Curving – Dog Body Language

my dog does that too, beelines toward people, even those on bikes and scooters (sigh). she's conditioned to think she'll get pets and maybe a treat from people.

on the flipside, people who dislike or fear dogs tend to try to (nervously) walk around her (she's all of 16 lbs, but friendly and vivacious). she finds that behavior either curious or suspicious, and in both cases, she'll go directly toward you to investigate.

for people who dislike/fear dogs, the best thing to do when facing a dog out-and-about is to ignore them completely, as if they weren't even there (especially no eye contact), but human instincts defy us there too.

Humans being bipedal and "vertical" might have something to do with it too, if the idea is to signal oneself as not being "head-on" it might not be so intuitive with a human, whose "front" (including the face) is always looking at the dog from above, and whose side is not that distinctive.

I've also seen this, but in addition—and also contrary to what the article says about curving being polite—from anecdotal examples in a lot of dogs, I'd equate curving with recognition/familiarity.

If I meet a dog I know well on the street after a long absence, the dog will beeline (not immediately recognising me, but just liking to engage with humans in general), and then after being stopped in their tracks upon recognising me, immediately begin curving.

> Cats on the other hand see a human as just another cat.

Except that cats rarely (if ever) meow at each other, mostly just other humans.

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/common-cat-behavior-...

Only five basic interactions? That must have been written by someone who never had the privilege of living with a tortoiseshell cat like Tulie.

When I pet one of the dogs, Tulie runs into the bathroom, jumps up on the counter next to the sink, and waits for me. Why? I rinse my hands after petting the dogs to avoid allergies, and she knows I will do that. Tulie loves water and is fascinated by it and wants to know where it goes.

That bathroom sink is missing a stopper. When Tulie was smaller, she would put her arm all the way down the the drain to her shoulder to find what was down there. She still loves it if I turn the water on just a little bit so it dribbles and she can swat at it.

Tulie makes her own toys. Because of that missing stopper, I bought a little steel strainer to fit in the drain, similar to this one:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/203675133

She pulled it out and put it in the middle of the hallway where someone would accidentally step on it and stomp it flat. Now it makes a perfect toy for me to roll on the floor or toss over her head so she can catch it. I bought a couple more and she did the same thing to them. She has trained me well.

When she wants me to play, she starts with the usual cat "walk by and brush your leg with her tail". If I don't get a clue, she stops and puts one hind paw on my foot. I usually wear Birkenstocks at home, so she finds the spot between the straps and gradually puts all her weight on that one foot until I notice.

Like many cats, Tulie loves to play with a bird feather wand toy. These are the toys with a flexible wand, a string hanging from the tip, and a collection of bird feathers hanging from the end of the string.

Tulie's "sister" Sephie also loves this toy. Tulie has studied how I operate the bird toy for her and for Sephie. One night after I was done playing with them, I wedged the bird toy handle into a chair in the hope that they would entertain themselves. And they did! Here is Tulie on the chair and Sephie on the floor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46rROBUDPYI

At one point in the video, the bird feathers happen to land on the chair. Tulie figures out how to get the toy unstuck so Sephie can keep playing.

And then the dogs walk by to get some water, so both cats stop playing and act real cool like "nothing to see here, move along now."

I think we have five new behaviors already! :-)

Cats on the other hand see a human as subcat.