If this is not what the dog was doing, what WAS he doing?

Question

I came across this video again and for the life of me I cannot figure out what the dog was doing if he was not doing what he is doing......am I making sense?

(Video at end of this)

There are many people who believe the canine is not capable of *saving* anybody unless the dog(s) is/are professionally trained to do so. And even then, the dogs are taught this and though they do save lives via their training it is NOT what it is in their minds.

In otherwords, they save lives because they receive a reward for it, not because they know they are actually saving lives.

Believe it or not, I GET that. What I don't get is how anyone can explain away this dog's actions and what the dog accomplished.

Did the dog go meet the police car because it just felt like running along the road, then running back to the house on fire? With no meaning whatsoever than to just do this?

(DOG: Oh my, something odd is happening to my house and it is quite hot so I think I should go run a couple of miles out to the main road and fetch the police car then lead it back to my house just for the fun of it......)

And once the police car got to the house, the dog turns around and runs BACK to lead the fire truck in? Again, just felt like taking another long run and say hi to the fire truck and just by *luck* led the truck back to the house?

I can't wrap my head around anything but this dog KNEW what the heck needed to be done and DID IT in order to save it's humans' lives.

Can anyone give another explanation? Does anyone else agree with me? And if you do agree, do you have an opinion on HOW this dog knew to do what he did?

(Was he secretly trained by his owners to fetch the police car and fire truck in case of a fire.....)

This forum is now open. Thank you. Whoops! Almost forgot to post the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fmRdzCO_0E

Answer 1

Dogs are bizarre. I do feel like they have a sense that something is wrong. Did the dog know that it was a Police car that was trailing him? Probably not. He probably just related cars to humans and would have started that running routine with any car. When he returned he was rewarded with pets and hugs so he thought car = pets so he went to go get another one. Just so happens the next one was a fire truck.



On another note it could have just been that he fled from the scene and then ran away from the loud, obnoxious police car to the only place he knew. Then when he returned he saw the fire and ran away again only to be chased by a bigger, louder truck.



Who knows why dogs do what they do. All we know is that his actions saved a family.

Answer 2

Hello hello, nice to see a question :P



I actually watched THAT particular episode when it did air a while back..

I would just like to mention that these "type" of videos often have one seeing what they WISH to believe, rather than reality.

At first glance, you see a dog with "supreme loyalty" saving its people through "love and devotion"...from a logical stand point, [ Insert Greekman's answer ]

....

I also tend to think that these sort of videos send off the wrong messages, that "doggy will always save the day when his people need saving" which also brings back the "doggy will protect me without training" issue. But hey....The sappy story always wins!!!! When people don't fully understand, it is rather simple to fill in the blanks with one's own false idealizations.



I honestly had no idea what the heck the dog was doing when I watched it...

You should see me now, notepad in hand, jotting down some notes....lol.



Happy Tuesday!

Answer 3

In my opinion the dog was frightened by the fire and ran off along the roads.

Met the police car coming the other way and ran off in the direction of home in the headlights beam, as many animals do at night if confronted by headlights, with the police following it out of curiosity.

Once at the fire scene and out of the police cars headlights the dog again fled off from the scary scene and once again was driven back by the approaching fire engine. I do not believe any dog would have the intelligence to go and wait miles up a road in the hope of attracting the attention of a passing car and lead it back to the scene of a fire.

People just love to put human emotions and ultra intelligence stories onto dogs instead of looking at the situation in a more realistic light as to the dogs behaviour. But, It makes a good story for the media outlets.

Greeks explanation is a good one in my opinion and more "realistic" than most of the other answers.

But then he IS a "realist"!! lol.

For every so called human like thinking and act of outstanding bravery by pet dogs there is, if one cares to intelligently analyse the feat, a rational and more realistic explanation as to how it came about. People believe what they WANT to believe and see what they WANT to see and it`s often nothing like reality. Jmo.



Add: Just to add that a big fire at night in backwood country would be visible from many miles away.

I doubt the dog was responsible for the only reason the trooper and the fire fighters found the place!!

I can see large fires from my place in the countryside, for over 20 miles away. Get real folks.

Answer 4

I haven't watched the video (I will later, I'm on my way out) - my response is DOGS DO recognize an owner in distress and DOGS are they are smart enough to know that people can help.



I absolutely do not believe dogs are self-serving -and I never will. No, of course the dog does not know a firetruck from a fox tail. But a dog is BOUND to his handler, and I'm convinced the dog knew he needed to become visible to get human attention - and once he found it, he did what every dog instinctively knows - he took that help home with him.



Anyway, I posted this question about a week ago, read over the stories - 3 of 4 dogs inducted into the Purina Hall of Fame - and one sounds EXACTLY like this dog.



Brief recap of true story: (Dog was a rescue mutt btw - no training)



His owner collapsed in the house due to medical heart problem

Dog repeatedly - and I mean REPEATEDLY bashed himself against the back door which was glass and screen until he broke it to escape.



Then the dog found his way out of the back yard and SAT ON THE NEIGHBOUR"S driveway at 3 am in the morning and would not move. It just BARKED.



The neighours knew the dog was owned by this man, but were frightened to go out because the dog was blocking their car (so they could not go to work) so they called the police to get the dog.



The police arrive, the dog is STILL barking but thankfully, the cop was smart enough to realize the dog was not vicious, the cop led the dog back to the owner's house while the dog was STILL Barking and agitated - and they found the owner on the floor.



https://answersrip.com/question/index?qid=20130507023218AAkSWjW



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Add: There was a documentary on dogs some time ago that illustates a dog's natural dependancy on humans vs a wolf.



