Dogs: trusting experts


On our hike this morning, Inca stopped abruptly and fixed her gaze across a gully at a hillside, perhaps a hundred yards away. She didn't even move her head when I talked to her and got out my phone for a photo - just stared intently. When she does that, I know she has detected something she considers unusual; I've learned to follow her signs and try to figure out what it is. In the past, she has detected a moose, mountain goats, a flock of wild turkeys, and other animal life well before I saw them. Today, I eventually was able to see the deer she had noticed, well camouflaged amid the scrub oak of the distant hillside.
Inca clearly has abilities that are superior to mine in sensing or detecting the presence of animals. Researchers say that most dogs have eyesight that is about equivalent to what a human rating of 20/75 represents - so not at all helpful, even compared to my somewhat impaired eyes - they have to be within 20 feet to see what a human with good eyes can see at 75 feet. So instead of seeing an animal, I suspect both Inca's hearing and smell are involved in detecting things I am unaware of. Dogs are said to hear sounds four times further away than humans, and in a broader range of frequencies. Even more impressive, their sense of smell is (literally) tens of thousands of times better than ours. So yes, I like having Inca with me on hikes! She is also professionally trained to detect and avoid rattlesnakes, which could be a real blessing since she would almost surely notice them before I would!!
When we recognize the strengths and abilities that others have, we can often learn to benefit from them in many situations of our lives. Sometimes we can strive to understand how a skill was developed and try to emulate it; at times just the awareness of someone's abilities motivates us to try to do better. But at other times, we can draw upon the strength or ability of others knowing that we don't have the same gift or will never develop comparable prowess. It's a blessing to surround ourselves with people whom we admire for their particular skills and abilities.
Most scholars, academics, or businessmen have mentors or experts in their field that they rely on for insight and correction. Most people with religious leanings have leaders or advisers they consider to have spiritual sensitivity and wisdom that they look to for guidance. Many of us have favorite authors who help guide our thinking and discovery. There are many ways that we turn to others for help, for leadership, for strength.
I #GiveThanks that I can rely on my dog for sensory insight when I'm outdoors; and for the many other "experts" with unique skills and abilities that bless my life.

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