Blogs by Kevin Behan

July 3, 2012 by Kevin Behan

But first, do human beings even have free will?

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/opinion/sunday/the-amygdala-made-me-do...

Current research indicates (to many) that the notion of free will may be illusory. In a range of experiments, subconscious processes (indicated by a region of the brain becoming active) virtually

Why Do Dogs Perform CPR?

March 9, 2012 by Kevin Behan

Many years ago when I first heard of dogs predicting epileptic seizures in their owners, I found it hard to believe. But as I pursued my emotion-as-energy theory of behavior it eventually came to make perfect sense. Now the internet carries reports of dogs reviving owners suffering a heart attack by CPR, actually punching their chests and licking their faces until they regained consciousness. The doctors who attended credited the dog with saving its owners' life. You have to wonder is mouth-to- Read more...

Why Do Dogs Stot?

January 12, 2012 by Kevin Behan

Sometimes when gazelles spot a lion or cheetah on the Savannah, rather than running away at full speed, they stot wherein they punch the ground with their forelimbs, stiff-legged, and with a hunched back, propel themselves high in the air in a series of bounds. For a moment between leaps, they float, suspended in mid air.

Why Do Dogs Lick Their Lips?

November 28, 2011 by Kevin Behan

The interpretation by Turid Rugaas that lip licking is a calming signal has gained widespread standing in Dogdom and I agree that the licking of lips has a calming effect, (most especially for the one doing the licking), but not because it is an intentional signal. Rather, it speaks to something much deeper, a networked intelligence that works by way of physical memory, i.e. the stuff of feelings.

One clue that something larger is going on is that dogs often display these "signals,"

Why Do Dogs Give Paw?

October 26, 2011 by Kevin Behan

From a Question and Answer Web Site:

"We used to have a Golden Retriever that would sit down and just look at us and give us his front paw. We always thought it was like him saying "please pet me." I tried to look online to see what this means but was unsuccessful. Do any of you guys know what this means?"

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

In my house it means...

"Walk me......NOW"

"Dinner time, Lady... get up and make it happen"

"

One More Mirror Photo

October 7, 2011 by Kevin Behan

Another telling photo. It's hard here to see where one begins and the other ends.

Mirroring Photo

October 7, 2011 by Kevin Behan

This picture accompanies the article below.

Why Are Dogs A Mirror?

October 7, 2011 by Kevin Behan

This picture illustrates two dogs hard at "work" being each other's mirror. The phenomenon isn't unique to dogs of course and it's hardly a matter of work because mirroring is the nature of every emotional being. Horse and rider, are a mirrored pair, male reflects female and vice versa, the predator mirrors the prey it hunts, there is Yin and there is Yang, and when you think about it, training a dog to heel is teaching a dog to mirror his handlers' movements. Furthermore every breed of dog in Read more...

Why Do Dogs Shake?

August 2, 2011 by Kevin Behan

An athlete is hit hard in a game and is momentarily stunned with pain. The coach says "shake it off;" which he does, literally, either by wriggling the affected body part or by shaking his head to clear the cobwebs. Likewise, when the play between two dogs gets a little too rough, first one dog, and then invariably the other, stop what they're doing and then shake themselves off just as if they were drying off after a swim. At first this behavior seems straightforward enough, when we

Why Don't Dogs Bite?

June 23, 2011 by Kevin Behan

When I was a young boy, given my shy nature, I was very quiet, and given that my father was a world famous dog trainer, I was very obedient. So one day I found myself sitting quietly and dutifully at the end of the exam table at the doctor's office, having absolutely no idea what I was there for. I sat where I was told to sit while the doctor checked me out. Meanwhile right after saying "aaaaaahhhh" the nurse had the bright idea that she would come up from behind and give me a