Dogs, however, cannot, under normal circumstances, understand the full range of human speech. As I indicated above, if people want dogs to understand them, they must give dogs hallucinogenic drugs. That is, the Runa must make their dogs into shamans so that they can traverse the ontological boundaries that separate them from humans

That afternoon, back at the house, Ameriga, Hilario’s wife, wondered aloud why the dogs were unable to augur their own deaths and, by extension, why she, their master, was caught unaware of the fate that would befall them : « While I was by the fire, they didn’t dream, » she said. « They just slept, those dogs, and they’re usually real dreamers. Normally while sleeping by the fire they’ll bark ‘hua hua hua.’ » Dogs, I learned, dream, and, by observing them as they dream, people can know what their dreams mean. If, as Ameriga imitated, the dogs had barked « hua hua » in their sleep, it would ´ have indicated that they were dreaming of chasing animals, and they would, therefore, have done the same in the forest the following day, for this is how a dog barks when pursuing game. If, by contrast, they had barked « cuai » that night, it would have been a sure signal that a jaguar would kill them the following day, for this is how dogs cry out when attacked by felines.