A blog post by Clutch, the Yorkie
A friend told Miss Janet (my human) to go outside tonight and see the planetary alignment. She also told Miss Janet to bring me along and see what I’d have to say about it. Yes, word about my blog has gotten around, and now everyone will want my opinion on everything.
So, we went outside to gaze at the night sky. We do this a lot. Miss Janet loves the night sky. She could stand there for hours, staring up. I don’t really see what the big deal is, but I don’t mind being out there with her.
My interest, however, is closer to the ground. As she looks up, I try to figure out what kind of insects I can scrounge up. While she is distracted by the stars, I munch on things she wouldn’t let me get away with at any other time. I also get a chance to smell whoever has walked or crawled or landed there during the evening.
You might be wondering if I can see very well at night. Well, I can. We go out for short walks at night, and I have no problem getting around. Considering Miss Janet always trips over the edge of the driveway, I think I can see better in the dark than she can. I don’t have as great a depth perception at night, but she doesn’t have good depth perception even in the daylight.
It seems dogs tend to navigate at night better than humans. If you’re into the scientific stuff, I’ll link some articles below that explain the differences in our eyes and why we fare better at night than you do. We don’t need as much light coming in, and we have a wider field of vision. While I don’t know a lot about science, I know experientially I can move around outside at night while Miss Janet stumbles along.
When I showed Miss Janet those scientific articles, I underlined the part where it says we dogs don’t see well in complete darkness. (Who does?) We need a little bit of light coming in to help us see. That’s when it occurred to her how many times she’s left me home at night in total darkness. Mm-hmm. Bet she won’t do that again.
I’ve heard Miss Janet share something about animals and the night sky that she learned in her animal behavior class in college. If an animal is trying to cool off, he will stretch out under the open night sky to let body heat move out into space. And the opposite in winter: he will keep away from the night sky so body heat doesn’t escape. Something to keep in mind when you’re out stargazing with your pet.
Miss Janet and I take a very different approach to being outside at night. While she loves looking at the stars, at those bright shining planets, and at that weird hovering drone-like thing that no one seems to know what it is, she is less intrigued by what might be hiding in the woods or crawling through the fields. She shines her flashlight around, as if she’s going to blind whatever might sneak up on her. (Clueless!)
However, I am very inquisitive. We dogs are better at noticing movement in the dark, and we have our amazing sense of smell, especially we Yorkies. I want to know who all is running around out there. Deer, for sure. Possums, most likely. Mice, oh, yes, we Yorkies are bred to track mice. I wish I could go explore those things, as long as we’re out there. I get impatient just standing around.
But Miss Janet won’t let me follow my nose at night. She doesn’t want to know what’s out there. If she didn’t love the stars, we wouldn’t walk very far at night. I’m thinking she should just put a telescope in the window and call it done.
As much as I like to explore, I have to admit, I also like it when we go back inside. I don’t have to be as much on alert. I can curl up in my bed and take a nap.
Here are those articles I mentioned:
Can Dogs See in the Dark? American Kennel Club explains all about dog vision and how it’s different from human vision. Near the end of the article, check out their link to an image-processing tool that lets you see a photo from a dog’s perspective. Pretty cool! You will find it disturbing, but I think it’s awesome. The detail and vibrancy that you see with human eyes is just plain weird, and pointless for chasing prey.
Can Dogs See in the Dark? PetMD tells all about dogs’ night vision and explains why we get around better than humans in the dark.
Thanks for hanging out with me. I hope you got to see the planetary alignment. See you next time.
Happy Stargazing,
Clutch
The Inquisitive Yorkie 