or they could speak English. I am sure we would learn a great deal and have fantastic conversations. The down side would be that they probably would be preferable to many humans that I have had conversations with and could have easily done without. Dogs would be sitting at coffee shops with us (like the paintings of dogs playing poker).

I'd like to just listen in to what they think. I'd be afraid I'd influence them too much if I participated directly. When you think about it, once you've gained trust they seem to wear their thoughts and feelings on their sleeves so to speak. Humans hide.

A friend told me one that she is glad that people don't have tails since it is true give away of their thought s and feelings. It would be like going into the boss and asking for a raise and he/she offers you a raise and you are thrilled but think he/she could make an even better offer but he sees that your tail is wagging like mad and sticks with the original offer instead of going higher. Actually though, it would be easier for juries and judges to tell if you are guilty of something if they see your tail go between your legs and put your head down. It could save a lot of court time and money.

He sounds like a great companion. I hope you are feeling better soon.

He's quite the companion and an intuitive one at that.

He might not understand how your arm hurts, but most definitely he is trying to comfort you.

I just do my best to steer my other arm into his good nature.

Thank you, recovery is underway.

Sounds like a wonderful dog.

What if you cried out in pain when he did that?? Think he'd get the message??

Actually there were a couple of times that crying out was a natural response. He layed off at that point but still continues every once in awhile to a lesser degree. I think he doesn't like my sling in the way.

He would try to hide under the bathtub, or under my desk, or in the laundry room which has no windows, etc, shaking like a leaf.
even the best calming formulas only helped somewhat.

One of our cats would immediately go and lie down by his head and purr steadily for as long as the dog was spooked. It seemed to help him.
I have since read that cats purr at a frequency which helps healing:

I don’t doubt it for a moment. There's something innate in animals that sense and connect where they're needed in nature. Talk about symbiotic. Humans can do the same... if we would just do it.