https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-minute-therapist/202509/think-like-a-dog/amp#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17584885173744&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com

Jeffrey S. Nevid, Ph.D., ABPP

The Minute Therapist

Mindfulness

How thinking like a dog can make the present, present.

Posted September 18, 2025 Reviewed by Michelle Quirk

Key points

• The doctrine of presentism teaches that the only things that exist are those in the present.
• Past events are but memories, and the future remains an undiscovered territory until it enters the present.
• We can learn from our canine friends about embracing the moment.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”

–Buddha

“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.”

–Lao Tzu

“The present alone is what always exists, and it stands alone; everything else is only thought of.”

–Arthur Schopenhauer

article continues after advertisement

Source: lum3n / Pexels

In a philosophical sense, presentism is the doctrine that only things in the present—the now—truly exist. Presentism beckons us to live in the moment. It is intuitively appealing as we only exist in the present, and our experience of the world is bound by each moment in time. We can accept that the past did truly exist, but it is now the stuff of memory, not current reality.

So the past is gone and the future is yet to be written. Yet, I’ve seen in my clinical practice how people can become mired in the past or preoccupied with the future or find themselves alternating between past and future. They tend to lose sight of what’s directly in front of them, the ever-changing present.

People with depression often carry the oppressive weight of past regret, disappointment, and failure. Those with problems with anxiety look apprehensively toward a future with a sense of dread or foreboding. They, too, may look backward, recalling negative experiences they take to be a prelude to future negative events (“What if it happens again? What will happen to me?”). Experiences in the present may trigger associations to earlier experiences that touch upon deep-seated issues of rejection, abandonment, failure, insecurity, and inadequacy.

article continues after advertisementhttps://cd7922f71efe19bc3f01c3a201681d2d.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-45/html/container.html?n=0

The thesis of presentism—that only the present truly exists—can be empowering. So can mindfulness, which can help center us in the present. While we can (and should) learn from the past and prepare for the future, it is only in the present that change becomes possible.

Living in the Moment

What is it like to experience presentism? Let me offer a simple suggestion: Think like a dog.

The human mind is certainly more complex than that of a canine, but one thing about our canine friends we might envy is their capacity for living in the moment. As I write this, I am watching a black terrier mix in the park running excitedly to fetch a ball, time and time again, completely absorbed in the task at hand, a living portrait of joy. As far as we know, dogs and other animals are tethered to the present, to the reality they hear, see, feel, sniff, and taste at each moment in time.

THE BASICS

• What Is Mindfulness?
• Take our Mindfulness Test
• Find a mindfulness-based therapist

Do Dogs Think?

This question has long been debated among scientists and philosophers. Many dog owners wonder what’s going on behind those doleful eyes. They intuit that dogs “think,” but the question begs a more scientific approach. We first need to distinguish simple stimulus and response patterns from the more complex cognitive processes involved in thinking—namely, the capacity to hold information in mind while performing operations on that information—analyzing, evaluating, and creating, and perhaps most importantly, using language as the medium of thought.

article continues after advertisement

A dog hears a rattling of keys. Does it think, “Great, my human dad is preparing to take me on a walk.” Or does it simply become agitated, aroused to action by past associations of keys rattling and leashes being attached and doors opening?

Unlike humans, dogs lack the capacity for language, of using symbols (words) arranged in a particular order to express meaning. We’ll leave to the realm of speculation whether dogs and other animals can bring the past to mind in some form or imagine a future reality. But whatever may be going through the mind of a canine, it doesn’t involve thinking in words muttered silently to themselves, as we humans do virtually every waking moment.

Thinking Like a Dog

A dog’s mental experience may be limited to its present reality, but the human mind is sandwiched between the past and future. To make the present more present, we can draw a lesson from our furry friends and think like a dog. Here are some tips that can help you to think like a dog:

Mindfulness Essential Reads

Can AI Be Mindful?

How Not to Be Owned by Your Emotions and Thoughts

• Become attuned to your surroundings. Take it all in and make the best of the situations you face.
• Take things as they come rather than magnifying them. Things just are. Don’t let your thoughts make more of them than they are.
• Focus on what you can do today, not on what you didn’t do yesterday. What’s done is, well, done. Make today count.
• Stop calculating what could go wrong in the future. Spending your time calculating all the things that could go wrong in the future can keep you from taking action in the present.
• Be fully present in the moment, absorbed in what you are doing, not on what you’ve done or what you may do.

article continues after advertisement

Dogs don’t dwell on the past. They don’t spend their days ruminating about the choices they’ve made or their disappointments. They don’t quiver in fear of the future. They don’t expect the worst, become filled with regret, or exaggerate the consequences of their actions. They live in the moment. We can take a lesson from our canine companions and reorient ourselves to the reality that all we ever truly have is the “now.” Or we could just try to think like a dog.

General Disclaimer: The content here and in other blog posts on the Minute Therapist is intended for informational purposes only and not for diagnosis, evaluation, or treatment of mental health disorders. If you are concerned about your emotional well-being or experiencing any significant mental health problems, I encourage you to consult a licensed mental health professional in your area for a thorough evaluation.

