humour in animals

[Sayonara]

So what you're saying is, you're going to talk about something other than the thing I said I'd be interested in hearing about?

[Dak]

is human humor understood yet?

 

it could be a bit tricky spotting animal humor if we dont actually know what constitutes human humor.

[klanger]

We had a border collie (black and white sheep dog) who seemed pretty intelligent to me. He could identify different coloured tennis balls, blue green yellow and red, you tell him the one you wanted and he would go get it. My brother was/is a dreadful tease, and got no greater pleasure than pretending to throw the ball just to see the dogs head jerk in response. One Day my brother sat there with the ball, pretending to throw it and then instead dropping it and catching it right before the dogs face. He thought this was hysterical for a while and then decided to actually throw it. The dog hurtled after the ball and dutifully bought it back, but when my brother said "drop" the dog instead of placing it in my brothers hand, went through a couple of minutes of bouncing the ball infront of my brother and the dog catching it in his mouth, my brother was way too slow to catch the ball and the dog was clearly enjoying teasing my brother with the ball. My brother was NOT impressed, I was laughing so hard tears were streaming and the dog? well his tail was wagging furiously, his eyes were sparkling and his lips were slightly curled in an expression of a smile, yeah I reckon that dog was finding that incident very funny indeed.

[j_p]

Klanger, my dog does the same thing; and he always throws the ball back to us, instead of dropping it.

I've hear Border Collies are very smart.

 

So what you're saying is, you're going to talk about something other than the thing I said I'd be interested in hearing about?

 

Well, yes; most functional interpretations are humourless.

 

But I would love to read people discuss the function of laughter in different cultures.

[Sayonara]

Well, yes; most functional interpretations are humourless.

Really not adding anything, are you?

[-Demosthenes-]

Well duh. Besides, I already formed an alliance with the raven (I did say he could talk) My survival is ensured, along with a lifetime supply of bacon.

Reminds me of Family guy

Ah, you have released me from the bonds of the children's cartoon show, when I rule the world you death will be quick and painless!

 

Well anyway, wouldn't all animals need emotions? Isn't that how animals know when to do stuff?? I know hunger isn't an emotion, but when an animal eats doesn't it provoke an emotional response? I believe there are other situations as well. Maybe its just neurotransmitters or endorphins??

[Mokele]

Well anyway, wouldn't all animals need emotions? Isn't that how animals know when to do stuff?? I know hunger isn't an emotion, but when an animal eats doesn't it provoke an emotional response? I believe there are other situations as well. Maybe its just neurotransmitters or endorphins??

 

Well, I can definitely say that not all animals have emotions, and prove it with one word: sponges. After all, they *are* animals, and lack any nerve cells at all, let alone a nervous system.

 

However, triviality aside, you do have a good point, but it brings up semantics: what is an "emotion"? How do you define it, and, most importantly for science, how do you detect it in species that cannot self-report (everything but us, in other words)?

 

Furthermore, is emotion really needed for some behaviors? Couldn't it just be "hormone stimulates behavior, can goes away afterwards"? Could that release be called emotion?

 

Mokele

[-Demosthenes-]

Well there is some sort of positive/negative feedback in most animals isn't there?

[reverse]

Isn’t the basic unit of humour ...dislocation?

 

thinking one thing then realising you should have been on another mental track totally.

 

even when we laugh at a man slipping on a banana skin,

it's funny because we can see that his mental position is not where it should be for the situation.

 

so its that transportation between tracks of thought that make us laugh.

 

hamburger goes into a bar.

barman says "sorry we don’t serve food here".

[j_p]

... the basic unit of humour ...

 

That was very clever.

[reverse]

so......

 

the animal must be able to realise the misconception in the mind of another or itself in order to have a sense of humour...

 

and is the mental ability of animals up to this feat...

 

and..(am I going to have to do this all by myself )....

 

a chimp has the mental ability of a (?) year old human child....

 

and can a child at that age recognise humour?

[Spyman]

is the mental ability of animals up to this feat...

From my experience with dogs, I say Yes.

 

They even understand that other animals can realise their 'misconception' when they self have made a stupid misstake.

 

Our oldest dog, (very proud), quickly looks around to see if anyone has realised that he has made a fool of himself, if nobody seems to have taken notice, (I look away), then he pretends to be doing something else. But if I or someone else, (even our cat), is looking at him he seems to be embarrassed. If we thinks his misstake was funny and start laughing at him it gets worse, normally when the family is laughing he comes to look at what we think is funny and seems to like to share the fun with us - He likes to laugh at others but gets embarrassed if he is the target for the fun.

 

Our youngest dog on the other hand is a real clown and she does anything to get the kids attentation and make them laugh - She really enjoys to stand in the 'spotlight' and being the source of the fun.

[reverse]

Is there any test you can do to see if it’s actually the dog-

or you anthropomorphising on behalf of the dog?

 

 

 

this a study into the area - by the top guns.see link.

 

http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20000701-000037.html

[Spyman]

Is there any test you can do to see if it’s actually the dog-

or you anthropomorphising on behalf of the dog?

