Hmmm ... A dog with a measurable attention span ... I don't believe it
<BR>************<P>I was really disappointed with most of what I found on dancing dogs and cats. It's easy to train a dog to respond to cues. And more intelligent dogs can respond to more complex cues. However, simply performing on cues is not what I would call dancing.<P>Dogs and cats can be very creative. Some more than others. <P>I don't know much about dogs, but when it comes to games involving movement, cat's are easily engaged.<P>Young cats instinctively follow movement. They also instinctively watch and immitate the movement of their mothers (or those they have bonded with). Cats have a strong awareness of position and space. They are capable of learning to recognize patterns and can learn to keep rhythm. They are also capable of learning to predict actions and to improvise responses.<P>These are traits that should be used when teaching a cat. Unfortunately, these traits seem to be ignored in training cats to "dance".<P>Of course, then, even cat people tend to fail in recognizing and meeting the needs of their cats. Cats are not naturally unsociable; people just fail to properly socialize their cats. Cats are also very active learners. But, cats cannot be trained like a dog. They have their own unique needs.<P>Anyhow, back to dancing dogs and cats, there also seems to be a tendency to ignore the natural movement range of the cat or dog. In my opinion, a dancing cat should be demonstrating the art of feline movement. A dancing dog should be demonstrating ... (shiver). I don't imagine these cats and dogs find much intrinsic satisfaction in performing half the stunts I've seen.<P>Not only do I see people living out their dreams through their pets as Angela suggested, I see alot of people trying to exploit a trend for a quick buck.
The concept has so much potential for helping us to better understand our companions.
Login
Register
FAQ
Search
