sense of humor?

[courtnek]

found this such an interesting topic I had to pass it on...my response as well. what do you think?

Do dogs have a sence of humour? I know scientists say we cannot attribute human emotion to animals, but I swear, Aeron will play with me biting and getting the zoomies. When she gets a really satisfying nip in that makes me scream and she feels my flesh squealching between her teeth, she laughs!
What do you guys think. Dog owners know better then stuffy old scientists anyway!

me:

"Now for something completely different..."
anyone remember that line? Its from "Monty Pythons Flying Circus"...a british comedy that many US citizens didnt understand because it was based on British Culture. yet all who watched this show knew that the next spot would be outrageous and ridiculous...

so why do some people find slapstick funny, and others cant stand it? Why does "The Blue Collar Comedy Tour" crack some people up, and offend others?

my theory:

humor is not born, it is learned. it starts with a baby that smiles at you cuz you did something goofy. a silly face, a tickle. it is an exchange of good vibes between both parties. as you grow, you learn to recognize things that you consider funny because it caused a good vibe at some point. laughter releases endorphins, which makes you feel physically good. familiarity with what you are laughing at is learned, not inherited.

enter dogs. they do something silly, you laugh at it. dogs are keyed into our emotions, good and bad. good emotions feel good to the dog, pack animals want to please to keep the pack stable and comfortable. so dog does silly, human laughs and gives an extra pat or praise. dog has just learned that THIS action will please his master, and he will repeat it to continue doing so. Master learns that THIS action cracked him up, and so will continue to encourage it. its a give and take, which I believe all humor is. Comedians do it because they love the laughter, the attention, and the glow from their audiences.

so do animals have a sense of humor? yes. same as we have. its the give and take of laughter, endorphins and good vibes. what makes you feel good you will continue to pursue...

[JackieMaya]

I do believe that animals can have a sense of humor. All three of my dogs can be so comical, and if I laugh, they do it more.

And in my family, everyone had a great sense of humor. Sometimes we laughed at things nobody outside of our family would think was funny, but we thought it was hysterical.

As far as I'm concerned, you just can't get through life without a sense of humor!

[eric]

An interesting URL on the subject.

[url]http://www.resteddoginn.ca/laugh.php[/url]

[eric]

Its an interesting question, and I guess it depends on what you mean by sense of humor.

My dogs do stuff that make me laugh all the time, but I don't think they are always doing it because they think its funny. Alot of times they are just being goofs; they aren't consciously thinking "Man, this is funny! This should get a good laugh".

I do think, however, that dogs find certain things humorous which will elicit a " doggy-smile". Someone who doesn't know dogs would likely confuse a "smile" for panting, but they are different. With my boys, anyways, I can tell the difference between "I'm hot" and "I'm happy".

The funniest thing is the "Ha!", or getting "Ha'd" as we call it. It frequently seems that our dogs, especially Travis, will "Ha" in response to something we've just said or done.

I was a bit skeptical at first, but it just happens so much. We'll say something or do something silly and Travis will just look at us and "Ha!".