Do As I Say, NOT As I Do.

The latest fad in pet training leans heavily on what is technically called "social learning" to teach your dog new tricks. Some of us might just call it 'monkey see- monkey do'.  

I tried this with my pup.  He caught on really well, but I'm not sure it's such a great idea after all.  For example, this morning we were out in the yard and I spotted the first iris in bloom.  I bent over to smell it, and as soon as I raised my head pup stuck his nose in the flower.  I guess his teeth had olfactory sensors too, because when he drew his head back, the entire blossom was stuck in his teeth.  He didn't learn that from me!

Later, when we were in the kitchen, pup stood right beside me at the counter, with his front feet resting on the countertop, just like me!

Earlier in the evening he took the lid off of the tray of cookies, just like the kids did!

So I've come to some conclusions.  Dogs have been imitating people for thousands of years.  Until now, we've just been to smart to encourage it.  In fact, I think the whole point of developing training systems has been to discourage imitative behaviour.

No!  Don't put your feet on the countertop, even if I do.

No!  Don't pick the flowers, even if I do.

No! Don't stand on your hind legs, "speaking" to and pawing at the guests at the front door, even if I do.

Et cetera.

Maybe it is just a system for tiny ankle biters.  Unfortunately my pup will be around 100 pounds full grown.  

Perhaps I'll try it with the cats.

BAT Behaviour Adjustment Training

One of the greatest shortages in dogdom is, in this writers' opinion, free dog training resources. Thanks to the internet, we have many more now than just what books your local library has on file.

This webpage give a detailed description of some training, complete with video of the training in action. The technique is called Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT). The page is from Ahimsa Dog Training in Seattle, where Grisha Stewart describes BAT

"BAT is the use of the natural environmental cues and reinforcements (positive or negative) for alternative/incompatible behaviors. This is the core protocol for BAT."

It seems to be basically operant conditioning, gradually moving the dog through its discomfort zone and rewarding it for progress. Do note in the video the dog is wearing BOTH a head halter and what appears to be a no-pull harness. The harness gets the most leash pressure. Those might be essential equipment to make progress with the dog in this type of scenario.

Are behaviorists passe'?

Recently I followed a discussion amongst behaviorists about when precisely "learning" takes place. For example, if you tell a child not to touch a hot stove, does learning take place when you deliver the instruction? Or the next time the child sees a hot stove, and doesn't touch it, is that the moment when learning has occurred? Or did it occur at some point in between, when the instruction was processed?

And by the way, how many angels do dance on the head of a pin?

Well, never mind the last question. But for the first, brain scans are getting so good, before to long we will be able to tell exactly what every person knows, just by waving a tricorder in front of them.

Really.

See for yourself.

Before too long, we just might be able to learn where the shortcomings in the brain are that suppress the desire for individual freedom and liberty.

Towards the end of the video, one of the researchers posits that eventually "we" will have to determine if the individual or the state controls the technology. That should be a moot point.

Behaviorists haven't been able to influence society to embrace freedom so that such a question would never need be asked. Who needs them?

Fido?

There was a rush to map the canine genome. Scientists declared what wonderful secrets it would reveal about our own genetic code.

Will there / is there a similar effort to map the canine brain?

Forget clicker training. Scanner training will be the new frontier.

A Room Full of Geniuses

Are dogs getting smarter? Or are people getting dumber?

The first question, at least, was bandied about at a conference of behaviourists in Europe recently, according to an article in the Daily Mail.

Over the course of the conference the scientists revealed startling facts like "animals abide by social rules".

The Canine Science Forum in Budapest also revealed that "dog barks contain information that people can understand". Room full of geniuses there.

Dr. Takaoka from Japan went a bit further. She performed a study where the dog was shown a picture while listening to a voice recording. According to the article, "if the gender of the face did not match that of the voice, the dogs stared longer, a sign that their expectations had been violated."

Ah, so that's what is happening when I make a funny noise and my dog stares at me, and sometimes (really! I have evidence!) cocks his head to the side. I, Ms. X, his loving owner and master, have violated his expectations.

Fortunately, there are people dedicated to helping us deduce these things.

Heck, I made up a joke for the occasion.

How many behaviorists does it take to change a light bulb?

Answer: At least 20. 12 to analyze and hypothesize about the motivations for changing the bulb, one to actually change the bulb, and 7 to author a paper revealing that science has proven that sitting in a dark room will motivate someone to change a light bulb.

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For the Behaviour Research Obsessed....

(Caution, language is a little colorful).

Son-Of-A-Bitch Mouse Solves Maze Researchers Spent Months Building