In the video below, Snowball, the parrot, takes the spotlight – dancing and rocking out to various rhythms while keeping a great tempo! Researcher Aniruddh Patel at the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego, along with coworkers, have been observing the relationship between the ability to vocalize, aka talk, and keep rhythm/dance. They noticed that all of the dogs, cats, monkeys …
Animal Emotion: Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry
This video shows various scenarios, giving us a better feeling for the emotional lives of different species. Dogs, monkeys and amazing elephant mothers: we are given a wonderful opportunity to observe! It becomes apparent that in most animal species, love and friendship over rules cruel, abusive leaders and bullies.
Instinctual Understanding: Humans & Dogs!
How well dogs really understand us is a fascinating concept. I’ve always thought so, but it was discussing it with friends over dinner this weekend that finally pushed me to find out more about our unique connection with this evolved wolf: it truly is a fascinating relationship. The ability to understand each other, both physically and emotionally, has stemmed mainly …
Can Crows Clean Up Our Mess?
I’ve always been aware of the uniqueness of a crow. I spot them almost daily all over town, but isn’t it unnatural to see a wild bird become so well integrated into human society? Crows don’t appear to be particularly special: bearing no where near the intriguing colors a parrot could flaunt. No unique mating dance. No feathers that leave …
Animal-Human Emotion & Communication
It is far too often that I come across someone who doubts the existence of a “soul” or emotion in animals… I always find myself at a loss on how to properly explain a theory that would “prove” them wrong; It’s not a rarity for my frustration, and desperation, to take over. “How could animals not have emotions? We are …
Creating Good Habits
Art Print by Claudia Drossert Bad habits! Everyone has them: You, your spouse or family member, your animals… everyone. Habits can be hard to break. Replacing them with good habits, ones that improve our well-being and success, can make the process even harder. Bad habits wiggle their way into our every day lives in forms such as: biting our fingernails, …
Forming a “Growth Mind-Set”
Our brain behaves like a powerful, mysterious muscle: growing stronger, more refined and with heightened endurance every minute we engage it. The Scientific American explored this concept, as well as studies concerning “talent” and how it’s perceived, in a very interesting article titled: The Secret to Raising Smart Kids.Reading this article, I almost misread the title as being: The Secret to Raising Smart Animal …
Choice
My short, sweet stay at the Lichman ranch had been a healthy dose of “horse-lover’s high”: morning to dusk rides, and all the horsey smells and good times that come with that. Driving down from Sacramento, I noticed that most all of the experiences and knowledge I have gained with my animals have been rooted in communicating with them, not …
Go Fetch!
My short, sweet stay at the Lichman ranch had been a healthy dose of “horse-lover’s high”: morning to dusk rides, and all the horsey smells and good times that come with that. Driving down from Sacramento, I noticed that most all of the experiences My first full day at David Lichman’s horse ranch! Alyson, who is also a working student …
Welcome!
This blog documents how I teach a wide variety of concepts to different animals. My method follows the understanding that animals are perfectly happy without humans around! Anything I ask of an animal is an effort on my part to present something of interest to them: benefiting the two of us in one way or another. There can be no …