Chapter 3: The Boarding That Never Happened
Fights and aggression
[1] Real violence is very rare in animals because the cost of violence is very high and the yield is often too low. So, if there is a peaceful way to achieve something, a species will tend to gravitate towards this path
Co-operation and conflict
[2] Dogs voluntarily opt for other “cheaper” options such as scavenging and begging.
Reference recommendations
[3] In reality animals hate violence and do whatever they can to avoid it, which can be seen by the large repertoire of distance creating signals that are meant for a lot of posturing (Aposematism)
Reference recommendations
[4] Frustration also has a way of resulting in violence by triggering the rage system (Book: Affective Neuroscience, the foundation of human and animal emotions, Author Jaak Panksepp)
[5] Irritation can trigger the rage system too (Book: Affective Neuroscience, the foundation of human and animal emotions, Author Jaak Panksepp)
[6] Dogs that are in chronic pain or constantly kept in a high stress environment are easily susceptible to irritation due to high levels of residual cortisol (Simplified primer on cortisol)
[7] Most animals learn how to share these resources in order to survive, and don't really need to fight for them (Resources COMING SOON)
[8] It is termed as appetitive aggression. In humans, it is said that this is seen in people with PTSD as a coping mechanism (Book: Affective Neuroscience, the foundation of human and animal emotions, Author Jaak Panksepp)
[9] Poor gut health, chronic pain, and chemical imbalances in the brain are just some of the health conditions that can result in violent behaviours
Resource recommendations
[10] For a long time it was believed that testosterone was the cause for inter-male aggressive behaviour and that castration would be the solution. However, studies today prove that aggression is more complex
Resource recommendations
[11] Testosterone, like all hormones, does not directly influence aggression, but influences the expression of the behaviour
Resource recommendations
[12] In fact, in some cases, removal of testosterone can make the animal more fearful, which could lead to aggression
Dog Communication
[13] Communication is defined in Wikipedia as “the act of conveying intended meaning from one entity or group to another, through the use of mutually understood signs and semiotic rules (Wikipedia definition of communication)
[14] The animal world is so replete with communication that there is an entire field of study dedicated to it - Biosemiotics (Defined in Wikipedia as “studies of the prelinguistic meaning-making or production and interpretation of signals in the biological realm”) (Wikepedia definition of biosemiotics)
[15] Interestingly, studies also show most human beings who have lived with dogs have the inherent ability to not only recognize many of these different vocalizations but also understand what they are meant to communicate.
[16] While dogs try to include a significant vocal component in their communication with humans, the larger part of their repertoire comprises facial expressions and body language. This seems to be a gift from their ancestors and shared with their cousin canids. Imagine a pack of wolves—hunting, chasing after a large prey. Their prey will try to change its direction and do everything in its power to outrun them, so the pack needs to have a coordinated response to the movements of the prey. This happens through the exchange of subtle visual signals barely noticeable to the human eye.1
[17] Another book has recently been published which documents these signals in horses. (Language Signs and Calming Signal of horses)
[18] I am convinced by now that they have the ability to learn several words across multiple languages. (Resource coming soon)
[19] Some dogs show the ability to chain words, (Read the story of Chaser)
[20] some have been found to have a repertoire upward of a thousand words and the ability to learn novel words on their own. (Read the story of Chaser)
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