For my Blog Post #2, I am going to talk about the relationship that I have grown with Cisco, and how this relationship differs from person to person in my family using the article “Social relationship-dependent neural response to speech in dogs”. Dogs develop powerful relationships with owners, specifically with certain members of their families. Cisco loves his dad with all of his heart, he has created a very strong bond with him and this is created solely from their communication. Dogs respond differently to the way in which people speak to them, for instance, if you were to tell your dog “Do you want to go for a walk” in a very excited and happy way, more often than not your dog is going to be very excited and wanting to go for a walk. However, if you tell your dog the same thing in a very dull, and monotone way your dog will probably still want to go but the reaction to this question will be very different. 

 

In the reading it talks about an experiment in which the owners and their dogs have to go through a series of commands to their dog, they were trying to measure three things in this test; Attachment (towards the owner), Anxiety (related to the unfamiliar place), and Acceptance (of interaction with a stranger). What was very interesting from this reading was that they used a stranger to see if they could get the dog to do these series of commands too, and it showed that the dog’s motivation and desire to do these things increase with the dog owner. I think this fits perfectly with Cisco and his relationship in my family, Cisco is the type of dog that will listen to you but not always follow what you say at times when we go for walks, or I am making food I will tell Cisco something like “Don’t chase the squirrel, Cisco out of the kitchen” and he won’t listen. Although I am not a stranger to him, in his hierarchy of dominance in the house I am not number 1, that is my dad. It doesn’t matter where we are, who we are with, or what is around Cisco will always listen to my dad. He has taught Cisco everything, taught him how to sit, lay down, stay, speak, and roll over everything. Never ever will Cisco chase a squirrel or be in my dad’s way when he’s making food because he knows better, my dad and Cisco connect so well as Cisco is so familiar with the tone of my dad’s voice and knows when he is being playful and serious. Furthermore, the reading had another experiment where they had the dog owner and the stranger praise the dog while not making eye contact with the dog. Again from the experiment the dog responded more to the dog owner rather than the stranger, this is something that is very interesting when I make the relation to Cisco. Cisco responds with the utmost joy when he is told he is a “good boy”, by my dad, however, when I tell him he is happy but it is not the same as him. As I mentioned earlier this developed relationship between my dad and Cisco is something that is so special, and his responses to certain things that he says in comparison to everyone else in my house are so different and so interesting to see. Whether I like it or not, Cisco will forever see my dad as the number 1 and this is just something that I’ll have to live with.