A Dog's Laughter
It is common to most humans that laughing is one of the best exercises and is also one of our natural responses to something that we find funny. But are humans the only species that is able to laugh? Research has shown that man’s best friend, the dog, might also have its own form of laughter. To the trained ear and with the help of advanced technology the difference in pitches of a dog’s panting may actually indicate that it is able to laugh in its own form of language.
A researcher and her students at the Sierra Nevada College in Lake Tahoe performed experiments testing the pitch and frequencies of a dog’s pant during different types of activities. The research team used fifteen young dogs that they were able to record at a park using a parabolic microphone. They observed that only during play did the dog’s exhibit broader bursts of exhalations that could be defined as laughter. The researchers also played the recordings back to the dogs and observed that the dogs either picked up a toy or ran towards another dog. No aggressive behavior was detected when the dogs heard or displayed the exhalations. Along with the research regarding dog laughter, other scientists have demonstrated that primates and rats also have a distinctive laugh.
Other research found that, the “dog-laugh” or breathy panting of the dogs may help to reduce stress. It was found that dogs that are held in shelters for too long sometimes start to suffer incredible amounts of stress. The stress that the dogs feel is brought on by the fact that they have no interactions with humans or other dogs for long amounts of time. The investigators concluded that the signal of laughter was a form of communication that helped to bring peace to the dogs feeling stress and was able to initiate play.
The laughter between two humans is a distinguishable noise. Would you be able to tell if your dog was laughing with you (or possibly at you)? The pants of a dog may not just be a pant anymore; it could be almost any sign of emotion. The language that humans speak may not be the only language that is used to communicate nonspecifically. So the next time you think that your dog may be smiling at you, he actually might be.
-kamullig
posted by PWH @ 7:40 PM
11 comments
11 Comments:
Overall i think that the post was very intresting. It was written well and described in detail the research they concluded. I think that the post was quite intresting becasue i never knew that dogs could possibly laugh. I think they they should research the topic more and find more stable evidence!
I am sure that it is true that animals have many of the same behavioral gestures as we do. Whether they are able to communicate those to us, depends on our ability to sense the emotional state of the animal in question. It is not difficult for one to presume that a dog caged in a shelter will not be jovial and that lonliness and discomfort similar to that felt by a jail inmate will lead to a suprression of such expressions of joy. After all, it does not take experimentation and research to "sense" the emotional state of an animal. Doesn't every person knows when his dog is happy and ready to play? The dog signals its responsivness to the game through different vocalizations, just like we do.
-Timoteo
This is a really interesting point. It raises a lot of questions about animal behavior scientists do not know yet. I am a little skeptical, however, that scientists are basing this theory off of panting. They said the sounds came from the dogs when they were playing (running around, etc.) Perhaps, the change in breathing patterns was caused from the activity, rush of adrenalin, etc. It is interesting how the sounds provoked a change in behavior of other dogs when played back to them. Hopefully there will be more research done to help fill in the blanks.
I agree with what graya6 posted about how the activities exhibited by the dogs while "laughing" could be directly linked in a physical rather than emotional way. I know in my own experience that when I go running I expell more breath than normal, but I wouldn't call it laughing.
On the other hand, I think it's interesting that dogs can feed off this panting sound like humans feed off enthusiasm or how humans experience contagious laughter. Maybe it's simply that hearing these noises triggers them to automatically feel comfortable about playing because they sense they are in the right environment to play if they hear other dogs "laughing/panting".
~maillet5~
Very interesting choice in topic! I was unaware that any research was actually being done on whether dogs could laugh. The post was very informative. If humans can laugh, why shouldn’t dogs be able to? I’ve owned multiple dogs all my life and it seems that every time I’m playing with one, the others have to run over and play as well. Maybe this has something to do with the “dog-laugh”. I have one dog, a white German Shepherd named Angel, that you would swear is smiling at you when she sees you or when you play with her. Maybe she really is. Overall, the posting was very interesting and well written. It was well organized as well. Keep up the good work!
Very interesting article. When I was reading through I also thought the difference in physical activity was the reason for the higher pitched panting. But it was interesting when these sounds were played back to other dogs,those dogs instincts were to get a toy or to play. Either way, if hearing a noise triggers dogs to act in a certian way, it seems as if it is some sort of "dog language".
I browsed through the posts and found yours eye catching because I love animals and canines. I use to have the sweetest pitbull as well so I was trying to see if I could recall this exhalation or dog-laugh noise. I find that it is interesting that there are scientists out there doing psychology based experiments with animals now. I wonder why they decided to call it a "laugh" as opposed else thats a more physiologically based in name. I'm thinking that it is gets more attention if we they try to link a human trait to animals. Now I will try to notice this dog laugh the next time I'm at the park or with a dog!
I found this post kind of funny. As I was reading it, I thought of all the times it looked like my dog was smiling when I pet her or played with her. Then I read the last sentence of this post: "So the next time you think that your dog may be smiling at you, he actually might be." I'm not so sure panting is anything other than panting, but it is definately worth looking into because you never know.
it is very interesting to think about how other species may share traits with humans that we would never realize. the research that you mentioned does not give enough of a sample to prove this to be fact. I am skeptical of this information, but you seem to give enough information to make it a highly plausible suggestion. but great idea, just find some more definite proof.
I currently have a dog at home, and I used to live with animals but I never knew that dogs could laugh. Well, I wonder that how they laugh because we can't really see or hear them their laughing. But we can see they are happy or sad by their reactions. Next time when i visit my home, I will play my dog and I will make sure my dog doesn't get stuck in the cage.
This is great. I always thought that my dog was smiling when he was happy or when he was being pet, but I did not know that they actually laughed. I think this is very interesitng. I wonder what other behaviors they express that are analogous to our behaviors.
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