The wolf was placed outside a cage - food was put inside the cage. There was some contraption rigged that the wolf had to paw to get the food out of the cage.



The wolf repeatedly pawed and scratched until he got the food. He NEVER looked for help from his handler.



The dog tried a few times, and then in frustration - LOOKED TO HIS HANDLER to help.



The term is neotny, and while I won't pretend to have it all figured out, I'm convinced that some dogs are simply better problem solvers than others - and the degree of neotny (dependency) affects their ability to work alone.



This dog and the one in the Purina Hall of fame illustrated they are most certainly capable of working independently to find a solution.

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To those that say dogs are acting for themselves, out of fear. IF the dog in the Purina Hall of fame repeatedly escaped the home and sat on a driveway and barked because it was suffering from some anxiety or hated being confined - I would think that the investigation would have revealed that because it would be hard to miss and neighbors would have most certainly noticed.



Otherwise, taking the incident at face value, I cannot see HOW anyone can claim the dog was doing anything to save its own butt. The man was in the house on the floor collapsed - the house was not on fire, and the dog was in no danger. WHAT made the dog do it if NOT to bring attention to his owner's distress.



I watched this video - No, I don't think the dog was systematically bringing First responders, then fire, then EMS. But I do believe the dog was running to alert that the owner was in distress, and return to the home instinctively.



I think the better question is - when would he have stopped running for help? Did they confine the dog after the fire truck arrived? Interesting.



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A dog that is afraid would bolt - and run and hide. And there is just NOTHING about that's dog's behaviour that is playful - or fearful. The dog is intent, focused and doesn't stop to sniff or pee, or attempt to engage the State trooper in a game. While they cut the tape for time, I didn't see the dog look back ONCE. This is NOT a game of chase me.



And if I didn't tell you the circumstances - I defy ANYONE to describe the dog's behaviour as PLAYFUL or AFRAID.



WHY is it people can blindly have faith in a higher power - demonstrate outwardly their beliefs by going to church, reciting prayers, and when asked say aloud without hesitation they BELIEVE in GOD - but when they actually WITNESS an event that (for lack of a better word) is almost miraculous- they reject it as nonsense.



As Helen pointed out, even the State Trooper FOLLOWED The dog.



I call that faith.



And I find it comforting.



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Here's the narrative.

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2010/04/23/20100423dog-leads-police-to-fire.html

Answer 5

A few winters ago I had went out to our kennels to feed the dogs the evening meal.

Coming back I slipped and fell on ice, breaking my ankle.

My dog former therapy dog Shasta was with me tried to help me up but I couldn't stand and went back down.

Well she ran and barked at door and scratched the window till my dogs in the house got to barking, and alerted my husband.

He came looking for me.

Answer 6

A few winters ago I had went out to our kennels to feed the dogs the evening meal.

Coming back I slipped and fell on ice, breaking my ankle.

My dog former therapy dog Shasta was with me tried to help me up but I couldn't stand and went back down.

Well she ran and barked at door and scratched the window till my dogs in the house got to barking, and alerted my husband.

He came looking for me.

Had she not went for him I could have frozen to death



So yes dogs are wonders and are capable of doing things we humans would not fathom is in their power.

Answer 7

My take on this story is that the dog understood something terrible was happening at home. His owner, after being on fire himself, told the dog to go for help. Did the dog understand the words? Nope. But he understood the fear and desperation in the tone of the voice, and could probably smell the burnt flesh. I guess his doggy mind processed this as finding another human to help his owner, so he ran off toward the main road to locate someone...anyone. Did he know he found a state trooper? Nope. I think he'd have tried to lead anyone back.



There are lots of authenticated stories of untrained dogs going for help. Who knows how much they understand or what they are actually thinking.



And there are a couple of interesting twists to this story. The State Trooper who had been summoned to the fire was trying to find the house located in 75 miles of backwoods, and as soon as he saw the dog, gut instinct told him to follow it. He could have just ignored a dog running loose in a rural area.



And the dog was a son of a police dog.



Neat story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7629183/Buddy-the-dog-saves-owners-home-from-fire.html



EDIT:

"ever wonder who actually filmed it...dog running, house on fire?"



The state trooper's dashboard cam filmed it.

Answer 8

Glen, you seriously think that a dog can tell a police car or an EMT/firetruck from all other vehicles and was actually getting them to help its owners, really?



Fire, dog hauled balls to not get hurt, there is excitement there, building up in the dog, dog sees car, cant see the vid so I don't know if lights or siren are on, excitement peaks, dog plays "chase me", my dog does that with my friend's bike when I allow it, more noise, firetruck, dog thinks its great, lets go get it, plays chase me again...simple.

Its easy to get sucked in by watching vids like that...ever wonder who actually filmed it...dog running, house on fire?



Oh, dogs dont protect because they want a reward, the actual bite/fight itself IS the reward.



ADD: Nothing to be sorry about Nikko, now tell me about that "instinct" please...

Answer 9

I will only say that some dogs have a natural instinct...sorry Greek....I fell off a 2nd story scaffold and my GSD dragged me acorss the yard and ran and started barking for help..Help came..dog never trained...My daughter bought a Brussls griffon for her son that had seizures...dog knew when a seizure was going to happen and laid and barked at his side...never left his side till they were over...dog never trained...

Answer 10

Dogs do weird things ,there are so many stories like this out there so look at it this way,whilst dogs dont know there saving some ones life as they cant think like us .Dogs are a lot more intelligent than most people actually think .

Check this story out .

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/09/hero-dog-risks-life-to-pu_n_1502887.html

Answer 11

Maybe he was running away from the fire but met the police then ran home...then ranb away again and met the fire truck.Or maybe he went for help he's sweet.