• BountifulEggnog [they/them]
    hexbear
    33
    edit-2
    4 months ago

    It's very sad to me how little most people know about animals. Even common ones like dogs, people misread their body language.

    • OrionsMask [he/him,any]
      hexbear
      22
      4 months ago

      Any reading on that? I'd really like to better understand the body language of dogs.

        • Aquilae [he/him, they/them]
          hexbear
          25
          4 months ago

          Ig 30 thousand years of symbiosis isn't for nothing cuz understanding dog emotions seems to be instinctual

          • D61 [any]
            hexbear
            18
            4 months ago

            Unfortunately, there's humans that kinda accumulate animals like people accumulate furniture. They get them and just expect them to exist, "over there", until convenient to be interacted with.

        • Moss [they/them]
          hexbear
          3
          4 months ago

          The first dog looks like my doggy and I saw her just yesterday but I already miss her

      • take_five_seconds [he/him, any]
        hexagon
        hexbear
        12
        4 months ago

        any cesar milan show. there's one on disney+ rn and idk where his old show is streaming but his show has helped me a lot with my fear of dogs

        • D61 [any]
          hexbear
          8
          4 months ago

          Lots of episodes are of a decent quality and on YT... so, find a good front end and get to watching folks.

        • CarbonScored [any]
          hexbear
          5
          4 months ago

          He got a fair bit of hate online, and though he undoubtedly he makes mistakes sometimes, he really does have a very good understanding of dog ownership.

    • mar_k [he/him]
      hexbear
      13
      edit-2
      4 months ago

      I thought it was common knowledge that cats' tails and ears are basically a mood meter but apparently people without cats don't usually get it? Like when they're walking, tail straight up = happy (excited if quivering), half way up = relaxed, wagging = frustrated, low to the ground = scared/nervous. Some things you pick up on naturally having one

      • huf [he/him]
        hexbear
        11
        4 months ago

        yeah, that's how you end up with the "the cat attacked me without any warning!" stories.

        • mar_k [he/him]
          hexbear
          11
          edit-2
          4 months ago

          Stranger who came into a cat's space to touch them without even trying to play it slow will tell you "cats are assholes who scratch you for no reason!", after ignoring the ears back, tail making a noise from flicking up and down, wide anxious eyes, tense posture

          Something even a lot of cat owners don't seem to understand is when they show you their bellies, they're (usually) not asking for belly rubs, it's a sign of trust by showing you their most vulnerable part (ie where predators would attack them) and expecting you to not touch there. If you rub the belly and they scratch, they got too overstimulated and disembowelment defense instinct kicked in. Some cats will actually attack their own feet if it touches there

          Also, I've heard autistic people say cats share a lot of traits of autism (and dogs with ADHD?), like having more personal boundaries, taking more time to adjust to change or people they aren't familiar with, and getting overstimulated by excessive touch/sound

          • huf [he/him]
            hexbear
            10
            edit-2
            4 months ago

            yeah, there's nothing really special about handling cats. i'm usually just polite, like i'd be to people.

            also, that belly rub thing... eh. lots of cats like belly rubs. mine does. others just like to show off their belly and dont like rubs.

            my cat starts purring if i blow a raspberry into her stomach. she's only ever scratched me by accident in 14 years.

            • mar_k [he/him]
              hexbear
              6
              4 months ago

              true I've owned cats and dogs and feel like cats just have a wider range of personality types and habits

  • BodyBySisyphus [he/him]
    hexbear
    21
    4 months ago

    It's so funny that smiling conveys happiness in humans because for every other primate teeth are weapons, so it's like we're all walking around waving loaded guns at each other to say hi.

    • CarbonScored [any]
      hexbear
      13
      4 months ago

      We gave up the vast majority of our jaw muscles in exchange for brainspace. In primates, the jaw muscle extends all the way up the side of the skull, our bite force is now something like 90% weaker because ours don't.

    • CTHlurker [he/him]
      hexbear
      13
      4 months ago

      Might have something to do with the fact that humans have some of the worst teeth in the entire animal kingdom. They aren't really useful as weapons and without the advent of cooking / fire, we would probably not have developed a lot. Every single primate other than us have better teeth which are much more suited for the diets, and don't just kill the host when food gets stuck in them for a while.

  • keepcarrot [she/her]
    hexbear
    18
    4 months ago

    I mean, obviously. People misread cats body language all the time.

  • @Quereller@lemmy.one
    hexbear
    5
    4 months ago

    Always bothered me when someone said look this elephant is so sad it cries. Obviously the bull is in musth and just horny and aggressive.

    P.s. Even in for example Asian culture someone might smile because they are in a embarrassing situation.