Do dogs understand gravity?
Discussion
I don't mean in a GUT way, just in a general way. My Black Labrador (Belladonna - Bella to her friends) seems to comprehend the workings of gravity, remarkably well.
The day after I got her (so she was 8 weeks and 1 day old) we started playing 'Bally' up and down the path. She very quickly realised that she didn't have to gallop up the path after the ball, just sit att the bottom and it would roll back to her, she would then leap into dynamic action, catch it and drop it at my feet.
Now, if we are on the flat and I throw her ball, she drops it back at my feet (she is ball-obsessed when out and totally unbothered when at home) but, I take her (and Fred the Basset) into the woods and I throw the ball up the hills (this way I can stay at the bottom as I am a cripple/lazy) and she gets to about 10-15yards away and throws the ball at me and watches as gravity carries the ball to my feet.
She does this every time and she is remarkably accurate with her aim.
Is this a thing all dogs do or is she even more special than I think she is?
The day after I got her (so she was 8 weeks and 1 day old) we started playing 'Bally' up and down the path. She very quickly realised that she didn't have to gallop up the path after the ball, just sit att the bottom and it would roll back to her, she would then leap into dynamic action, catch it and drop it at my feet.
Now, if we are on the flat and I throw her ball, she drops it back at my feet (she is ball-obsessed when out and totally unbothered when at home) but, I take her (and Fred the Basset) into the woods and I throw the ball up the hills (this way I can stay at the bottom as I am a cripple/lazy) and she gets to about 10-15yards away and throws the ball at me and watches as gravity carries the ball to my feet.
She does this every time and she is remarkably accurate with her aim.
Is this a thing all dogs do or is she even more special than I think she is?
loquacious said:
I don't mean in a GUT way, just in a general way. My Black Labrador (Belladonna - Bella to her friends) seems to comprehend the workings of gravity, remarkably well.
The day after I got her (so she was 8 weeks and 1 day old) we started playing 'Bally' up and down the path. She very quickly realised that she didn't have to gallop up the path after the ball, just sit att the bottom and it would roll back to her, she would then leap into dynamic action, catch it and drop it at my feet.
Now, if we are on the flat and I throw her ball, she drops it back at my feet (she is ball-obsessed when out and totally unbothered when at home) but, I take her (and Fred the Basset) into the woods and I throw the ball up the hills (this way I can stay at the bottom as I am a cripple/lazy) and she gets to about 10-15yards away and throws the ball at me and watches as gravity carries the ball to my feet.
She does this every time and she is remarkably accurate with her aim.
Is this a thing all dogs do or is she even more special than I think she is?
Forget gravity! Have you managed to get Fred the Basset to retrieve a ball ? We have Wilma the Bassett and she will rarely chase a ball, and never brings it back…The day after I got her (so she was 8 weeks and 1 day old) we started playing 'Bally' up and down the path. She very quickly realised that she didn't have to gallop up the path after the ball, just sit att the bottom and it would roll back to her, she would then leap into dynamic action, catch it and drop it at my feet.
Now, if we are on the flat and I throw her ball, she drops it back at my feet (she is ball-obsessed when out and totally unbothered when at home) but, I take her (and Fred the Basset) into the woods and I throw the ball up the hills (this way I can stay at the bottom as I am a cripple/lazy) and she gets to about 10-15yards away and throws the ball at me and watches as gravity carries the ball to my feet.
She does this every time and she is remarkably accurate with her aim.
Is this a thing all dogs do or is she even more special than I think she is?
Whenever my mum hoovered the stairs her bull terrier would grab a ball and run to the top of the stairs to throw it down to my mum at the bottom, sometimes the dog would carefully drop the ball at the top and nudge it so it bounced on every step on the way down. The dog would be sitting at the top nodding its head as it followed the balls downward progress.
The dog was smart enough to understand gravity but too daft to realise its eyes could move independently of its head
The dog was smart enough to understand gravity but too daft to realise its eyes could move independently of its head
Our dog struggles with hydrodynamics.
Some things he gets, and has perfected his ferry glide.
However in a shallow stream, drops his stick and seems surprised its not where he left it! Every time.
To be fair he's not the sharpest tool in the box (unlike our other mutt) more of a blunt instrument.
Some things he gets, and has perfected his ferry glide.
However in a shallow stream, drops his stick and seems surprised its not where he left it! Every time.
To be fair he's not the sharpest tool in the box (unlike our other mutt) more of a blunt instrument.
Edited by Huzzah on Monday 30th September 11:25
I'm pretty sure my lurcher can count 
Breakfast, then just sits there waiting for
1 Dental Biscuit 1
2 Dental biscuit 2
3 Dental chew
4 Half a Bonio
5 Random small treat
If any of these instalments are omitted he sits in the utility room staring up at the food cupboard, grumbling loudly. Once he's had all five he trots off and sleeps for the rest of the day, as lurchers do.
BTW he's had T/D Dental biscuits since puppyhood – four a day – and his teeth are all absolutely spotless. Compared with the cost of veterinary dental work it's an absolute bargain and I can't recommend it enough. Brilliant stuff.
