First off, thanks Jeff for recommending such a great book! “DOGS NEVER LIE ABOUT LOVE, REFLECTIONS ON THE EMOTIONAL WORLD OF DOGS” by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

I just returned from my holiday weekend in Boston and had a little down time to relax and read a bit. I love what Masson has to say about the relationship between people and dogs and over-coming communication barriers. If you have a dog, watch her. You may find that observation can be a far more useful tool than simply listening.

Some of my thoughts from the reading are these:

As we evolved and people became more civilized, we grew dependent on language as the sole tool of communication as opposed to physical behavior. When we focus on words to describe needs/wants/feelings, we stop relying on physical signs of communication and can lose our ability to “read between the lines.” However, if we can interpret people’s body language we might find out that what they are trying to say is not at all what the words depict. Or perhaps, maybe there is a deeper meaning behind the words to support the language. Or, maybe, they really are just saying hi and that is it.

Either way, the realization that people are the ONLY species to rely so heavily on language to communicate is eye-opening when you consider how many other species communicate so clearly and articulately through physical expression.

I also love the Dog Whisperer which airs on the National Geographic channel on Friday’s at 8pm if you haven’t checked it out already. I’m always learning new, insightful things about communicating through energy and movement from that crazy Cesar Milan… I highly recommend it :)