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A better grip on reality. Yes, and there is not this perverse attempt to replace human company with controllable companions (aka pets), that leads to so much a

A better grip on reality. Yes, and there is not this perverse attempt to replace human company with controllable companions (aka pets), that leads to so much animal antromorphism and hidden missery. I can like a cow, and still know its a cow. A horse can not know what a hand is that holds the sugar cube. For a horse, you are another smaller horse. I live near a horse-stable, where strong-empowered single ladies have up to five horses. The sadness and missery of a live that has replaced what could be a family or just human company with animals - is on par in my eyes with some computer addicted males. You should hear the arguments they have with the vet.

aleksei 9y ago
> I live near a horse-stable, where strong-empowered single ladies have up to five horses. The sadness and missery of a live that has replaced what could be a family or just human company with animals - is on par in my eyes with some computer addicted males. What the actual fuck?
- emodendroket 9y ago
  It's inelegantly expressed, but have you ever talked to horse people?
  - mikestew 9y ago
    Not any more than is absolutely required by law. I would render aid should I come upon someone of the Horse Peoples tribe who had collapsed, but that's about as far as it goes. Their ways...they are strange, their speech garbled.
    - emodendroket 9y ago
      Yeah, you think you're joking.
mikestew 9y ago
For a horse, you are another smaller horse. I can't speak for horses because I have little desire to be around them, but it would take some solid evidence to convince me that a dog doesn't know the difference between humans and dogs. Perhaps a dog doesn't bucket me into "human" or "dog" (though I'm confident that they have some concept of categorization), but they sure heck don't think I'm a bipedal dog. As for "horse people", well, I make no apologies for that lot. I think there's something in horse dander that makes the owners neurotic.
- honestoHeminway 9y ago
  Are you sure, you are not just a very very strange alpha dog, whos moods are easily readable by looking at the face muscles and the tone of voice? Dogs have no concept of society beyond the pack that is family. Dogs prefer to communicate by action and smell. Maybee antromorphizing makes alien company more bearable. I somehow miss that trait, i guess.
  - mikestew 9y ago
    Are you sure, you are not just a very very strange alpha dog, whos moods are easily readable by looking at the face muscles and the tone of voice? Pretty sure, yeah. It's an extrapolation: my dogs don't try to eat another dog that's about the same size and furriness of a rabbit, but they'll about take my arm off to chase a rabbit. So there's some kind of categorization going on. "These things are for eating, these other things are for fun." I'm quite confident that dogs have not created a system that breaks things down along lines of genus and species, but I'm pretty sure they know I'm not one of them. To a large degree it's moot, I suppose, because they can't tell us what's on their mind, so we just have to play with inputs and observed behavior, and go from there. As a sidenote, research has on multiple occasions demonstrated that pack mentality and other such things as "alpha dog" don't apply to domesticated dogs (IOW, you can pretty much ignore anything Caeser Millan has to say). Extrapolating from those assumptions can be rife with error.

aleksei 9y ago

> I live near a horse-stable, where strong-empowered single ladies have up to five horses. The sadness and missery of a live that has replaced what could be a family or just human company with animals - is on par in my eyes with some computer addicted males. What the actual fuck?

emodendroket 9y ago
It's inelegantly expressed, but have you ever talked to horse people?
- mikestew 9y ago
  Not any more than is absolutely required by law. I would render aid should I come upon someone of the Horse Peoples tribe who had collapsed, but that's about as far as it goes. Their ways...they are strange, their speech garbled.
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    Yeah, you think you're joking.

mikestew 9y ago

For a horse, you are another smaller horse. I can't speak for horses because I have little desire to be around them, but it would take some solid evidence to convince me that a dog doesn't know the difference between humans and dogs. Perhaps a dog doesn't bucket me into "human" or "dog" (though I'm confident that they have some concept of categorization), but they sure heck don't think I'm a bipedal dog. As for "horse people", well, I make no apologies for that lot. I think there's something in horse dander that makes the owners neurotic.

honestoHeminway 9y ago
Are you sure, you are not just a very very strange alpha dog, whos moods are easily readable by looking at the face muscles and the tone of voice? Dogs have no concept of society beyond the pack that is family. Dogs prefer to communicate by action and smell. Maybee antromorphizing makes alien company more bearable. I somehow miss that trait, i guess.
- mikestew 9y ago
  Are you sure, you are not just a very very strange alpha dog, whos moods are easily readable by looking at the face muscles and the tone of voice? Pretty sure, yeah. It's an extrapolation: my dogs don't try to eat another dog that's about the same size and furriness of a rabbit, but they'll about take my arm off to chase a rabbit. So there's some kind of categorization going on. "These things are for eating, these other things are for fun." I'm quite confident that dogs have not created a system that breaks things down along lines of genus and species, but I'm pretty sure they know I'm not one of them. To a large degree it's moot, I suppose, because they can't tell us what's on their mind, so we just have to play with inputs and observed behavior, and go from there. As a sidenote, research has on multiple occasions demonstrated that pack mentality and other such things as "alpha dog" don't apply to domesticated dogs (IOW, you can pretty much ignore anything Caeser Millan has to say). Extrapolating from those assumptions can be rife with error.