animal communication and the NT.

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i work the overnight shift at a PetSmart PetHotel - that is to say, i get there at close and leave either an hour before or at open - anywhere from 9-12 hrs. i am fond of the schedule, not so fond of the massive cleaning (yet my apartment is gross), fond of the one co-worker i deal with, and i find the work with the animals (mainly dogs) rewarding. most of the time. sometimes we get some really obnoxious animals, usually due to a really obnoxious owner.

here's the thing. i find people totally baffling. completely and utterly. at present, my current co-worker and i are the only people with any real experience prior to this in terms of handling dogs who come in and are Not Having Fun At All. they can't read dogs! WTF? it's so damn EASY compared to a person.

example. a little white dog (maybe it was a shaved maltese or something) comes in named chloe. i come in right at close and am specifically told to be careful, she's dangerous, she bites, and for the love of god, keep your hands away from her face!
this is when donna (other co-worker) and i tend to look at each other with the goal of proving them wrong, maybe teach them a thing or two.
so after teh supervisor leaves, i go to the door of her 'room' (they're good sized, and this one was big enough for a large breed, but they are still cages). i sat down a few feet away from the door. the dog is in a cowering posture at the back of the cage. i talk to her indirectly (like i'm generally inclined to talk to people - just slightly 'off' of eye contact). i say her name. next thing i know, she's trot up to the door and sat down. i was able to leash her. and within a few days, after she did her business (we often take them for walks in groups off-leash, if they are marked as being allowed in group) she would come over to where i was standing/sitting, and sit down next to me. the supervisor who all but called the dog 'Satan' is floored.
that the dog would -cry- for me when i left at the end of the shift baffled her more.
i really wanted to tell her i'd cry if i was stuck with the day staff, too, but i guess that wouldn't be appropriate.

cats are harder because they are rarely in our care long enough to 'turn' if they are unhappy - they take more work. but most tend to regard me with cautious hissing rather than attacking me like another night-staffer (who i don't work with, thank goodness) claims.

what is hard about animals? their posture? approaching them differently if they look terrified? they were running at a dog like chloe as though she were a happy dog and were shocked at the reaction! they don't lie, they have generally the same basic *reasons* for their behavior. minor changes in approach (using broad body language - dogs aren't subtle) make a difference.
it's like NTs are so used to social games that they can't be flat out direct if they TRIED, and always regard unanticipated and direct responses as being suspicious, much like when i say something bluntly and they are looking for an ulterior meaning.

I can understand an animal more than a human, but I don't really trust animals. I view them the same (What is their intention?).

I mean, think of a hippo charging at you. "Stand still and it will stop!"

To hell with that, where's my rifle?

heheh, same here. my parents have always had a dog, since i was 2 years old.

my grandparents had a dog for a long time, which was deemed evil and would attack anyone coming close. yet I could lay on the ground next to it and it would come ly down next to me, but growl at anyone else coming his (or my) direction. since most of my nephews didnt understand me, whenever i was over there i would lie down next to the dog with a book and read the dog stories. I'ts like it understood me, and I understood him. my grandparents never understood the situation, where baffled at the dogs response to me... but I guess that being left out was the thing we had in common, and we knew it of eachother.

about 3 years ago that dog died... i cried my heart out.

I know what you mean and I don't understand it either. I can read dogs and cats better than people.
I was in real estate at one time and once a week we would go to look at new listings as a group. When ever there was a dog at the house I was the one sent in first to see if the dog was 'ok'. well, I did meet some really nice pets anyway.

i really couldnt say if aspies are any better at reading dogs than NT,however some of us may have traits like animals.
dogs like decisive movements but they are also sensitive about human body language as well as that of other dogs, although they do communicate verbally , body language is there main way to communicate. a dogs motivations are much fewer than a persons for example fear is the motivator for aggresive behaviour, but its fear of lots of things, fear of losing pack leadership, fear of not having a pack leader, fear of losing property eg food bed, fear of losing its pack, fear of being trapped . once you understand that fear is the main motivator for unwanted behaviour its easier to understand the dog , on the flip side when you understand the simple desires of a dog eg food den pack status companionship you can use those desires to encourage and motivate the dog to behave in a desireable way. in simple terms you could say they only have fear and desire and this maybe a trait that many aspies have. staring a dog isnt a good move, so if your used to not looking someone in the eye it could be that you are less threatening to the dog as staring is a direct threat or challenge to most dogs, unless of course they have been purposefully trained to accept steady eye contact. also i wonder if part of it is because we think differently so maybe many of us have an automatic disregard for what someone else has told us not to do, maybe its because some of us are over confident and give out strong purposefull body language that dogs understand respect.

