Animals In Translation

Animals in Translation is an innovative classic which compares the animal mind to the mind of the autistic person.  She parallels the way animals think and feel with her own experiences, drawing some amazing and absolutely inarguable conclusions.  It was her ability to “think like an animal”, in fact, which led to her great success in the meat processing industry.

I’d like to say, to begin, that I do not agree with everything Grandin concludes.  I believe her experience with cattle and livestock is amazing, but I do question, with the utmost respect, her expertise on dogs, for example.  Throughout the book, I found that she tends to generalize a bit too much on the temperaments of dogs breed-by-breed (all Labradors are destructive chewers, for example).  I believe her opinion on “dangerous” breeds may go a bit too far and actually be a “dangerous” opinion.  I don’t feel one should be too quick to use the word “all” when it comes to pigeon-holing dogs into specific breed temperaments.  Yes, certain breeds may tend to lean certain ways, but nothing is written in stone, and a great deal depends on the way the dog is raised and trained.  I also was more than a bit taken aback when she indicated that she condones the use of shock collars in dogs that are prey-drive inspired to chase bikes and joggers.  I actually found that to be somewhat upsetting, and think that it did not take the whole picture into account.  By shocking a dog who’s chasing a jogger, you’re going to cause that dog to associate joggers with pain.  You’ll take a dog who’s being influenced by his prey-chasing instincts and turn that dog’s responses to the stimulus (the sight of the jogger) into fear.  Using a shock collar in this case, as far as I can see, though it might help with dogs that have otherwise unshakable temperaments, poses far too high a risk of turning the dog from a prey-chaser into a fear-biter.

However, that said, for the most part I loved this book.  Not only was her insight into the animal mind from the perspective of a person with autism inspiring, I was amazed by her vast knowledge of animal behavior studies.  Some of the most fascinating parts of Animals in Translation involved her account of studies which have been done with animals the world over and led to some very exciting breakthrough knowledge (as well as knocking some old beliefs on their butts!).  Grandin’s approach to animal behavior is unique and exciting in itself, but I must confess that a lot of my enjoyment of the book was caused by being able to so relate to some of these findings.

In addition, parts of it really struck home for me emotionally.  For one example, when reading the section on music as a language, and how man is most definitely not the only animal who has been able to manipulate the many, often very sophisticated, characteristics of song, the following passage actually had me leaping out of bed, running into the living room with my nook, and calling my husband and son over so I could read it to them out loud:

Mozart was definitely influenced by birdsong. He owned a pet starling, and in his notebooks he recorded a passage from the Piano Concerto in G Major as he had written it, and as his pet starling had revised it. The bird had changed the sharps to flats. Mozart wrote, “That was beautiful” next to the starling’s version. When his starling died, Mozart sang hymns beside its grave and read a poem he had written for the bird. His next composition, “A Musical Joke”, has a starling style. If a musical genius like Mozart admired and learned from a bird, it seems extremely likely early humans learned from birds when they were inventing the first human music.

I’ve always said Mozart is my favorite classical composer.  Now I know why!

In the chapter on How Animals Think, Grandin talks about how many scientists believe that humans are the only animal which uses “recursive” language. This means that they use rules to combine individual sounds and words into sentences that have different meanings. She then points out that it’s been proven that both parrots and dolphins can understand recursive language quite well.

The famous African Grey parrot, Alex, who has the measurable intelligence of a four year old child, in fact, has proven that he can combine concepts in inventive ways to communicate.  One day when her sponsors were visiting Dr Pepperberg’s (Alex’s trainer/owner) lab, the researchers were giving a demonstration on how Alex and his parrot-buddy Griffin had been learning “phonemes”, which are basically the sounds letters and letter combinations represent.  For instance, when pronounced phonetically, a “T” is not “tee”, but “tuh”, an “S” not “ess” but “ssss”, etc.  They were a bit rushed, having to give this demonstration to an audience, and for each plastic magnetic letter Alex got right, he would ask for his usual reward, a nut, and be told he had to wait a bit, then given another letter to identify.  “Which sound is blue?”, for instance, would result in Alex correctly identifying the letter: “Sssss.  Want a nut.”  “Which sound is green?”  “Shhhh.  Want a nut.”  After answering correctly numerous times and having his reward delayed each time, Alex got frustrated.  The next time he answered the question, he added, “Want a nut.  Nnnn, Uh, Tuh!”  Everyone, including Dr Pepperberg, were quite surprised that Alex had taught himself to spell!

Alex took skills he had been taught, and displayed a full understanding not only of the action, but the meaning behind the action, by using them in a way that not only communicated what he wanted, but that he was getting tired of having his rewards delayed.

In the chapter on Animal Genius, Grandin talks about a macaw which re-combined words he knew to create his own concept.  He frequently would get treats of crackers and cookies, and the bird formed a new word, “crackey”, which indicated that he wanted a treat (but didn’t really care which one he got).

