08/11/2024
Inside the mind of a dog.
A new doc film on Netflix. I just finished watching and had to share. I highly recommend this movie to all dog parents and dog lovers. It is a beautiful film giving us insights into how our best friends think, featuring powerful and emotional story lines, including the amazing program Canine Companions, which trains and then pairs its dogs with special needs people. My friend and wonderful dog trainer, Matt Beisner, owner of The Zen Dog, was featured in the film and gave some thoughtful insights about assessing a dog's state based on body language and some of what he's seen in his practice. Dr. Brian Hare and his wife, Vanessa Woods, director of the Duke University Puppy Kindergarden, were featured. Brian is the Chair of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University and is the founded The Duke Canine Cognition Center, to study how dogs think and the bond we have with them.
I interviewed Vanessa about 10 years ago for my blog, Bark & Swagger, about Dognition, the company they created together to help dog parents understand how their dog thinks and to strengthen the bond between them, because each dog, like each of us, is an individual. I remember getting some Dognition exercises which I did with my Sophie, who was only about 1 or so back then. They were fun, bonding and educational.
So much has happened in this space since, and this film firmly connected me to how amazing and wonderful these beautiful beings are, how deep and rich their emotions are and how powerful they are as healers and educators. The science behind what we've learned about how dogs think is both inspiring and fascinating.
Inside The Mind of a Dog, a film by Andy Mitchell who also did Inside The Mind of a Cat, and narrated by Rob Lowe, is such worthwhile time spent. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Streaming now on Netflix.