Darwin's Dog

Darwin's Dog

Darwin seems to mention dogs frequently as examples in support of the humanity of animals in the third chapter. He mentions the dog that licked the hand of the scientist vivisecting the poor thing (661), the dog with a sense of humor (662), dreaming dogs as evidence of imagination (664), and his own dog who has some concept of hunting (671).

He even suggests that the dog might have a concept of some invisible force:

As it was, every time that the parasol slightly moved [in the wind], tje dpg growled fiercely and barked. He must, I think, have reasoned to himself in a rapid and unconscious manner, that movement without apparent cause indicated the presence of some strange living agent, and that stranger has no right to be on his territory.
--679

He uses other animals as examples, but no other so frequently. Much of Darwin's argument on the nature of human beings requires that we accept that animals are close to us in reason and other faculties than we usually admit. But especially because much of Darwin's evidence seems to stem from such a personal source-- his own probably beloved dog-- could all this 'evidence' just be projection? Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, bases the concept of his training on the idea that dogs are animals, and you have to treat them as such, not as though they were people (at least according to his cameo on South Park). Anyway, it really seems a strong possibility that when Darwin looks at these apparently convincing cases of animals acting with reason, imagination, playfulness, and so on, it could just be projection. Is his evidence really convincing? If so, what implications does this have for humans? Does it change anything?