nap! I want to play!

The part that crushes me, if this research is true - well, think about it -


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

wolfy dog said:


> :rofl:


We women are perfectly aware that some adult men are able to think about nothing:smirk:


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Stonevintage said:


> We women are perfectly aware that some adult men are able to think about nothing:smirk:


That's why I envy men (sometimes)


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

Yep, me too. Wouldn't have these **** migraines if i could empty my head once in a while.....Thing is - why is it that sometimes they seem to trance out when we need to talk to them about something important?


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Stonevintage said:


> Yep, me too. Wouldn't have these **** migraines if i could empty my head once in a while.....Thing is - why is it that sometimes they seem to trance out when we need to talk to them about something important?


My 20 year old son had that answer a few years ago: "because we're just guys". That simple statement has helped me understand men a lot more.


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## Stonevintage (Aug 26, 2014)

wolfy dog said:


> My 20 year old son had that answer a few years ago: "because we're just guys". That simple statement has helped me understand men a lot more.


Ha! That would be "low drive"., unless needed.... Mine (husband of 20 years) was very high drive at first, then when I started providing for his needs on a regular basis and giving him good food..... he got to be low drive?? Until I divorced him and he met that airline stewardess from Miami????


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## car2ner (Apr 9, 2014)

Men and dogs. Sometimes I blame goofiness on both of them being male to which my husband always responds, "what do you mean by that?" and then thumps his chest. 

My previous dog, a beagle whippet mix, stared at me often. It seemed she was thinking, "Any intelligent being would be thinking what I am thinking". Makes sense in a way.

My GSD seems to understand we don't always think the same thing but I still get a stare. I think he is attempting a mind-meld.


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