Communication of the Animal Kingdom

Sam Redden
September 4, 2009
Dr.Hughes
Communication of the Animal Kingdom
Pets recognize routines; they pick up really well on events that occur repeatedly. When you get home from a long day at work, you can always look forward to your dog running toward you at the sound of the opening door. That dog has learned that every day at five thirty, you walk through that door. A similar situation is when dinner time rolls around for your dog. He or she knows that it is his or her time to be fed because of repetition.
Frequently, my grandparents forget that it is the time for their dog to be fed. They don’t worry about it too much because they know their pet will let them know. She will gently claw on their legs or go get her food bowl to indicate to them that her empty bowl needs food in it. All of these are ways for her to tell her owners she needs food, to communicate her desire to them. However, this communication is learned communication. She has watched them feed her twice a day for two years and has learned that if she gets their attention by touching them or showing her empty bowl to them, she will get her food. By standing in front of my grandmother with her food dish in her mouth she is signifying “food!” she is not saying, “hello, I noticed that it is approaching eight o’clock and my food bowl remains empty; I would greatly appreciate it if you would pour some food into it.”
Just like my grandparents’ dog, animals communicate through gestures they have learned over time. Some animals have learned through mimicry to communicate through their sounds. A family friend has a cat that serves as her only child. When she sees him and says “hello” he returns a “me-ow” to her, when she says shortly “hey” he replies just the same with “mow.” I do not believe that he knows the different between the two words or even the meanings. He just knows they are directed towards him and he mimics the amount of vowel sounds.
I agree that the animals I have mentioned do understand that they are communicating to their owners what they want or in the cat’s case, just acknowledging my friend. I do not believe that they have a sophisticated language they use to communicate with us or that their gestures or “me-ows” are even a language at all. They have different tones and pitches to their voices; however it doesn’t signify any type of vocabulary.