Mental maps of dogs

M. sometimes teaches "lifespan development" to undergraduates in psychology, and she tosses around terms such as "object permanence," "symbol theory," and "mental maps."

Here, I think, is a dog with a mental map: our ninja-collie, Shelby.

The wood was stacked in the morning. In the afternoon, Sheby was tearing into the woodpile looking for pack rats.

Why? Because last winter a pack rat had nested in another woodpile built in about the same spot. Here is a woodpile; therefore, it probably holds a pack rat. That is reasoning of a sort.

Pondering canine cognitive development at least occupies my mind while I am re-stacking the logs that she knocked down.

"Ninja-collie"? We call her that because she can float up the creaky flight of wooden steps to the front porch without making a sound.