How we can learn much about communication from our four-legged friends
The scenario is one familiar to many dog owners. You return from work and discover a pile of chewed-up letters on the doormat or jagged holes in your favourite slippers - but you can?t stay angry at your pet for long.
His guilty slouch and hangdog expression quickly win your forgiveness because, you tell yourself, he knows what he has done and is now feeling genuinely guilty.
In fact, his behaviour has nothing to do with remorse. As the world?s best-known pack animals, dogs are expert communicators and these submissive signals are their way of avoiding conflict with those further up the hierarchy.
This willingness to stand down is something which humans should try a little more often, according to Ryan O?Meara, author of an unusual new self-help book which suggests that our most faithful companions can teach us much about finding happiness and fulfilment.
?Dogs know that life is too precious to go into battle over something trivial,? he says. ?But people do it all the time.
?We argue with our neighbours over parking near our house even when there are spaces down the road. We flash our lights at other drivers because we feel we have right of way.
Keeping friends
Best friends forever: Surveys suggest that the thing people value most about their dogs is the welcome they get whenever they come home. We are glad to see dogs because they are glad to see us.
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