jeff potter
2006-05-30 14:12:06 UTC
We have a family pet GWP who pays attention to everything in the house
and interacts with people with open directness---eye contact,
head-cocking, the usual.
But I notice how she turns all that off when she's working---even when
just out for a leashed run. At such times she becomes totally "on task"
and there's no more "relating." But she is still totally responsive to
commands.
This is all the more so when we've gone hunting. It is such a
focus/separation---while still being totally commandable---that she
won't even take food or drink from me when in the field. She'll drink
from a puddle or any NATURAL water, but not from a bowl/cut/water
bottle. It's like she doesn't even SEE it. There's no eye contact
either. She looks away, but her ears register all commands perfectly.
Another case is with how she can sometimes not "see" our children. I've
read that GWP's are "one man" dogs, but she engages with other adults.
She nuzzles our cat. But most of the time our kids are invisible to
her. She won't heed their commands either. However, now they're getting
older and are understanding now to relate to her themselves, they are
getting their own voice-tone and physical posture around her more
engaged with her and she's starting to respond to them, no problem.
It's like if she CAN hear them then she does, but their earlier more
childish way of interacting with her (not "seriously") made it so she
simply didn't hear them.
I've noticed something possibly like this in seeing-eye dogs. They lay
next to their master with no interaction with people. Every now and
then I see the eye register with interest on something, then it lets it
go. Basically, it doesn't have its own "personal" relations with
anything but is totally working, on task.
Any more info/insight on what I'm observing in such situations? Thanks,
JP hooknbullet.com
and interacts with people with open directness---eye contact,
head-cocking, the usual.
But I notice how she turns all that off when she's working---even when
just out for a leashed run. At such times she becomes totally "on task"
and there's no more "relating." But she is still totally responsive to
commands.
This is all the more so when we've gone hunting. It is such a
focus/separation---while still being totally commandable---that she
won't even take food or drink from me when in the field. She'll drink
from a puddle or any NATURAL water, but not from a bowl/cut/water
bottle. It's like she doesn't even SEE it. There's no eye contact
either. She looks away, but her ears register all commands perfectly.
Another case is with how she can sometimes not "see" our children. I've
read that GWP's are "one man" dogs, but she engages with other adults.
She nuzzles our cat. But most of the time our kids are invisible to
her. She won't heed their commands either. However, now they're getting
older and are understanding now to relate to her themselves, they are
getting their own voice-tone and physical posture around her more
engaged with her and she's starting to respond to them, no problem.
It's like if she CAN hear them then she does, but their earlier more
childish way of interacting with her (not "seriously") made it so she
simply didn't hear them.
I've noticed something possibly like this in seeing-eye dogs. They lay
next to their master with no interaction with people. Every now and
then I see the eye register with interest on something, then it lets it
go. Basically, it doesn't have its own "personal" relations with
anything but is totally working, on task.
Any more info/insight on what I'm observing in such situations? Thanks,
JP hooknbullet.com