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Huckleberries Online

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  3. Dogs imitate people

Dogs imitate people

Two pug dogs named Harry, right, and Sally, are pictured at the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. Police in the Omaha suburb of Papillion say the dogs fed on the body of their owner after he had killed himself. A Humane Society spokesman would not verify that the dogs had fed on the body, but said it would be normal behavior for dogs left without food or water for two weeks. The dogs, who are up for adoption, they will be carefully matched with new owners. (Nati Harnik / Associated Press)
Two pug dogs named Harry, right, and Sally, are pictured at the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha, Neb., Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. Police in the Omaha suburb of Papillion say the dogs fed on the body of their owner after he had killed himself. A Humane Society spokesman would not verify that the dogs had fed on the body, but said it would be normal behavior for dogs left without food or water for two weeks. The dogs, who are up for adoption, they will be carefully matched with new owners. (Nati Harnik / Associated Press)

Which is why cats are smarter.

Okay, maybe not, but this article from Discovery News say dogs imitate people even when it's not in their best interest to do so.

"If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, dogs often shower us with praise. New research has just determined dogs automatically imitate us, even when it is not in their best interest to do so.

The study, published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B, provides the first evidence that dogs copy at least some of our body movements and behaviors in ways that are spontaneous and voluntary.

In other words, they can't really help themselves when it comes to copying people." Read more.

Does your dog imitate you? How so?

Huckleberries Online

D.F. Oliveria started Huckleberries Online on Feb. 16, 2004. Oliveria's Sunday print Huckleberries is a past winner of the national Herb Caen Memorial Column contest.