Do dogs have a sense of humor?

OMG Chuffy, that is a PRICELESS picture.  He was having a super time there.  And probably laughing his furry butt off that you were tickled.

And probably laughing his furry butt off that you were tickled.

 
You should have seen him 2 mins before that photo.  Fig one out of "calming signals"  He was making himself so small and just looked so stressed out.  When everyone started nodding and smiling at how he looked in that get-up his whole demeanour changed.  He knew why we were chuckling and he thought it was pretty darn funny himself.

I think my dog has a sense of humor, and she definitely expresses it in a socially aware way. Only when someone is obviously paying attention will she do toy tricks or cavort around in the stop and start fashion that makes us laugh. If she does not actually have a sense of humor, I do not want to know; more is gained by my misinterpretation than by the truth.

definitely expresses it in a socially aware way.

I think that's the term I was seeking.  Social awareness is what makes that sense of humor what it is.  Without an audience, a sense of humor is worthless.  Even wolves and other wild canids play tricks upon each other.  The key word is "play."  Without play there is no sense of humor.

yep - the key word is play... going with that thought a few seconds...

maybe to us advanced thinkers, play and sense of humo go hand in hand and as far as labels go, that''s what we call this or that. now i wonder what it really is in a dogs mind (detatch from all of these human labels - if anyone can even do that - hehe)... to a dog, perhaps it is just play rituals that excite their brains - it's fun - it's positive stimulation - and it get's them attention by virtue of this fun-time social interaction - they arelike wolves that never grow up, neotenized by us humans - just as we are naturally neotenized to always retain childish behavior & humor.

why?

what is it about child-like behavior that primates, dogs, and wolves (to a certain extent) keep this trait? is it rooted in our very genetics (brain structure), as a means to socially bond together, as a stress & tension release valve so-to-speak, and hence, have a better chance to survive in the evolutionary scheme of things by promoting pack & herd stability? if so, then why don't all herding animals play?

lotsa questions here worth pondering.... if anyone cares

perhaps it is just play rituals that excite their brains

i dont think my dog would have recognised us "dressing him up" as a play ritual though as we never normally do it.  there wasn't anything play-like about it.... it was a joke really.  We were making fun of him i suppose, in the nicest possible way.  Some dogs would have been affronted by this.  Others would find it funny.  Some dogs are just clowns and they recognise a joke when its played on them.... or when they play one on someone else....  I think there is a distinction from "play" here.  This is something more subtle.

ETA: Yes i believe some dogs ARE capable of subtlety!
 
edit again:  And of course, some humans are not!

what is it about child-like behavior that primates, dogs, and wolves (to a certain extent) keep this trait? is it rooted in our very genetics (brain structure), as a means to socially bond together, as a stress & tension release valve so-to-speak, and hence, have a better chance to survive in the evolutionary scheme of things by promoting pack & herd stability? if so, then why don't all herding animals play?

 
To explore this idea further-and yes we're on a tangent, but I feel it's an important tangent.  If we want to fully understand play behaviors, play, and the "sense of humor" that dogs and possibly other animals have, then we should examine as many aspects as we can.  After all the road to understanding has many exits.
 
Play and play like behavior is exhibited in social structures to strengthen those social bonds and ties to each other.  It is a way of relieving boredom and the stressors that accompany boredom.  It is also a "hold over" from the teaching rituals and games that the young will play.
 
Play is not unique to humans, we can observe it in wild adult populations of crows, seals, sea lions, canids, primates and other animals.  I do not think you'll see play in situations where food is scarce, or resources are harder to obtain. 
 
In herding, flocking, or schooling animals, I think a proto-play or play developing type of activity is demonstrated by schooling activities, such as flocks of birds flying back and forth in a tight ball moving in a way that resembles a dance-thousands of them writhing across the skies, or fish through the water-no apparent destination, just flocking for the sake of it.  When predators are present, this behavior can cause the predators to become disoriented and lose focus of one particular animal.  But when no predator is present, why is this behavior performed, if not for "fun" or for practice?
 
Just more food for thought. 
 
To route this back to a canine arena-has anyone used play as a training tool?  Play as a reward?  Taught behaviors by turning those behaviors into a game?  What are the benefits and pratfalls of doing this?

training tool? Play as a reward

Sometimes, on a walk, I will command a recall or a heel. When he completes that, I let him go back to mouse-tracking, his big desire when we are in the fields next to the cornrows.

Other times, during training with a clicker, I may spend a good deal of time on fetch, which is both training and playing. So, I'm building a fetch and a drop it.

To route this back to a canine arena-has anyone used play as a training tool? Play as a reward?

i will often either follow up an afternoon walk wuth a ball session or a meal - depending upon when the walk gets done.

coyote and Ron- thanks for sharing.
 
I agree with play as a reward, but I used play as part of training as well.  I used it to teach "heel."  If he'd heel for 10-15 seconds, we'd run for 20 yards or so.  (his favorite thing in the world is running.)  It took much less time to teach heel this way than it did to do it in the old fashioned way. 
 
I think that play as a reward is very underrated and should be used much more often-it gives us a chance to do what dogs do when they play....become puppies again-within the context of the game.

Ixa being playful before dinner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYy29ECdbSU

Ixa was never play or toy motivated, so treats and praise were our only rewards. She's just gotten interested in playing with a tennis ball recently, so I'm using it for a reward with down/stay and recal practice.

ETA: I think Ixa has a dry sense of humor, she seems the most amused by irony, or when I'm being awkward; she seems to appreciate slapstick. []

What a silly girl she is...and talkative too!

I agree with play as a reward, but I used play as part of training as well. I used it to teach "heel." If he'd heel for 10-15 seconds, we'd run for 20 yards or so. (his favorite thing in the world is running.) It took much less time to teach heel this way than it did to do it in the old fashioned way.

very good! - yes, i would surely agree that in the view of what is rewarding to a dog, running certainly is high up on the list (funny how it's sorta opposite with us couch potato humans, ehhhh? dogs like & need an order that puts execise above affection & with us humans, it seems to be the opposite almost)

For some further enlightenment, if you're up to it:

http://www.amazon.com/Playtraining-Your-Dog-Patricia-Burnham/dp/0312616910

This is a book that I highly recommend.  It focuses primarily on greyhounds, but works with any dog.  (I've used those methods to help train my friends rescue dobie.)

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

When Gaia was living with me,

 
Ed, did I miss something?  Where did Gaia go?  Max does this goofy thing with my eraseable pens.  He snags one, then comes to stand right in front of me with it.  Sometimes he keeps it for a couple of minutes, head on the floor, butt up, tail wagging before he "trades" but most of the time he's ready to "trade" as soon as he knows I've seen him.
 
Joyce