Breakfast, then just sits there waiting for
1 Dental Biscuit 1
2 Dental biscuit 2
3 Dental chew
4 Half a Bonio
5 Random small treat
If any of these instalments are omitted he sits in the utility room staring up at the food cupboard, grumbling loudly. Once he's had all five he trots off and sleeps for the rest of the day, as lurchers do.
BTW he's had T/D Dental biscuits since puppyhood – four a day – and his teeth are all absolutely spotless. Compared with the cost of veterinary dental work it's an absolute bargain and I can't recommend it enough. Brilliant stuff.
I use chucking a tennis ball down a slope into light cover as a lazy way to train the dogs to follow a scent trail.
My cocker twigged quite quickly to go straight to the bottom of the slope and hunt there so the exercise was rendered pointless. But I think it does show he understands gravity at some level.
My springer goes straight to where he saw the ball land and then tracks the scent to the ball which is not as 'clever' but is what I want him to learn for finding wounded birds which don't stay where they fall..
My cocker twigged quite quickly to go straight to the bottom of the slope and hunt there so the exercise was rendered pointless. But I think it does show he understands gravity at some level.
My springer goes straight to where he saw the ball land and then tracks the scent to the ball which is not as 'clever' but is what I want him to learn for finding wounded birds which don't stay where they fall..
BrickCounter said:
Forget gravity! Have you managed to get Fred the Basset to retrieve a ball ? We have Wilma the Bassett and she will rarely chase a ball, and never brings it back…
He's only just 6 months old but, he's a VERY strange Basset hound. For a start, HE RUNS! Constantly and while he's not particularly rapid, he's persistent! He does pinch the odd ball from other dogs, but only to annoy them/get them to play (he loves to play) and drops the ball very rapidly. He has zero interest in chasing a ball or fetching and seems to think any dog that runs after a stupid ball, is, well, stupid!DarrenO'D' said:
My Jack russel loves a ball, does exactly the same with it down the steps, but her thing that I’ve not seen another dog do, is she will bounce a tennis ball from her mouth when trotting back, she’s really good at it too
Our doodle will do that. He's not very good at it, not helped that his favourite scooby ball is chewed out of true round.Yertis said:
I'm pretty sure my lurcher can count
Breakfast, then just sits there waiting for
1 Dental Biscuit 1
2 Dental biscuit 2
3 Dental chew
4 Half a Bonio
5 Random small treat
If any of these instalments are omitted he sits in the utility room staring up at the food cupboard, grumbling loudly. Once he's had all five he trots off and sleeps for the rest of the day, as lurchers do.
Your dog is doing better than my cat. He is always given three Dreamies (cat treats as addictive as cocaine) by hand before we put out his cat food in the evening. Dreamies are always given one by one, whereupon the food is served. However he ALWAYS starts miaowing for his food after the first or second Dreamie. It seems that three is an advanced concept for him, whereas your dog can get to five. Breakfast, then just sits there waiting for
1 Dental Biscuit 1
2 Dental biscuit 2
3 Dental chew
4 Half a Bonio
5 Random small treat
If any of these instalments are omitted he sits in the utility room staring up at the food cupboard, grumbling loudly. Once he's had all five he trots off and sleeps for the rest of the day, as lurchers do.
Bravo dog!
My dog used to take her ball to the top of the stairs, throw it then chase it down, catching it at the bottom and rinse and repeat endlessly. Slightly unrelated but she could also throw a ball up to about 4-5 feet to a named person right into their hand.
Edited by 4Q on Wednesday 2nd October 16:23
Labs are very intelligent seemingly they have an IQ of a human toddler but also certian skills humans do not. Example sense of hearing so great they can hear your heart beating so when you play dead they just think your a moron. Webbed feet for swimming, a speed of vision much faster than our own such that a ball in the air travels much slower for them. A sense of smell which is as powerful as our own sense of sight. An they don't see in black and white as often thought. Plus they don't have the gene that makes them feel full so can smash a bowl of food without drawing a breath.
Yertis said:
I'm pretty sure my lurcher can count
Breakfast, then just sits there waiting for
1 Dental Biscuit 1
2 Dental biscuit 2
3 Dental chew
4 Half a Bonio
5 Random small treat
If any of these instalments are omitted he sits in the utility room staring up at the food cupboard, grumbling loudly. Once he's had all five he trots off and sleeps for the rest of the day, as lurchers do.
BTW he's had T/D Dental biscuits since puppyhood – four a day – and his teeth are all absolutely spotless. Compared with the cost of veterinary dental work it's an absolute bargain and I can't recommend it enough. Brilliant stuff.
My sort of dogBreakfast, then just sits there waiting for
1 Dental Biscuit 1
2 Dental biscuit 2
3 Dental chew
4 Half a Bonio
5 Random small treat
If any of these instalments are omitted he sits in the utility room staring up at the food cupboard, grumbling loudly. Once he's had all five he trots off and sleeps for the rest of the day, as lurchers do.
BTW he's had T/D Dental biscuits since puppyhood – four a day – and his teeth are all absolutely spotless. Compared with the cost of veterinary dental work it's an absolute bargain and I can't recommend it enough. Brilliant stuff.
QBee said:
Apologies, but what's T/D?
I want to get some of these if possible.
I would assume it's these, I want to get some of these if possible.
https://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/h...
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