If you want to experience this for yourself, try this: take your dog out to a grassy hill on a quiet day, and sit. Then, every time your dog turns its head (even a tiny bit) to orient toward a sound, sight or smell, you turn your head in the same direction, and look for the source of interest.
When I tried this, in the space of a single minute Bagel shifted his attention -- with subtle head turns - hundreds of times. First an airplane passing overhead, then a bird across the street, a dog being walked a block away, a motorcycle revving somewhere, the wind rustling the leaves of a tree, the voice of an unseen cell phone talker, another airplane, another bird flying, a bug in the grass, a whiff of god knows what... and on and on and on. And nothing thing kept his attention for more than two seconds. It was exhausting.
Where my brain says, "quiet, sunny day, " Bagel's brain is sending him a flood of messages about everything that moves or makes a sound.
If nothing else, this should help us understand why being outside so much more interesting for dogs. But to me, it's also an interesting insight into the mind of a creature that is not occupied with yesterday's irritations and tomorrow's anxieties. They wouldn't fit -- his mind is so full of the present moment.
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