Why do I find these topics so fascinating?  Why did I read them while grinning from ear to ear?  Are you sick of hearing about my starlings yet?

I live with this kind of animal genius every day.  As I was reading about how these “amazing” birds are stunning their researchers with musical skills and communication talents, I was laughing and saying, “That’s not a surprise, my starlings do that all the time!”

In the post on this site called My Starlings Talking, you can, in fact, actually hear Stars say the word, “Pray-bee”.  Similar to “crackey”, it’s a combination of “Pretty” and “Baby”, both of which the birds would hear me say, and learned to repeat.  A “Pretty Baby”, to them, is more easily referred to as a “Pray-bee”, their own “recursive” word.

Stars and Stripes also recombine words to form new sentences all the time, always sentences that are, for the most part, grammatically correct and make sense.  For example, though they heard me asking, “Who’s a pretty bird?” and hearing me call them “Baby” many times, they took it on themselves to recombine the words frequently.  I never specifically taught them to “repeat” the variations, they just invented them on their own.  “Who’s a pretty baby?” “Who’s a pretty baby bird?”  And they taught themselves “Mommy” — which they very obviously apply only to me (my husband is “Chirpy” for some strange reason … a word they never actually heard us say as far as I know!)  They can frequently be heard to ask, “Who’s Mommy’s (yes, with the ‘s added!) pretty baby bird?”  No one ever actually taught that to them — they recombined words they already knew, and did so appropriately, to form a new sentence.

Grandin also talks about how birds in communication research have learned to recognize not only the words they use, but their meanings, and to use them properly in different situations.  Alex, for instance, knows what “blue” is, and can generalize “blue” regardless of what item he is looking at that is that color.  My starlings have long recombined concepts and shown me clearly that they not only know the word, they know what the word means.  When trying to express what they want, they sometimes have very interesting ways of doing so, too.

Twice now, I’ve been “doing” something where they could see me, but could not see what I was doing because my back was to them.  I would hear their adorable little alien voices ask, “Washee doin’?” and, without turning, I’d tell them.  One time it was “Knitting socks,” another, “Writing something”, for instance.  They’d continue to ask, “Washee doin’?” and, when I didn’t quite give them what they wanted (to actually see what I was up to), they’d then say, “Come see me doin’!”

They say “come see me” all the time, and ask “washee doin’?” frequently.  By combining the “come see me” (which brings the person to them) and “doin’”, they illustrated that they not only knew the words, they knew the meaning of the words.  They wanted me to come over to them and show them what I was doing.  And of course, I did!

One day, my friend and “birdie mentor”, wildlife rehabilitator Kelly Martin, was visiting.  The starlings gave me one of my biggest grins that day.  As with many birds, if there’s something new or strange in the house, they won’t talk.  Thus, Kelly, though she’d visited a number of times, had yet to actually hear them speak, even though I was always bragging about them.  She stopped in front of their cage that day and noted, “I see they need their beaks trimmed.”  Stars immediately responded, “Do you see me?”

Kelly stopped in her tracks, and gave me a sideways grin.  “Well?  Do you see him?” I asked and she replied, “Yes, I do.”

The starlings say many things they were never “taught” to say, but just picked up on their own.  They often take things we did actually teach them deliberately and recombine them in ways that make perfect grammatical (though sometimes in a round about way, such as “Come see me doin’”) sense.  They entertain and amaze us all the time, and very frequently illustrate not only that they have learned the words, but they know what they mean.  I truly do believe that they are not only “talking birds”, but “communicating birds”.  Some may try to call it all coincidence, but my little feathered friends, with their consistency and their continual adaptation skills, have taught me not to doubt.

The other day, I was sitting here at the computer writing, and Stars began to talk to me.  He was using a phrase that they taught themselves.  As I said, they picked up “Mommy” on their own, as well as using the word in sentences, such as “Where’s Mommy?” and “I see Mommy!”  This day, it was “I see Mommy!”

I’d turn toward them and respond, as usual, “I see you, too!”

“I see Mommy!”

“I see you, too!”

“I LOVE Mommy!”

Who could ever doubt that?

Mozart’s Piano Concerto in G Major (YouTube)

Mozart’s “A Musical Joke” (YouTube – Stars, Stripes, Whistle and I all love this piece)

Animals In Translation

Description, reviews and purchase options.

Related posts:

1. Doctors and Daylilies..and Birdies

Communicates? No, I don’t necessarily mean he’s an animal communicator … there are many ways we communicate with the life-forms around us. Of course, I don’t mean that he isn’t communicating telepathically, either. I’m not in Zak’s head, after all, who knows what is being exchanged between the young man and his dogs?

However, I received a YouTube subscription update the other day, and when I clicked on the link, I was quite excited about what it led to. Apparently I’m not the only one (well, of course I’m not) who’s noticed Zak George’s dog training videos. Zak now has his own television show on Animal Planet!

