Umwelt

As a companion to humans, the domestic dog is naturally interpreted from a human-centred perspective. When we anthropomorphise, we attribute human thoughts, intentions, and personalities to nonhumans, most frequently, to our dogs. We do this in an effort to understand our dogs, but anthropomorphism falls short. An animal’s sensory world is different from ours, (Grandin, 1995).

To understand what is going on with our dogs, we need to understand the concept of “umwelt”. Umwelt is the part of the world that an organism can detect –how the world appears via their unique systems.

Humans view the world through human perspectives. A bee views the world through an ultra violet lens. Dogs can hear high-pitched sounds that we cannot. Birds can see ultra violet.

For dogs, the world is made up of numerous smells, and a dog’s umwelt is determined by what he can perceive, by his history/experiences and by what matters in the world to him.

Canines have a three-dimensional sense of smell – they can discern so much from scent that they gain an olfactory worldview.

Exploring and understanding our dog's umwelt or inner world means taking our dog's perspective. We can then ask ourselves what might be causing my dog to do a certain behaviour? What is my dog experiencing from this event? What could my dog be seeing, smelling, and feeling at this moment?

According to Grandin, when a dog sniffs a tree, he is receiving a wealth of important information. If we can begin to understand what dogs think about, what they can see and smell and experience, we will have a better understanding of what it is like to be a dog and be able to empathise with them and advocate for them.

References:

Grandin T. Vintage Press Random House; New York, NY: 1995. Thinking in pictures. Google Scholar

Grandin T. My mind as a web browser—how people with autism think. Cerebrum. 2000;9:13–22. Google Scholar

Grandin T. Do animals and people with autism have true consciousness. Evol. Cogn. 2002;8:241–248. Google Scholar

Grandin T., Johnson C. Scribner; New York, NY: 2005. Animals in translation. Google Scholar