Recently i read an article about dogs. It said 'most people believe that dogs wag their tails becuase they're happy, but scientists have discovered that this is not true because wagging the tail has a social function'. The claim was that by wagging their tails, dogs give a signal to other dogs that they don't have hostile intentions, and that they're not a threat.
But i once saw an interview with a primatologist, and he said that many primates produce sounds and movements that are very simmilar to human laughter...for basically the same reasons. To signal that they're not a threat, and that they mean well.
So if this behaviour is the evolutionary root of our sense of humour, wouldn't that make it more instead of less plausible that for dogs, wagging their tails IS in a way, comparable to human laughter?
I think that dogs do have a sense of humour. Their own kind of humour ofcourse, but still.
When i was a kid, we had a dog, and he Always loved to play with me. Most people will know the game that dogs like to play: you throw a stick, a frisbee or a ball, and the dog brings it back. You throw it again, etc. So my dog sometimes liked to trick me: he brought back the stick or the ball, placed it in front of me, i reached over. And júst before i grabbed it..he quickly took it and then ran around me. He clearly enjoyed this. A lot. I also noticed that dogs like to do 'fake attacks' when they're playing. I think these are clear examples of doggish humour.
Or would i just be projecting something onto them?
But i once saw an interview with a primatologist, and he said that many primates produce sounds and movements that are very simmilar to human laughter...for basically the same reasons. To signal that they're not a threat, and that they mean well.
So if this behaviour is the evolutionary root of our sense of humour, wouldn't that make it more instead of less plausible that for dogs, wagging their tails IS in a way, comparable to human laughter?
I think that dogs do have a sense of humour. Their own kind of humour ofcourse, but still.
When i was a kid, we had a dog, and he Always loved to play with me. Most people will know the game that dogs like to play: you throw a stick, a frisbee or a ball, and the dog brings it back. You throw it again, etc. So my dog sometimes liked to trick me: he brought back the stick or the ball, placed it in front of me, i reached over. And júst before i grabbed it..he quickly took it and then ran around me. He clearly enjoyed this. A lot. I also noticed that dogs like to do 'fake attacks' when they're playing. I think these are clear examples of doggish humour.
Or would i just be projecting something onto them?