DOGS and cats are not just instinct driven, the average domestic pet has a mind of its own and a highly individual outlook on life.

Naturally their outlook is very different from ours, a fact that should never be forgotten when observing a pets' behaviour.

Everyone talks to their pet.

We give commands like sit and stay which we expect them to obey.

We know dogs do not understand language but they are very good at connecting certain sounds with certain activities.

Dogs are social animals and are very good at reading the body language of their immediate pack members.

Even though words do not mean anything to them when you move or walk you are actually sending a lot of visual messages to your dog.

Your pet will recognise the sort of mood you are in from your body language.

It is this kind of sensitivity that makes us feel as though we can really communicate with our pets.

Compared to dogs, cats always seem less happy to see you but that is not always the case.

A cat's welcome home ritual includes rubbing against the owner's leg with its head and flank.

The cat does this in order to lay its scent on yo9u as a way of making you a member of its family.

For cats smell has a very important role to play in both communicating and in forming relationships, feline and human.

Cats do wag their tails but only when faced with a difficult choice like staying in the warm or going out in the cold.

It is a physical display of the cat making up its mind.