© Jeffrey S. Nevid 2025

Brad Buck

UF/IFAS

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/home-garden/2025/09/15/what-to-know-about-coyotes-predatory-habits-in-florida/86115023007/

Whenever Hance Ellington gets a chance, he likes to talk about the science of coyotes, including their behavior around other animals.

Dispelling coyote myths is a passion for Ellington, an assistant professor of wildlife ecology and conservation at the University of Florida.

“I enjoy studying coyotes because they are smart and adaptable animals that can live in many different places and show a plethora of behaviors,” said Ellington, a faculty member at the Range Cattle Research and Education Center (RCREC), part of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “They are also involved in many conflicts with people. Learning more about their behavior and ecology can help us find better ways to reduce these conflicts, which is one of the main goals of my research and Extension programs.”

He’s been studying coyote behavior since 2010. For his Ph.D. from Trent University in Ontario, Ellington studied coyote ecology and interactions with caribou in Newfoundland. During his postdoctoral work at The Ohio State University, he again examined them.

We asked Ellington to talk about why coyotes are important – to humans and other animals.Looking for a free mini puzzle? Play the USA TODAY Quick Cross now.

Coyotes in Florida

Q: How many coyotes live in Florida, and where are they found?

A: We don’t know how many coyotes are in the Sunshine State, but they are found almost everywhere. Some areas likely have more than others. Places with more food and fewer large predators — like Florida panthers or Burmese pythons in South Florida — can support more coyotes in more condensed areas.

Urban neighbors: Watch your cats

Q: What should city and suburban residents know about coyotes?

A: Coyotes live in many suburban and urban areas of Florida. They naturally fear people and avoid them unless they get used to people and human food. In natural areas, coyotes eat a wide variety of things including, plant material (like fruits and nuts) and animals (like rodents, rabbits, reptiles, birds, and insects) – coyotes are also scavengers.

Start your streak: Solve a clue from today’s puzzle.

67Broadcasting live

67Keep Playing

In cities and suburbs, in addition to natural food sources, coyotes will also eat many types of human-related food, including pet food, garbage and other food waste left outside. They can also prey on cats and small dogs, especially at night. Dogs should be kept on short leashes in areas where coyotes have been seen or in the more natural areas of cities, such as parks, wooded trails, etc. And keep cats indoors.

Feeding and attacks

Q: How do we get the impression that coyotes sometimes attack people and pets?

A: While it has happened, coyote bites are extremely rare — about three per year in the United States and Canada. There have been only two recorded deaths from coyotes in the United States and Canada, compared to about 33 dog-related deaths every year in the United States alone.

When coyotes find a food source, they return to it, and repeated feeding can make them lose their fear of people. This increases the risk of bites, especially to toddlers and small children. Seeing more coyotes in an area can spark fears of attack, whether it is warranted or not. Aggressive coyotes should be reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Reducing conflicts

Q: How can understanding coyote foraging behavior help reduce conflicts?

A: Like people, coyotes make daily choices about where and when to look for food. We don’t fully understand what clues they use to decide — likely it’s based on how easy they think it will be to get certain food, but the details aren’t clear.

This lack of knowledge makes it hard to predict where and when they’ll be hunting or foraging in rangelands, forests or cities. Most human-coyote conflicts happen when coyotes are looking for food or hunting or around their den sites. If we can learn where and when those foraging and hunting behaviors occur, we can target prevention and control efforts more effectively and reduce conflicts.

A threat to livestock?

Q: Do coyotes prey on calves and other livestock in Florida?

A: Ranchers sometimes report coyotes preying on calves, goats and sheep. While they can kill livestock, they also scavenge animals that have died from other causes, which may make predation seem more common than it is.Two University of Florida studies tracked 711 newborn calves from birth to after weaning on five ranches in Collier, Hendry and other Southwest Florida counties. Neither found confirmed calf deaths caused by coyotes.

These results suggest that coyote attacks on calves are rare and not a major cause of losses for most Florida cattle ranches. However, it is possible that an individual coyote or coyote family could learn to prey on calves at a specific ranch. Coyotes are less likely to attack calves because they typically have many other food sources and because cows can and do defend their young, making calves a risky target.

Understanding coyote behavior

Q: What are you studying about coyotes now, and what do you hope to learn?

A: We are studying coyote ecology — how they move, behave and use space in rangelands, forests and cities across Florida. We want to understand not just where and when coyotes behave in certain ways, but why they make those choices. For example, we are looking at how they choose travel routes — whether they follow natural cover, avoid busy roads or move toward areas with more food.

This information can help predict where conflicts with people are most likely and guide strategies to reduce those conflicts while still allowing coyotes to play their role in the ecosystem. Coyotes are part of the Florida ecosystem and play an important role in nature by controlling rodent and rabbit populations, eating dead animals and spreading seeds from the fruit they eat.