While I've never been able to ask a dog myself, I'd imagine they can smell the changing space.
this post was submitted on 22 Mar 2025
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dude they can feel the movement, same as you.
Sure, but do they KNOW they are moving up or down? Or do they just feel the room shake and suddenly they're in a different place?
the accelleration, dear. like when a car speeds up? you get the same thing in an elevator. it's probably still kinda weird.
Yes but we know it's moving up and down, for all they know they get heavier or lighter for a short while
No no, definitely the smell /s
I've seen pretty a dump dog understand elevators well enough to run down the stairs to follow someone that had just gotten into an elevator.
They can probably hear much more clearly than we can that it’s a box moving around on rails in a giant echo tube.
Dogs do have a concept of gravity, they can feel the movement of the floor.
Sidenote, but most elevators don't use a rail to move (although might use one for stability plus something to apply emergency brakes against), it's usually wires lifting them
Dogs don't have much in the way of spacial reasoning or logic, possibly due to over reliance on smells and sounds for navigation.
When the doors open and things look different they might be surprised but they quickly forget what the previous floor even looked like. It's as bewildering or thought provoking them as simply turning a corner would be. They don't understand it enough to even be bewildered.
That said, there are interpersonal difference to dogs, some of them might be more than smart enough to get quite confused.
My dog loves getting on busses and the tube. I think he just finds it exciting to see where we'll appear, it's pretty great, until you're not paying attention and he jumps on a random bus.
There is a documentary about dogs in some city using public transit to get around. Pretty sure that they remember where they are or were to some extent.
Not to say that they understand elevators. It's probably just another room or hallway.
I'm sure they understand that the bus moves due to the many many windows and can take them to a specific place, but they could still just be navigating by scent and other factors. It's not a good comparison to an elevator.
My only point was that they are remembering where they are or were. They didn't forget everything because they turned a corner.
do regular dogs go all like 'o shit its the cops' when they see a police dog, or is it just another dog to them?
Don't do anything illegal don't do anything illegal don't do anything illegal SQUIRREL!! Ah crap I did it again...
Protest dogs are pretty good at recognizing cops vs protesters. Better than people sometimes.
Long live the memory of Negro Matapacos, greatest of allies. (Loukanikos was also a very good boy)
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People have to stop acting like animals are the stupidest most thoughtless creatures.
Yeah, most dogs probably understand it perfectly fine because it isn't a great mystery. They go in a room, they feel the acceleration, they feel the deceleration, they go out.
Sure, first time they are probably confused, but they are not completely oblivious to the world around them.
Also, yeah, this post is funny
Tbf people act like people are the stupidest creatures too. Especially historically speaking.
"How in the world could these complete and utter dumbasses figure out how to build giant piles of dirt in a specific shape? It must be aliens cause there is simply no way those idiots could figure that out on their own."
Especially if these people had a skin color any shade darker than white
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I don't believe any of the 3 dogs I've had were ever in an elevator. Never thought about that before.
But while vacationing on Maui for a few weeks, toward the end my 4-yo daughter asked, "When are we going back to the real world?"
I hope you told her that consensus reality is a social construct and the real world doesn't exist outside of being an agreement by society to promote certain values and interpretations.
Well of course I did, whaddya think I am, some kinda idjit?
The tweet that inspired Ben Stiller to start Severance
Season 3: Take your pet to work day.
My dog loves the elevator, definitely cant tell the difference since both floors are the same, keeps going to our downstairs neighbors door like its our own before smelling it and realising her mistake.
I mean... I also went into my neibours apartment a couple times by mistake.
Looking at my dog, I think he understands elevators. Maybe not that why it goes, but probably does that it goes. Sometimes I think animals have better spatial awaerness then humans.
Some do, many don't. Humans are actually really graceful compared to most animals and intuitively do very complex things in space. Tossing a paper ball into a garbage can from ten feet away is an almost uniquely human ability. You ever see a dog try to fit a long stick through a narrow door? Their ability to judge relative sizes and distance is terrible, comparatively.
I have seen too many videos of small monkeys and big apes throwing their dong to agree with your paper ball theory. Also frogs don't throw balls but are great at catching insects, a lot of other animals have great spatial awareness when it comes to hunting prey. But tbh, I doubt wether they could grasp the concept of a box going up and down like humans do.
Have seen too many videos of dogs trying to take long sticks through narrow doors to disagree with you there though. Personally I think dogs are just not that smart after all that (in)breeding we did. I'm not calling dogs stupid, don't want the world to dislike me.
Frogs and archerfish and chameleons and such have evolved to do that one thing, it's more like a preprogrammed algorithm than spacial awareness. And they miss a fair amount if you sit and watch them, that just doesn't make the Animal Planet highlight reel.
Speaking of highlight reels, that kind of confirmation bias also applies to poop-slinging monkeys. They literally don't have the musculature for fine control, they just throw a lot of shit.
...but apes, monkies, and humans still aren't most species.
Will Smith: “Can a dog compose a symphony or paint a great work of art?”
Incarcerated robot: “Can you?”
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Advancing from world 1-2 to world 1-3
My dog definitely knows it’s moving and she hates it.
Same. He shivers. I think he hates glass elevators more than standard elevators.
The only acceptable elevator was in our old apartment. It meant he didn't have to do stairs. Nowadays, his old bones get carried up stairs anyways.
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I know there are dogs that understand how to use the subway, which is basically a horizontal elevator.
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- Animals understand the world in a lot more detail and depth than we give them credit for. We get caught up in a lot of big brain nonsense, some of which is useful sure, but a lot of the basics, they’re well on top of. They’re not stupid, they just don’t have language or hands.
- I feel like a lot of human stuff is just total incomprehensible magic to cats and dogs. Cats clearly think humans can change the weather, or it might be different weather at a different door. Because why wouldn’t it be? You guys control the light switches and the doors and cars and stuff. Why would the weather be different? There’s stuff in my domain and then all the world change stuff is your domain. It’s cool, we can still be buds.
Idk man, pick one.
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