VanDunk 1

Jaida VanDunk
Lynda Haas
Writing 37
January 30, 2015
Critical Reading Review
The saying goes, a dog is a mans best friend. Over the years, as the relationship
between domesticated canines and humans have developed, this statement has proven to be
generally true, and we are starting to understand this connection between dogs and humans more
and more every day. Dogs of are extremely capable of so much more that the human population
initially realized when dogs were first domesticated, and now we are working to find out exactly
how far the knowledge of a canine goes and why they are the way they are with humans. Brian
Hare goes into depth about the relationship between humans and dogs and a dogs understanding
of us in the book The genius of Dogs: Dogs are smarter than you think, where he focuses a lot
on a dogs capability to speak with humans. Leslie Irvine also goes into depth on her own
interpretation of the relationship between a human and a dog and why these relationships are
formed .A more fictional representation of the capability of dogs is shown in the comic We3,
written and illustrated by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. We3 exhibits the authors own take
on the relationship between humans and dogs while also displaying the focus and skill of the
canine character in comparison to the storys other animal characters bond with a human from
the dogs perspective are reflective of dogs in real life. These sources provide both factual and
fictional explanations of a dogs developing relationship with humans and their capability
concerning intelligence and knowledge.

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REVISION: The ideas and factual evidence presented by Brian Hare and Leslie Irvine as
well as the fictional evidence found in the graphic novel We3 provide explanations of the
intellectual capability of a canine and how their developing intelligence is related to their
interactions with people.
Although We3 is a fictional source, the comic is a great representation of a dogs
intelligence and desire to have a bond with humans and have a family or pack. The story
revolved around 3 animal characters (a dog, cat, and rabbit) that were scientifically altered into
war machines. Out of the 3 animals, the dog, Bandit, was the one to keep them all together.
Throughout the story you could see Bandits desire for human affection; he would frequently
refer to home and was more sympathetic to humans than the other animals. When he
encountered Dr. Berry, one of the scientists responsible for transforming the animals, the dog
was still sympathetic towards her even though she put him through pain and experimentations.
When the animals were approached by the homeless man, Bandit immediately sensed the good
in the man while the others were skeptical, and because of the bond that Bandit desired with the
human man, he found a home in the man for him and the cat. The reasons for this fictional bond
that is reflective of the real life bond between humans and dogs today is being researched along
with the research of a dogs capabilities.
Do Dogs Understand Our Words? Brian Hare poses this question in chapter 6 of The
Genius of Dogs: Dogs are Smarter than you think and continues to describe an experiment
where scientists would have dogs learn the name of a certain toy and retrieve that toy. The
experiment developed further when scientists had the dogs retrieve toys from a certain category
of a toy, and they found that the dogs were still successful when doing this, proving that dogs, in
fact, are capable of learning and understanding human word the same way and infant might.

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While researching the topic of canine cognition myself, I found that dogs are not only capable of
voice signals; they are capable of visual signals as well, such as hand signals.
A lot of the experiments that Hare describes are more game-like exercises that
scientists and owners play with dogs to see how they respond, but a new development in research
includes using fMRI scanners to see the dogs brain when they are receiving these hand signals,
and seeing how the brain reacts. The scientists found that the dogs brain would light up when
they saw a hand signal that meant that they were about to be rewarded with food, rather than
when they saw a hand signal that didnt signal food. This research, again, concluded that dogs do
understand human communication on multiple levels. This research on a dogs capability to
communicate with humans is so important because further development in this research will help
give canine cognition researchers a better understanding of the human-dog relationship. While
past studies have assumed that dog cognition has developed over years of natural development
and domestication, recent studies are actually starting to say that dog cognition has developed
through human interaction.
In Leslie Irvines, If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connection with Animals,
Irvine goes more into depth on her own opinions of the human-dog relationship, saying that,
several biological and behavioral factors predisposed dogs to fit easily within human groups
There are several months during which, given sufficient contact, puppies can form attachments to
humans. (Irvine 15) She continues to say how this connection is unusual compared to other
animals, like horses, which do not form bonds with humans so quickly. In relation to Bandits
character in We3, Irvine also says how dogs relate to humans as litter mates and pack
members. Similar how to Bandit felt about the other characters of the story.

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REVISION: A lot of the experiments that Hare describes are more game-like exercises
that scientists and owners play with dogs to see how they respond, but a new development in
research includes using fMRI scanners to see the dogs brain when they are receiving these hand
signals, and seeing how the brain reacts. The scientists found that the dogs brain would light up
when they saw a hand signal that meant that they were about to be rewarded with food, rather
than when they saw a hand signal that didnt signal food. This research, again, concluded that
dogs do understand human communication on multiple levels. This research on a dogs capability
to communicate with humans is so important because further development in this research will
help give canine cognition researchers a better understanding of the human-dog relationship.
While past studies have assumed that dog cognition has developed over years of natural
development and domestication, recent studies are actually starting to say that dog cognition has
developed through human interaction. While Brian Hare specifically focuses his research on the
relationship between humans and dogs, in If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connection
With Animals, Leslie Irvine explains her research to analyze the relationships between all
domesticated animals and human, Although Irvines research does include multiple animal
species, she makes sure to emphasize the relationship between dogs and humans, and how this
particular bond is very different than the bond between humans and other animals, saying that,
several biological and behavioral factors predisposed dogs to fit easily within human groups
There are several months during which, given sufficient contact, puppies can form attachments to
humans. (Irvine 15) Irvines thoughts on the special bond between humans and canines
supports Hares argument that dogs are capable of understanding human communication and
establishing a bond with humans, proving that the interaction allows the canine to develop
further. You can clearly see this relationship and understanding of human communication by a

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canine in We3 when Bandit and the other animals are being hunted down by their human
creators. The cat and rabbit dont trust any humans, but when Bandit encounters Dr. Berry, he
understands that she wants to help the animals.

Dog cognition, or dognition, is the study of canines capabilities and their relationships
with humans. Research has developed more and more over the years, as shown in Leslie Irvine
and Brian Hares works. The new developments and understanding of a dogs connection with a
human is also represented fictionally in the comic We3. All sources exhibit a clear understanding
of a dogs mind, something that is still being researched for an even better understanding.

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Bibliography
Irvine, Leslie. If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connection with Animals. Philadelphia:
Temple UP, 2004. 12-32.
Hare, Brian. The Genius of Dogs: Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think. N.p.: Plume, 2013. 12544. Print.
Morrison, Grant, and Frank Quitely. "We3." Cartoon. N.p.: Vertigo, 2014. Prin