Thanks to my dog friends on Twitter, I learn about some interesting dog news. Here is a round up of things I thought you might enjoy, including when dogs look guilty, shock collar warnings, a good background piece on how dogs learn, and a dog who knows lots of tricks.
What Really Prompts The Dog’s Guilty Look
From Science Daily
Excerpt: Researchers showed … “that the human tendency to attribute a “guilty look” to a dog was
not due to whether the dog was indeed guilty. Instead, people see
‘guilt’ in a dog’s body language when they believe the dog has done
something it shouldn’t have – even if the dog is in fact completely
innocent of any offense.”
Vets on Behavior Proclaim, Never Use a Shock Collar
From North American Veterinary Conference Post Graduate Institute in Advanced Clinical Behavioral Medicine
Excerpt: “After falling out of favor, the electronic collars are making a
comeback. ‘We’re so concerned about keeping sharp knives or anything
that may be poisonous away from our pets because we love them so much;
yet, it’s acceptable to give our best friends a jolt,’ says Dr. Kersti
Seksel, who is a board certified veterinary behaviorist in both
Australia and in the United States. ‘It’s appalling!'”
How Dogs Learn
From Fun4Fido
Excerpt: “Dogs learn primarily through a process of association. They learn very
early in life that their behavour causes consequences they like and
those they don’t like. In this respect, the behavour of dogs will
reflect what they’ve experienced.”
Jessie the JRT Learns Tricks Via Clicker
It is fascinating. When they look a certain way, like “guilty,” they very likely are responding to something we’re doing OR we’re reading them completely wrong. It’s so hard, especially with dogs like Lilly, who often throw very mixed signals.
I’ve been thinking about those men & K’s response. Even though she moved toward them in terms of gross movement, all the fine details of her body were moving backward — her lips, her hips, etc.
I’ve learned from the reactivity side of Lilly’s fear that fearful dogs do sometimes move toward what scares them (at least a little).
Goodness knows she has a strong, flee or hide response too, but sometimes she moves toward things. Think of all the times you’ve seen her at class move toward dogs being rambunctious, when she goes into “bossy mode.”
I thought that the “guilty look” article was fascinating. I wonder how often I misinterpret my dogs’ body language. Kind of like yesterday after class when K pulled me toward a group of guys while whining – I didn’t realize that she was saying that she was afraid of the guys but you recognized it. I plan to blog about that because it’s such an opposite interpretation than my gut automatically makes.
It’s really hard for us humans to understand subtle aspects of dog behavior, I think.
I wonder if Dinah’s behavior isn’t more of an appeasement thing meant to assuage you, if she thinks you’re mad at her. Lilly offers us appeasement behaviors all the time when she’s fearful or seems to think she’s in trouble, even when she’s not.
Lilly does do a hilarious slink to the door after breakfast each morning. It’s like she’s sneaking up on the door or something. We laugh, so I’m sure that’s why she keeps doing it.
It’s a very different world than when we had our late Dal (Penelope) she would do outrageous things and look at us like YEP, that was me!
That’s an interesting choice for community safety. Scary! Is it really that much of a hardship to hold on to a leash? Me thinks not.
It’s the craziest thing. I’ve heard people defend it by saying it
doesn’t hurt, but if that’s the case, then why is that dad in Oregon
being prosecuted for child abuse for using one on his kids?
<http://www.childinjurylawyerblog.com/2009/05/oregon_dad_uses_dog_collar_to.html>
I also am amused by the softer term “e-collar” (as in electronic
collar) rather than “shock collar.” I’m sure it’s meant to impart a
more humane image. Electronics aren’t scary. Many regular folk use
electronic fences, for example.
But, the difference between a shock collar and an electronic fence is
that the dog has control over being shocked or not with the fence. With
the collar, the poor dog is subjected to the timing and temperament of
the person.
I don’t even clicker train when I’m in a bad mood. Imagine some crabby person training with a shock collar.
Those of you who know clickers, know how hard it is to get the timing
just right. I’d rather accidentally reward a behavior any day.
Plus, I’ve heard from veterinary behaviorists that punishment can make dogs less predictable. That’s why consistent positive reinforcement is so important in shelter or rescue settings. If some people use rewards and others use punishment, it can really mess with already-sensitized dogs’ minds and make them unpredictable. BUT, if they learn that EVERYONE uses positive reinforcement, they can better relax in an often stressful setting.
I was appalled to learn that a few months ago, our town approved the use of shock collars to satisfy the leash law within town limits. People are walking their dogs downtown next to busy streets, off leash, ready to shock them if they head for the road. I’m waiting for the dog who goes after some toddler’s icecream cone and gets a jolt right when it is face to face with someone’s child.
Also, a little while back I posted a note on a local dog owner’s list looking for appropriate dogs to have B meet. I got one reply from someone who thought that our big field would be the perfect place to try out her new shock collar – using my puppy as a distraction!!! Eeeks! And they totally didn’t get why I wasn’t interested, and emailed me back several time trying to convince me. Ugh!
Good tweets! I certainly agree about shock collars…horrible!
What a fantastic video of Jessie! Tommy (our video-watching furkid) and I just loved it. I’ll make sure Jack sees it. Wow, to be able to train a little one to do all that would be too much fun…I better get with it and read up. Thanks for sharing this one.
When Dinah feels guilty she flings herself to the floor and wipes her snout furiously with her front paws. Crispin’s guilt sometimes gives him away–if he slowly slinks out of a room instead of just walking out, it invariably means he’s trying to make it outside unnoticed with some forbidden item in his mouth.