guess you never saw my father's setter anticipate his arrival, no matter
what schedule he was on or if he was just popping out for a gallon of milk,
not only did that dog know when he was returning, she would would wake from
a dead sleep to sit by the door to greet him, Lee
wrote in message
...
"Many times, a human *anticipates* something without
even being told. That's because the human has an
understanding of the passage of time and the repetition
of intermediate events.

Dogs and other animals ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE this kind
of understanding, and THEREFORE do not "anticipate"
anything. If the dog's owner tells the dog "I'm going
to take you for a walk next Saturday", that is
MEANINGLESS to the dog - he does not anticipate going
for the walk. If the owner picks up the leash, as he
always does before taking the dog for a walk, the dog
may react to that *signal* and get excited. It is not
"anticipating" the walk; it is merely giving a
CONDITIONED RESPONSE to a signal.

This difference is *elementary* to people who really
understand the issue" - Goobenicus