Well that cinches it!
Dogs MUST be animals of ritual as well. It's well known that humans are ritualized animals; when something happens and we want to repeat it we are apt to perform the same or similar actions that led up to it. I'm not exactly sure how we determine the window, on a subconscious level, of what actions to re-enact though... I'll have to look into that more. However the past few mornings Frodo, my dog, has performed the same series of actions every morning. These aren't exactly simple, typical stereotypies either. When I wake up (sometimes his doing), I sit up and keep the blanket around me for a bit as I finish waking. Frodo walks circles around me on the bed, flogging me with his tail (I think that is unintentional). I'm not sure if there is a determined number of times to walk around me, but I think he looks for some signal from me and then rolls over and lays down on his back in my lap and looks up at me for attention. This is quite a determined series of actions. Of course I think I probably knew before that dogs are ritualized animals because of the complexity of their society. While it's nothing like that of humans, dogs maintain a fairly complicated society. There are a number of monkeys and primates that have more complex ones, and dolphins have an even more complex society still, but it's interesting to note. Maybe that's just because there's absolutely no way I'll have any of the others as pets. :)
Whoo! Well I just about choked to death again on my own saliva. I think it has something more to do with the sinus problems I've been having because standard saliva is fairly viscous and shouldn't get lodged so easily. I believe it must be saliva mixed with mucous... I'm sure everyone wanted to hear me talk about saliva and mucous, eh? Well, it nearly killed me! Twice! Shay and Anna saw the first time it happened. Fortunately I survived the first time and learned from it what must be done to survive (sit bolt upright to clear the passages as much as possible and then forcibly calm oneself to relax the muscles). You know, perhaps amusingly, if I ever failed to clear it, I would die very calmly in an attempt to save myself... Anyway, as soon as I get medical insurance at work, the doc and I will have some stuff to talk about. I don't like nearly dying on my own saliva!
ME
Whoo! Well I just about choked to death again on my own saliva. I think it has something more to do with the sinus problems I've been having because standard saliva is fairly viscous and shouldn't get lodged so easily. I believe it must be saliva mixed with mucous... I'm sure everyone wanted to hear me talk about saliva and mucous, eh? Well, it nearly killed me! Twice! Shay and Anna saw the first time it happened. Fortunately I survived the first time and learned from it what must be done to survive (sit bolt upright to clear the passages as much as possible and then forcibly calm oneself to relax the muscles). You know, perhaps amusingly, if I ever failed to clear it, I would die very calmly in an attempt to save myself... Anyway, as soon as I get medical insurance at work, the doc and I will have some stuff to talk about. I don't like nearly dying on my own saliva!
ME