They say that dogs are man’s best friend, but what does that really mean? Anyone who has ever owned a dog or been around one for any significant amount of time can tell you that dogs seem to have this innate happiness, almost as if they are always happy by default. Of course, there are examples of dogs who have been abused and have lost some of that spark, or who have gained an edge in response to physical abuse. Those dogs are still warm at heart, they have simply been trained by the negative humans in their lives to expect violence and aggression from others. At their core, much like humans, dogs are pure, gentle, and compassionate creatures.
One thing that dogs are well-known for is their ability to pick up on subtle cues from their owners in order to better understand the world around them. If a dog acts particularly negative toward a person or dog, it is probably because they sense that same negativity coming from their owner. The same is true on the positive side of the spectrum, and dogs are always instant friends with anyone their masters are friendly with.
What dogs can learn about their owners extends far beyond a few simple subtle cues. Dogs have the ability to fully learn up to around 200 words, and they are the only animal in the world that can detect and accurately react to cues from the eyes of a human. This allows them to better understand human emotion, which is why dogs make such great therapy animals. They can literally detect depression in a person and operate in a way to best fight that depression with their cuteness.
It is impossible to be around a dog without getting a sense that the dog wants to feel connected to the people around it. Dogs have a pack mentality, and humans have replaced the natural packs of the past with artificial ones made of people. However, dogs have many natural instincts that allow them to operate under a tiered system of control within their own little communities. Dogs know they are fortunate to live with humans and glean from them, so they often try to express that happiness and gratitude by emulating positive human behaviors. If your dog sees you doing something that you obviously enjoy doing, he or she is going to associate that action with good behavior and attempt to imitate the action, if possible.
For one dog owner, that stigma is entirely true. Her dog is a beautiful mixed breed with short hair and big dark eyes. The dog’s name is Honey, and the video in question shows the dog riding in the car with her owner/mother. The owner sets up the camera, clearly having experienced something in the past that she hoped to capture on film. She instantly turns the radio on in her car, and the music starts to play. The moment Honey hears the music, she starts to howl along with the beat. When the lyrics start, she and her mother both belt out the cadences as loudly as they can.
Honey clearly has a blast singing her heart out, and she does so because she has watched and learned from her mom. She probably spent years riding in the car with her owner, all the while listening to her owner sing during her favorite songs. It wouldn’t take long for Honey to start picking up on her mom’s favorite songs, and once she learned the good songs, it was simply a matter of stretching her vocal cords and joining the fun.