Quiet Frontier

How Do Dogs Know?

Video (05:19): Dogs seem to sense what we need, even when we don’t. It’s a reminder that not every moment in life needs to be analyzed. Sometimes, it just needs to be lived. Watch the video above, and if it resonates, consider subscribing for more Quiet Frontier reflections.

Transcript

00:00:19 A few days ago, I left my office after a

00:00:22 particularly difficult work shift. I went

00:00:26 into the kitchen, stood at the counter,

00:00:28 and stared at the coffee maker while it

00:00:31 was doing its magic. I was feeling

00:00:34 drained. It was one of those pervasive

00:00:37 kinds of fatigue that’s mental, emotional,

00:00:40 and physical. It feels like an endless

00:00:44 dark passageway. There’s no telling what’s

00:00:48 waiting on the other end of one of those

00:00:50 dreary corridors either. So, out of the

00:00:54 corner of my eye, I spotted some movement.

00:00:56 It was Dusty, my dog. He was trotting

00:01:00 toward me with a big, fluffy toy in his

00:01:03 mouth, his tail wagging like helicopter

00:01:05 circles. He looked at me, then he looked

00:01:09 at the back door, and then he looked back

00:01:12 at me, and his eyes were saying, you need

00:01:15 to go outside and play. Well, I didn’t

00:01:19 feel like playing. I felt like sipping

00:01:21 coffee and staring at a wall. But, Dusty

00:01:26 nudged me again, practically putting the

00:01:29 toy into my hand. He was saying, time to

00:01:34 play. So, for anyone who knows and loves

00:01:37 dogs, you understand that this kind of

00:01:40 persistence is completely impossible to

00:01:42 resist. Eventually, you give in. Overcome

00:01:46 by the canine cunning. And that’s exactly

00:01:50 what I did. Grabbed my coffee, pulled on a

00:01:53 sweatshirt, and out the door we went. It

00:01:56 was a brisk, really sunny fall day. It’s

00:01:59 really beautiful outside. I sat down on

00:02:03 the little ledge that’s beneath our back

00:02:05 window and sipped my coffee while Dusty

00:02:09 ran around in circles with his toy,

00:02:11 throwing it up and down and chasing it.

00:02:14 Sometimes he brought it to me, but he

00:02:16 always pulled it just out of reach when I

00:02:18 went to grab it. Then, he’d back up and

00:02:22 look at me. It was almost like a dare,

00:02:25 coming on and get it. So, eventually I

00:02:28 did. Or, at least I tried to. Pretty soon

00:02:33 we had a good game going on. I’d reach for

00:02:35 the toy. Dusty would run. Then he’d stop,

00:02:39 turn, and wait for me to chase him. When I

00:02:42 did, he let me get just close enough to

00:02:45 think I had a chance, and then he’d turn

00:02:48 around and run again. And somewhere in

00:02:52 that really simple, really silly game,

00:02:55 something shifted. The dark corridor that

00:02:59 I’d been staring down earlier actually had

00:03:02 light at the other end. I was still tired,

00:03:05 no doubt. But my spirit had kind of

00:03:08 returned. I was laughing. And Dusty was,

00:03:11 too. Or at least smiling, anyway, as best

00:03:14 he could with a mouthful of chew toy. But

00:03:18 watching him, I realized he hadn’t just

00:03:21 wanted to play. He wanted me to remember

00:03:25 something. Life doesn’t always need to be

00:03:27 solved or pushed through. Sometimes it

00:03:30 just needs to be lived. Dusty didn’t drag

00:03:34 me outside to chase a toy. He brought me

00:03:38 back to the present moment. To the cold

00:03:41 air. To the sunlight. To the sound of my

00:03:45 own laughter echoing with his prancing

00:03:50 paws through the yard. So, people

00:03:54 sometimes wonder how dogs seem to know

00:03:57 what we need. I really think they just

00:04:00 listen. Not necessarily with their ears,

00:04:03 but with something that we’ve forgotten

00:04:06 how to use. So, thanks for taking the time

00:04:11 to check out this short video today. I

00:04:13 appreciate it. And if you enjoy content

00:04:16 like this and reflections and thoughts

00:04:20 about society and culture and mind and

00:04:24 meaning, please take a moment to like and

00:04:27 subscribe to the videos, to the channel,

00:04:30 rather. And, again, I really appreciate

00:04:33 your time. And I look forward to seeing

00:04:35 you in future videos. Thanks so much. Take

00:04:38 care.

00:05:10 Take care.