GRGR(3) - Dogs I've known

[DudiousMax at aol.com]

Yo David M,
           If/then sequence.  Cause and effect.  If I do a diversionary 
feint, then he will forget his treat, and I can get it for myself.  
Complicated piece of behavior that features deception and misleading the 
other.  I think dogs are capable of dissembling to us too.  "Christ, he's 
home late.  I'm so hungry.  I'll yip and lick a lot tonight.  Maybe he'll 
give me some extra treats."  Couldn't resist.  I'm sure my dog Diz plays me 
for a fool, as often as he can get away with it.  And I'm often not sure when 
he's being ironic.  Well, maybe irony is a bit beyond dogs.  But I'm not sure 
100% of that.  Like when my dog was a year or two old, he was the alpha dog 
of the park.  The other dogs would expose their bellies and lie on their 
backs as a form of greeting.  He would keep them in that position as long as 
his vanity required.  I think, when the other dogs were previously at play, I 
saw in some of them the "let's get this over with" look all dog bathers 
should recognize.  So, maybe they are aware of going through the social 
forms, the equivalent of laughing at the boss's jokes.  Or Shostakovitch's 
"Suppressed" fanfare.  What if dogs are up to ironic shows of submission to 
the alpha dog?  That's a degree of subtlety not usually granted them.  Just 
riffing.
                                                  Max