I thought I just described such a test...

 

The dog acts very differently if he can see that someone saw him making a misstake.

That is not my imagination, everybody can see that.

 

I admitt that my interpretation of my dogs bodylanguage must be at least a little affected by me being a human, but it's a fact that dogs uses different signs for different "feelings", both between each others and with human interaction. Several people have tried to interpreted these signals and described them in books, so I am not making them up either.

 

So why would he act differently and use the same signs for ashame if he knows that I had been looking ?

[klanger]

From my experience with dogs' date=' I say Yes.

 

They even understand that other animals can realise their 'misconception' when they self have made a stupid misstake.

 

Our oldest dog, (very proud), quickly looks around to see if anyone has realised that he has made a fool of himself, if nobody seems to have taken notice, (I look away), then he pretends to be doing something else. But if I or someone else, (even our cat), is looking at him he seems to be embarrassed. If we thinks his misstake was funny and start laughing at him it gets worse, normally when the family is laughing he comes to look at what we think is funny and seems to like to share the fun with us - He likes to laugh at others but gets embarrassed if he is the target for the fun.

 

Our youngest dog on the other hand is a real clown and she does anything to get the kids attentation and make them laugh - She really enjoys to stand in the 'spotlight' and being the source of the fun.[/quote']

 

I have a similar experience with my scruffle (Jack Russell) she is tiny and very sweet natured, she loves nothing more than flopping on her back in your arms like a baby. If you gently tickle her tummy/rib area her paws wagle about like crazy and she grins. If she does something stupid like falls off the bed cos she flopped the wrong way for instance and we laugh.... god help us, cos when she gets back up and you are still laughing at her she will nip your nose. She doesnt nip you any other time you laugh so to me this shows that she has seen her own error and though she doesnt think it funny she is definately reacting to those who do, and yeah our cat doesnt escape either, those two dont think twice about cuddling up together and grooming each other, but if the cat happened to see what happened and is just looking at the dog, the dog will give her a nose nudge to the ribs.

 

My close personal pets definately have character which includes humour. Many years ago while with the cat that I still have I had also a great big ginger tom, he was a lazy cat, but one day my present one as a youngster had gone out and got herself into a fight. My tom looked at me when he heard the yowels got up stretched and then stomped out of the house in the direction of the fight, and I mean stomped! A few minutes later my present cat came belting back with my tom hot on her tail smacking her arse all the way back into the house.

 

There have been so many instances over the years for me with my pets, and sad as it may sound I do often times put like a voice over to what they are doing, (speaking for them if you wish) and yeah it can be hysterically funny.

[Spyman]

There have been so many instances over the years for me with my pets, and sad as it may sound I do often times put like a voice over to what they are doing, (speaking for them if you wish) and yeah it can be hysterically funny.

We also speak for them, mostly for telling the rest of the family what we interpret.

 

In a happy family the pets sure are a source of continuous joy !

 

And as the understanding of them grows the fun increases too.

[paleolithic]

Yes. When I lived on a ranch there were feral pigs. These were domestic pigs that had escaped and gone wild. The hunters (accidentally) shot and killed a sow and brought me her piglets to raise. I bottle fed them and they grew up quite tame and atttached to me. The male developed a strange habit. When I would be hanging up clothes on the line outdoors' date=' he loved to sneak up behind and grunt loudly. This would startle me and I would jump and sometimes even scream if I was sufficiently surprised. He would then make a strange chortling noise and run around me in circles in apparent glee. I took this for a sense of humor or at least the joy of playing a practical joke. He thought it was much funnier than I did.

[/quote']

 

 

What a great anecdote!

[NiteHawk]

well his tail was wagging furiously, his eyes were sparkling and his lips were slightly curled in an expression of a smile, yeah I reckon that dog was finding that incident very funny indeed.

 

LOL. I have seen dogs do this to their owners or kids before too!

 

A long time ago, I read an article about dog communication. This observer noted that when dogs play together, there was a sneeze often followed by a slight head shake action during this play. This writer interpreted this "sneeze/head shake" as a way for a dog to communicate to the play partner a message of "just kidding". Growl, wrestle, growl, sneeze. Back and forth between the players. As time has passed, I have to say I have observed this between dog and dog, dog and person, etc. and that I have used the "sneeze" myself when playing with a new dog (whether my own or a friends). Watch for the sneeze and see if you agree.

 

The writer also suggested this was a huge source of miscomunication between dogs and cats. How so? The cats spit reaction is a huge warning in the cat world, but seems to be interpreted as a "just kidding" by the inexperienced dog.

 

Another example of possible "humor" involved some friends and their african gray parrots. It seemed the parrots enjoyed calling the cats to watch them puzzle about as to who had called them. "Here Kitty Kitty" coming from the bird cage. I know I got a laugh out of this action.

[des]

I once knew a parrot who used to hide my room mate's stash.

She'd tip-toe into his room, root it out and re-stash it someplace else, then wait for him to go looking for it and laugh. I think she was getting back at him for the time he got her stoned, and thought it funny.