The World According to an Overtly Expressive Husky | Skillshare Projects

The World According to an Overtly Expressive Husky

Huskies are known for their expressiveness, whether it's through their nearly human like talking, the raise of their eyebrows in surprise, or their smiles in utter joy. My husky german shepherd (Dasha) is no exception. She lets you know when she's feeling sad, she'll let you know when she needs attention, she'll "talk" to you when she's feels it necessary to argue over the situation at hand (or when she's just feeling exceptionally chatty), she'll let you know when she's annoyed, and she'll always turn her head in confusion at you when she doesn't know what you're saying (or can't believe you just said we're going to the park!). 

I've decided to spend a day (or two, or three) with my husky and record all of the times she distinctively communicates with me and expresses herself. I'll observe and record the where, when, and how she expresses herself. I'm hoping to see patterns and consistencies in her behavior as well as gain a clearer understanding of how she communicates to me and what she wants from it. (Maybe I could possibly identify the reasoning behind her occasional subtle, high-pitched whine that usually occurs while we're watching tv?)

A few other questions I might ask after collecting initial data are:

1. When she comes up to me and tries to communicate, what does she usually want out of it?

2. What do her facial expressions tell me (and can I back that up with evidence from her outward actions)?

3. What time of day does she seem most happy? Sad? Relaxed? Excited? Annoyed?

7/30/13- UPDATE: A quick shot of the data I'm collecting:

Here's a rough initial sketch:

Key components: (Please excuse my inability to illustrate. I'm working on it!) Timeline of moods from morning to night. The better the mood, the higher the line. The worse the mood, the lower the line. will create icons to help narrate moods throughout timeline. Callouts have stats of entire day; for example: 45% of the day Dasha is annoyed. Or only 16 out of the 30 seconds spent loving on Dasha, she acts happy about it. Etc.


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