Donnie (dog)

Donnie (dog)

Donnie is a Doberman Pinscher dog who came to the attention of science due to his penchant for arranging his plush toys in geometric forms.[1] His owner rescued him from an animal shelter, and at first he was slow to learn, and very reluctant to interact socially with her.[2]

Behavior

He has appeared on the National Geographic Channel’s Dog Genius show.[1][3] On the show, he is shown arranging some of his 80 plush toys into evenly-spaced triangles and lines, and chooses to use, for example, only stuffed frogs or monkeys for a particular design.[4] He is shown creating his arrangements in his large yard in Maryland on remote video cameras without humans being present.

He is even said to create social vignettes with the toys.[4][5] For example, the day after he first allowed his owner to put her arm around him, he placed a large bear with its arm around a smaller frog.[2][6] Dr. Barbara Smuts, a professor of psychology and specialist in animal behavior at the University of Michigan who studied Donnie and captured his activities on video, suggests that these behaviors may be linked to self-entertainment, or to past experiences such as his time spent in a shelter for a year with only a single toy.[4] In her view, there have not been enough examples of behavior like Donnie's, to decide scientifically what they may mean.

References

  1. ^ a b Gershman, Dave (2007-12-22). "Brilliant pet tricks? For Donnie the dog, toys do more than soak up drool". Mlive.com. http://www.mlive.com/annarbor/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1198309257106770.xml&coll=2. Retrieved 2008-02-15. [dead link]
  2. ^ a b Dog Genius. 2007-12-23.
  3. ^ Eppele, Esther (2008-02-04). "See Prof. Barb Smuts on National Geographic's Dog Genius documentary this weekend". Department of Psychology. http://www.lsa.umich.edu/psych/news/spotlight/spotlight/?id=226. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  4. ^ a b c Press News Service (2007-12-22). "U-M professor explores dog genius". Mlive.com. http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2007/12/um_professor_explores_dog_geni.html. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  5. ^ Smuts, Barbara. "Holding hands (2)". University of Michigan. http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/barbara.smuts/holding_hands__2_. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 
  6. ^ Smuts, Barbara. "2 sets of 'hugs' - cat in center". University of Michigan. http://www.sitemaker.umich.edu/barbara.smuts/2_sets_of__hugs__-_cat_in_center. Retrieved 2008-02-15. 

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Dog Kung Fu — Also known as Chinese Dog Boxing, Góuquán, Dishuquan Focus Hybrid Country of origin China Creator …   Wikipedia

  • List of Courage the Cowardly Dog characters — This is a list of characters from the American animated television series Courage the Cowardly Dog, created by John R. Dilworth which aired from 1999 to 2002 on Cartoon Network. Contents 1 Main characters 1.1 Courage 1.2 Muriel and Eustace Bagge …   Wikipedia

  • Cat, Dog & Co. — Infobox Film name = Cat, Dog Co. image size = caption = director = Robert A. McGowan producer = Robert F. McGowan Hal Roach writer = Robert A. McGowan H. M. Walker narrator = starring = music = cinematography = Art Lloyd editing = Richard C.… …   Wikipedia

  • Flying Dog — Infobox Album Name = Flying Dog Type = studio Longtype = Artist = Paul Gilbert Released = 1998 Recorded = Genre = Heavy metal Length = 58:07 (50:20) Label = Mercury Records PHCR 83 Producer = Paul Gilbert Reviews = * Allmusic rating|3.5|5… …   Wikipedia

  • Wag The Dog — Des hommes d influence Des hommes d influence Titre original Wag the Dog Réalisation Barry Levinson Acteurs principaux Dustin Hoffman Robert De Niro Scénario Hilary Henkin David Mamet d après le livre de : Larry Beinhart Musique …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Wag the Dog — Des hommes d influence Des hommes d influence Titre original Wag the Dog Réalisation Barry Levinson Acteurs principaux Dustin Hoffman Robert De Niro Scénario Hilary Henkin David Mamet d après le livre de : Larry Beinhart Musique …   Wikipédia en Français

  • List of Monster-of-the-Week characters in The X-Files — On the 1993–2002 television series, The X Files, there developed two main types of episodes.[citation needed] Mytharc episodes were recognized as the mythology of the series canon, comprising the central storyline concerning extraterrestrial life …   Wikipedia

  • List of magical characters in The Life and Times of Juniper Lee — This is a list of magical characters that have appeared on the American animated television series The Life and Times of Juniper Lee . They are sorted alphabetically by class.Demons5th Level IncubusIn Take My Life Please , Cletus and Gus… …   Wikipedia

  • List of characters in Robotboy — This is a list of characters from the French and American animated television series Robotboy . Main characters * Robotboy * Tommy Turnbull * Lola Mbolắ * Augustus Gus or The G man Bachman Turner Allies Professor Moshimo Professor Moshimo is the… …   Wikipedia

  • List of minor characters in Robotboy — This is a list of minor characters who appear less time than Tommy, Robotboy, Gus and Lola, whether they are allies or villains. Allies Professor Moshimo Professor Moshimo is the creator of Robotboy. He received a letter from Tommy Turnbull about …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”