Caro
Moderator
A really strange thing happened on the way home from a competition last night and I've been trying to pin down an answer.
Here's the scene: We had a 3hr drive in the wee hours of the morning after a flyball comp. Tully was strapped into the middle of the backseat, surrounded by our equipment. In that position she could wedge herself at our shoulder level between the passenger and driving seats.
Half way my friend Catherine took over driving and I sat in the passenger seat. Tully leant towards Catherine, licking her and nudging her with her nose. That's the behaviour she uses with me. I try to pat her and she gives me a perfunctory lick and leans back over to Catherine. When I talk to her she looks over at Catherine and reacts to her - as if the talking was coming from her. Except for wearing the same team t-shirt, Catherine and I are very different.
There was nothing I could do to get Tully to look at me when I talked - I even pretended I had a ball and all she did was look at Catherine with excitement. This went on for over an hour and didn't change.
So basically Tully ignored all her senses telling her I was in the passenger seat, and just figured I must to be driving because I always drive. It truly amazed me that she had this frame of reference she relied on so heavily that it would not change.
Is there anyone who can shed light on this behaviour? I know dog's tend to categorise things but I've never seen this (or at least noticed it).
Here's the scene: We had a 3hr drive in the wee hours of the morning after a flyball comp. Tully was strapped into the middle of the backseat, surrounded by our equipment. In that position she could wedge herself at our shoulder level between the passenger and driving seats.
Half way my friend Catherine took over driving and I sat in the passenger seat. Tully leant towards Catherine, licking her and nudging her with her nose. That's the behaviour she uses with me. I try to pat her and she gives me a perfunctory lick and leans back over to Catherine. When I talk to her she looks over at Catherine and reacts to her - as if the talking was coming from her. Except for wearing the same team t-shirt, Catherine and I are very different.
There was nothing I could do to get Tully to look at me when I talked - I even pretended I had a ball and all she did was look at Catherine with excitement. This went on for over an hour and didn't change.
So basically Tully ignored all her senses telling her I was in the passenger seat, and just figured I must to be driving because I always drive. It truly amazed me that she had this frame of reference she relied on so heavily that it would not change.
Is there anyone who can shed light on this behaviour? I know dog's tend to categorise things but I've never seen this (or at least noticed it).
