Modern epi-geneticists have discovered that these experiences can leave epi-genetic “tags,” which actually reprogram the animal’s DNA.(2) The exciting new interdisciplinary field of neuro-ethology takes an in-depth look at how animals have come, over the course of many years, to recognize the meaning of important information in their environments on a neurological level, and how that data is stored and passed on in order to modify the behavioral and even physical shape of future generations as a result. We are really starting to understand, as science continues to shed light on these processes, how capable all species are of adapting their senses, bodies, and behaviors to automatically respond to signals in their environment that are meaningful to their survival. As the world changes, each generation is given the chance to add their own two cents to the user manual for a species and family. The genetic software is endlessly being updated for better performance in the future.

CONDITIONAL MEANING: Because the world is constantly changing (often extremely, from one moment to the next), animals have to be primed to roll with the punches. Information that might have been relevant five minutes ago (i.e., the placement of the bowl on the floor elicits salivation because it means that it is time to eat!) could suddenly be totally unimportant because a condition has shifted (the scent drifting through the open window of a bear in the nearby woods elicits instant fear and means it’s not safe to eat now). When it comes to meaning, the truth is that learned associations are never static in real life. What something actually means in a given moment always depends on the circumstances. How it is perceived, and even whether it is perceived at all, depends on the greater context it occurs in. Meanings, like everything else, do not exist in a vacuum.

The treat you gave your dog this morning for doing his little dance in the kitchen had good associations for him as he gobbled it up. That same treat caused him to run away from you when you offered it later to try to lure him into the bathtub. He’s no fool. He can see the towel and shampoo bottle in your other hand and he knows what that means. Suddenly that chicken jerky you are holding reeks of a mean trick. The circumstances around a stimulus changed, so the meaning of that stimulus in the moment changed for him as well.

The signals in your dog’s world are being perpetually reprioritized and reorganized in this manner depending on the conditions of her internal self and external environment. The meaning of something can shift in an instant—often dramatically—depending on her age, health, stress level, weather, relationships, and thousands of other circumstances.

It’s not just this way for dogs; it’s equally true for any animal on earth. In Africa, for example, lions eat zebras on a regular basis; and the sight of these four-legged, black and white striped equines usually signals a specific action for a lion: hunt; eat. But not always.