Dog learning

Introduction

It has been thought for years that Dogs simply learn by doing, but most research now a days focuses on the idea that they do not learn simply in this way. Dogs, as a rule, don't generalize. For instance if you teach a dog to sit in the middle of your hallway and it has that sit down there, when you move into a different room and request a sit from your dog more than likely your dog will be very confused. This is because that dog has not learned sit in that new location, each place is like a mini-adventure for your dog. In order to maintain control, in even new situations, you have to take the time early in your relationship with your dog to get them out and experience the world and to be trained in these various different locations.

Genetics

Genetics are the largest problem separating the dog trainer and the dog. The trainer is genetically capable to handle learning one thing in a situation and taking that to another one, dogs are not. Dogs are animals first, and because of this they are programed to always be on the alert for something. Introducing a dog to a new thing comes with its certain ups and downs: some dogs may be afraid of this new object and others will be extremely curious.

Type A Dogs, those that are afraid of this new thing require a more hands on approach to learning/training. These dogs most obviously are showing flight behavior and in order to have a leveled dog you have to make the concessions to train this flight behavior out. For instance take this scenario:

A six month old Chinese Shar-Pei named Lucy meets for the first time in her life a body of fast moving water. Because she is naturally aloof from her genetics with the breed she takes towards the type a dog. She begins to rear and back up to try and slip her collar so she can run away. The trainer at that point takes a few steps backwards until the dog begins to calm down. They remain there until the dog is completely calm, and once this achieved the dog is rewarded for its calm behavior (through the method of clicker training). Then the trainer takes a step forward and continues to do so until the dog reacts as they did before, once this happens the trainer once more steps back until the dog is calm again and waits until the dog is completely comfortable with the situation before moving on again. This is not a fast process, but after over thirty minutes of working on simply approaching the creek they are finally able to do so. This behavior is fixed for the first encounter with the creek, but on repeat visits (the next 3-5) the dog presents with the same fear this time when she is closer and closer to the stream. Each return trip the trainer does the same until the dog is no longer afraid of the creek but rather curious, in order to reward the dog the trainer allows the dog to investigate the creek.

After working with dogs like this it becomes easier and easier to train the next one, but each type a dog will present its flight behavior in a different way. Some, will present with the typical want to retreat but others will present with what is termed "fear aggression." Meaning that the dogs are so afraid of what is happening that they will actually strike first before anything can happen to them.

Because of the nature of animals, dogs are hardwired from the beginning to expect things that otherwise would be provided for them by the natural world, but because dogs live in, what can be called an "unnatural world", genetically for them, they do not always get what they need. The biggest problem with this comes when humans forget that a dog is a dog. When dogs start to cross over into the realm of "baby" or "sibling" it becomes really hard for humans to supply basic needs to their dogs.

For instance dogs require a set establishment of rules that are unchangeable and always, disciplined the same. From as early as the time when their eyes and ears open dogs are watching and listening to your every move. And once they spot weakness or uncertainty in your operating procedure they will (when they start to mature) begin to test those boundaries. In reference to this, you can look at the average human teenager going through the "rebellious stage." What is often left out in the human mind of thinking is that by the time the dog is six months of age they are completely sexually mature and can at this time start to "act out" or even begin to test the boundaries. However, genetics also invested dogs with the ability to understand and in fact be aware of the idea of a hierarchy.

Dogs must learn at an early stage to control their urges, many animals in a shelter/rescue organization are there because someone along the way missed this crucial step. In the natural world this would be taught by an elder dog or leader in the pack, but in the domestic world it must be taught by the human. The most important part of this is to remember that dogs do not make excuses, they simply do. For instance consider this situation:

A tweleve year old mix breed and a nineteen week old mix breed puppy are in the common room of their owner's home. The puppy wants the toy that the older dog has. The puppy bounds forward and attempts to grab the toy, as the puppy heads in his direction the older dog starts the ritual of teaching. His lips raise, followed by a growl, followed by him standing and walking away from the puppy. The older dog then lays down further away and the puppy tries again. Once the puppy begins to move the older dog repeats this ritual. The puppy persists and the older dog ups the ante, once the puppy moves to place it's mouth on the toy the older dog leans forward and nips at the puppy's scruff. At this point the puppy retreats and gives up on trying to get the toy away from the older dog.

Puppies learn from the dominant members of the pack, and in the situation above the puppy did not want to give up until the dominant member used a slight show of touch to alert the puppy that it was going to far. This ritual can and often is performed once or twice more, perhaps with a different toy or object, but is ultimately learned by the puppy as a system of hierarchy. Oftentimes after this lesson is learned if the puppy has anything of interest to the older dog it will relinquish it to that dog because of the hierarchy of the pack.

Understanding

Part of dog learning and intelligence when dealing with humans comes from the fact that humans must understand some things. Dogs do not have the ability to speak, because of this they rely on non-verbal communication (something that is hardly understood in the human world now). It is important when training or handling a dog of any breed type to watch for these non-verbal signals. Signals as subtle as breathing changes or eye contact often slips past the human perception of what is happening. As an example:

A German Shepherd Dog approaches another dog or a human with his head tilted and a sideways glance, ears flicked halfway back so that they are pointing tips over his shoulders, fur on his scruff slightly high, and its tail is held straight out behind it.

This situation suggests that the dog is curious about the situation with the tilt of the head as well as with the backwards position of the ears. However, this dog also presents with some cautious behaviors. For one the fur on the scruff that is starting to stand suggests that the dog will in fact be willing to defend itself if needed to. The position of the tail, while straight out, suggests that the dog is alert in the situation.

ources and Further Links

* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_communication#Interpreting_animal_body_language A Wikipedia Article on Dog Communication]
* [http://www.flyingdogpress.com/difficult.html Training Dogs]
* [http://www.flyingdogpress.com/selfpg.html More on Training Dogs..]
* [http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/authors_Suzanne-Clothier-(1015991).htm Book based on Dogs]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_intelligence Dog Intelligence]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligence_of_Dogs Intelligence of Dogs]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_behavior Dog Behavior]