When scientists say that a person has to be careful to not read human
emotions into animal expressions of emotion it does NOT mean that they
are saying that animals don't have emotions. It has been expressed for
a long time that animals show strong signs and behaviors of emotions;
heck, even Darwin did a book of facial expressions in a range of
animals (including us humans).

What it does mean is to be careful to not let one's own emotions color
your interpretation too much because that might throw you off the right
track in terms of understanding what is going on for the animal. It's
just another way of saying, "Perceive more carefully. Listen and watch
rather than just hear and see." The better it is understood how
behaviors and body language fit into what is normal for the animal
(instead of for humans) the better we can all get at understanding what
is going on, and that means distancing oneself some while observing
better to get the best accuracy. (Kind of like that hilarious cable
TV show, Psych, and an important part of what ace behaviorists and
ace trainers do -- some without realizing that they do it. BTW, anyone
who immediately, defensively argues, "I already do that." instead of
recognizing that this is a situation in which anyone can constantly
improve is missing the point and needs to realize that this is a tool
set that will never be complete for anyone.)

Sukie (not a vet)
Current FHL address:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth
People can join there or can send a blank mail to the automated
joining address:
[log in to unmask]
and then follow the directions.
(The second is recommended for those having problems with Yahoogroups
web settings, and afterward send a blank mail from your subscribed
address to
[log in to unmask]
to get the digest instead of individual mails. )
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml

[Posted in FML 5512]