SuperFetch premieres October 3rd (yes, that’s this weekend)! I’ve already headed in to the DirecTV website and set up our Tivo to record the entire series. I so enjoy Zak’s energy, and the positive methods he uses to train his canine companions, that I’m completely thrilled to see Animal Planet giving this young trainer the attention he deserves. Along with Victoria Stillwell, Animal Planet now has two top-notch dog trainers in prime spots.

This is so important to me, because we who believe that dogs should be trained with kindness instead of physical force and punishment really need to see major networks like Animal Planet supporting the most current behavioral and training science rather than archaic and often-cruel methods such as those promoted by people like Cesar Milan. (In case you can’t tell from past posts, I am NOT a fan of the self-appointed “Dog Whisperer”!)

Zak George is bright, funny, and it’s obvious that he whole-heartedly loves communicating with dogs and bringing out the best in them. Visit Zak’s videos on YouTube and Superfetch on AnimalPlanet.com to follow his activities and enjoy SuperFetch!

Related posts:

1. Guest Post: Why My Pets Could Have Used An Animal Communicator

Josh Hanagarne, the World's Strongest Librarian

Josh Hanagarne is one very cool librarian.  In fact, he’s The World’s Strongest Librarian.  I’ve been following his blog for some time now.  No, I’m not a librarian, nor do I do a lot of strength training … I simply love the way he writes, his great attitude, and his sense of humor.  Please visit his blog via the links in this post … I think you’ll enjoy his words, too.

A couple weeks ago, Josh invited anyone who would like a guest post from him to write.  I did, Josh visited, and here are his memories of pets gone by, and why an animal communicator might have been an asset to their lives!  (I’ll be responding to Josh’s question in a comment to his post.)

Why My Pets Could Have Used An Animal Communicator

By Josh Hanagarne

If there had been someone around to talk to my pets in Nevada, they would have communicated two essential truths:

1. Josh’s mom is going to run over you eventually
2. If she doesn’t, a coyote will grab you

My mom loved to give us puppies for Christmas. They’d crawl out of the stocking on Christmas morning and we’d all scream and run around before settling down to the serious business of letting my parents take care of “our” new pets.

Without fail, by April of the next year, those dogs would have either been run over by my mother or coyotes would carry them off.

I was raised in a religious family, but the first time I really remember wondering about the concept of resurrection was when I noticed how many Popsicle stick crosses there were getting to be in our backyard.

“Am I going to see my dogs in Heaven?” I asked my mother.

“Sure!” she said, possibly asking herself if there would be cars in Heaven to mow them down with.

Honestly, it wasn’t her fault. We had some exceptionally bone-headed dogs. Rather than wagging their tails, they got the notion that the best way to express affection was to dive under the wheels of any car that came near.

And I’m not being entirely fair to my mother—it tore the woman up. She is that rare person so tenderhearted that she makes Mother Teresa look like a Grand Inquisitor from a few hundred years back.

So my question to the animal communicators is:

Could these dogs have been helped? If so, what would you have told them?

About the Author: Josh Hanagarne is the twitchy giant behind World’s Strongest Librarian, a blog with advice about coping with Tourette’s Syndrome, kettlebells, book recommendations, buying pants when you’re 6’8”, old-time strongman training, and much more. Please subscribe to Josh’s RSS Updates to stay in touch.

Related posts:

1. Help for Lost Pets: FindToto.com
2. Kids and Pets, a Great Combination
3. New AnimalPlanet Show, Superfetch

Bestselling Clickertraining Book For Dog Owners,
Written By Norwegian Top Trainers
Morten Egtvedt And Cecilie Koeste.
Click Here!

A little over a year ago, I stumbled across the website of Morten Egtvedt and Cecilie Koeste, and discovered that they offered an email newsletter/beginners clicker training course.  I signed up for the course, and Kai and I had a fun time following the lessons for quite a while.  Even though we’d been clicker training for years, it was interesting to go back to basics and follow this well-known pair’s slightly different approach. We enjoyed a nice review of skills already learned, from a new perspective, and we went on to learn new tasks as well.

Egtvedt and Koeste also have a very popular e-book on the market, Clickertraining: The 4 Secrets Of Becoming A Supertrainer, which you can preview and purchase through the above link.  It covers their methods, from introduction to some fairly sophisticated skills, in a unique and entertaining way that you and your dogs … and cats, and horses and birds, and rabbits, and (as you choose to adapt) will be sure to enjoy.

This pair, who run Canis Clickertraining, are well-respected in the dog training community.  They’ve  helped many dog owners  through their classes, their website, and teaching at past Clicker Expo seminars.

Related links:

• CanisClickertraining.com
• ClickerExpo
• Clickertraining: The 4 Secrets Of Becoming A Supertrainer

Related posts:

1. Book Recommendation: Animal-Speak
2. Exciting News! New E-book from Gayle
3. New AnimalPlanet Show, Superfetch

Just a very brief note … to share an article I feel every dog owner should read.

Thanks!

Related posts:

1. New AnimalPlanet Show, Superfetch