I've always felt that I have a pretty good mutual understanding with cats. My cat was the only being I've ever met who was able to comfort me just as I wanted. He'd come lay down beside me on my bed as I cried, every time, just as his way of saying "I'm here for you". He didn't talk my ear off or try to give me crappy solutions to my problems, or tell me to "toughen up". He was just there. I've come across very few cats who wouldn't jump up on my lap right away and let me rub the underside of their neck while they purr away. They're just so laid back, like "whatever, man". I'm here, you're here. We'll enjoy each other's company without making a big deal of it. Good times, you know.

i'm sure that's true. i just get tired of coming in and seeing that a dog hasn't been eating, and no one has been trying to figure out a way to encourage them. or dogs that get largely ignored because people think they are 'impossible' and consequently *withdraw* support rather than give it.
i've had 'impossible' and food-avoiding dogs make a turnaround in, oh, five minutes. some are harder but there have been very, very few dogs that donna and i couldn't at least help a little.



my eldest cat in particular is very sensitive to me. i mimic his 'omg where are you?!' noise when i'm feeling awful, and that usually brings both of my boys running, but tyb will sleep by my face, or not leave me alone if he thinks something is wrong.
once i was really sick and trying to figure if i should go to work or not. he chose that morning to lie down on my back while i was still in bed. i took that as a hint and stayed home.

Most NTs (or maybe people in general) are so ignorant when it comes to reading animals. I think in the case of NTs, they probably expect the animal to speak, being the social verbal animals that they are!

(No NT bashing intended)

A lot of people basically treat animals like objects. In reality, they have individual personalities just like people. Every species is different and communicates differently too. You have to get to know animals on an individual basis, pay attention to them, and learn from them. When I do that, I find them to be much easier to understand than people.

I am NT and I cannot read animals. I don't think it has anything to do with a lack of directness, since my cursing is usually pretty direct.

From the Far Side series.

I treat my dog like a dog.

I have often said this.

I communicate with animals very well and always feel more comfortable around them than people (NT People).

I've had similar things happen as the original poster, "savage" and "dangerous" dogs treating me like a pack leader and being friendly. I also know when a dog is likely to bite, when others go in and just get bitten. It's the empathy that many say we lack, tuned into almost every other species.

I'm an animal nut and I get on well with cats, dogs, rats, snakes, cows, horses etc. I always have some degree of understanding about what they are thinking. Most importantly, I'm aware of what I don't know, and animals pick up on that too.

Now, my theory is this. Evolutionarily speaking, which of us (AS or NT) is more in harmony with the nature of other species. So, which of us (again, Aspie or NT) is more likely to be a branch away from our default settings in regards to nature?

I think, the NT traits that have made us what we are as a species, are the new mutation. It's lead to our society and our massive numbers and our organisation as a society - but it's different to the rest of the animals we share this world with. The Aspies are not quite as different to the rest of nature. Perhaps we're throw-backs - but that's a throwback that I'd be proud of.

Like I said, I like animals more than most people.

Sounds like you would make a good dog trainer.

My father works for the department of health and human services here in Montana and he created the very first state program where medicare/medicaid would pay for service dogs.

He says that all around the country there is an extreme shortage of well trained dogs and dog trainers. Might be something you should look into, see if there are any training companies near you, or you could even consider starting your own company.

I've never been very good at interacting with animals, or humans. Animals pretty much run over me(I can't control them) or ignore me just like most people do. I definitely understand animals easier than humans, but that doesn't mean we always get along.

I think alot of people that have problems with animals have problems because they have or project a preconceived expectation of the animal, they aren't ready or willing to accept the animal as it is and alter their behavior in a suitable manner. Sort of like the father or mother who tries to live through their children, not really looking at their children as the individuals they are, then being shocked when it blows up in their face. Of course when dealing with animals the whole individual business can get kind of hairy if you think of them as or like humans.

I love to watch Dog Whisperer, Cesar Millan knows his stuff. If I understood animal psychology half as well as he does I'd definitely look into taking that kind of path, working with animals and training people, haha.

I've always had a great bond with animals. I don't know why...interacting with them comes naturally. I always have animals approach me in the streets...and animals that are known as "vicious", to come up to me and be friendly.
Maybe I give off some kind of "smell" that indicates I am not a predator...or maybe i'm just luckey.