Can dogs learn everything they need to know in one eight-week puppy kindergarten or basic obedience class? No. That’s just a small part of your dog’s education.

Given the typical canine lifespan of 10-plus years, it’s all too easy to forget that the previous dog didn’t come fully loaded but required careful weeks, months and maybe even years of patient, consistent training and reinforcement to become the perfect dog of your memory. If you’re asking yourself “How long does it take to train a dog basic cues?” we’re here to help with information on factors that influence canine learning and how long it can take to teach particular skills.

How Learning Starts

It might seem as if neonatal puppies do nothing but eat and sleep, but from birth they are taking in scents and experiencing touch, both of which contribute to their knowledge of their surroundings, even if they can’t see or hear yet.

The critical period for learning is when pups are between 3 and 14 weeks old. By three weeks, their eyes and ears have opened and they’re mobile, if a little wobbly. They start using their paws and mouths to explore their environment.

With no preconceived notions about vacuums, cats, people in uniforms, or veterinary clinics, it’s the perfect time for them to have positive exposure to many different people, places, objects, sounds, surfaces, smells, and other environmental stimuli, known as socialization. With puppies being weaned and going to new homes when they are usually 8 weeks to 12 or more weeks old (later is often better if they’re in a situation where they receive a variety of socialization experiences), this type of activity can occur at the breeder’s home, in a foster home, or after the pup has come home with you.

Puppies should meet new people and animals and have new experiences multiple times a week rather than meeting the same neighbors and friends and going to the same places all the time. Those encounters and experiences should be so great that your puppy looks forward to anything new.

As puppies grow in experience, their brains grow too. The brain becomes larger and changes shape as its dendrites—specialized brain nerve cell structures that receive and process information—reach out to make connections with other nerve cells. By the time puppies are four months old, their brains are almost fully wired. Almost. Canine brains continue to develop until the dog is about two years old, so even if a pup looks grown-up, they still have a lot to learn, especially about impulse control.

Factors That Influence Learning

Socialization is an important element of learning, but it’s not the only one. How quickly your dog learns depends on several key factors:

• Maternal care and stress level during pregnancy
• Good puppy nutrition
• Genetic predisposition
• Learning style
• Training techniques

A mother dog’s stress level can affect the future behavior of her unborn puppies. If they experience high-stress situations before giving birth, their pups may be more anxious or fearful in stressful or unexpected situations. These young dogs can benefit from additional or intensive socialization.

Feeding a high-quality puppy food containing DHA from fish oil has been shown in studies to improve learning ability—cognition, memory, and psychomotor skills—in puppies up to a year old. Puppies eating high-DHA diets appeared to have stronger responses to training.

Breed or mix is important because different breeds have different types of skills and intelligence. That doesn’t make certain breeds “smarter” (Border Collies, Poodles, we’re looking at you), but it can affect not only how they learn but also how quickly they learn. Here’s what to know about certain types of dogs:

• Herding, working, and sporting dogs (including Poodles, which originated as water-retrieving dogs) tend to have a reputation for being fast learners.
• Some dogs may seem as if they haven’t caught on to something, but often they are sitting, watching, and thinking, later demonstrating that they’ve absorbed the lesson. This type of learning is often seen in hounds and guardian dogs, says veterinarian, breeder and trainer Deb Eldredge, but any dog may learn this way.
• Independent dogs tend to have good problem-solving skills. Sometimes that makes it difficult to stay a step ahead of them.
• Toy dogs and non-sporting dogs—the latter group being a miscellaneous assortment of unrelated breeds—are just as smart and capable of learning as bigger dogs. Don’t neglect training them just because they’re small, cute, or lack a discernible skill!

Puppies in general are “sponges,” learning things quickly—often the things we don’t want them to learn—but they also have short attention spans. Short, sweet training sessions that end on a high note are more effective than long, intensive ones. Rewards help dogs to understand what you want and to be more excited about repeating a particular behavior.

The presence of another dog as a teacher’s aide can also be helpful. It’s not unusual for dogs to mimic what they see other dogs doing, especially if they see those dogs being rewarded for a behavior. This has frequently worked well in my dog-training life.

The power of instinctive behaviors is a factor, too. Beagles, for instance, have great nose intelligence, but they’re probably not going to be very good at herding sheep, says Minnesota dog trainer and Beagle owner Denise Nord.

Training Time

Theory is all well and good, but how long does it take to train a dog on basic cues? The answer—“It depends”—is unsatisfying, but bear in mind that dogs learn most quickly with practice and patience. Start with easy behaviors and build on your—and your dog’s—successes.

Sit may well be the behavior that dogs learn most easily and quickly. It’s a natural action, making it easy to “capture” by clicking and treating when the dog is already in position or luring the dog into position with a treat. Using those techniques, dogs can learn “Sit” within the space of a few minutes.

The trick is then putting a name to the act and practicing and reinforcing it over time so that muscle memory kicks in immediately when dogs hear the cue. That takes longer, from a few weeks to a few months. Practice in different situations, different places, around different people, and around other animals: this is how you “proof” your dog so that response to “Sit” is immediate, no matter what. It pays off throughout life with your dog sitting at the door, to greet people, before meals, or as part of an agility or rally competition, to name just a few of its uses.

Similar techniques work well with “Down” and “Stand.” I find it easiest to capture a down rather than luring a dog into place, but a good mantra is “Every dog is different.” Do what works for you and your dog. Like “Sit,” it takes time and practice to get a reliable response every time.

A more complex behavior to teach is walking on leash without pulling. Unless you’re training for obedience competition, there’s no need to require a dog to walk exactly at your side all the time, but they should be well-mannered enough that you don’t have to worry about being pulled over or tripped by them.

Achieving that is a lot more involved than attaching a leash to a collar and expecting the dog to go where you want, when you want. Expect reliable loose-leash walking to take up to a year. A five- or six-month-old puppy in the throes of adolescence is going to start doing some backsliding as they test their position in the family and your patience.

Loose-leash walking must be proofed in many different places and situations, simply because puppies change so much during their first year. “What they find distracting today may not be distracting tomorrow,” Nord says. “What you get in your backyard is going to be very different than what you get walking down the street or in a class or at a large event.”

What about housetraining? A schedule is important, but it also takes time for a puppy’s body to mature so they can “hold it” for longer periods. Plan on six months to a year to achieve full reliability. For more information, see “How to House Train a Puppy.”

Class and Homework

As long as they’ve had their first set of vaccinations, puppies can often participate in a kindergarten class as early as 8 weeks old. But don’t wait until then to start teaching your new dog the basics. That can begin on day one at home. Your puppy or new dog should look to you as the provider of all good things and fun times, and that’s what training should be.

While training can take months, it doesn’t require a lot of time in the moment. As mentioned above, puppies have a short attention span. Spending a few minutes—or even as little as 30 seconds—training several times a day helps to build a strong foundation for success as a puppy and throughout life. It also ensures that training becomes a routine part of the day.

As you work with your new dog, pay attention to how they react to the environment. Every dog approaches things differently. If a newly acquired puppy or adult dog seems anxious, give them some time to settle in. Start with easy, fun activities that allow them to be successful and build confidence. Then their brains can work at full capacity.

How long does it take to fully train a dog? Plan on six months to a year to teach the basics and feel confident in your dog’s behavior. To build a rock-solid response in any situation? That can take longer, but it’s worth the effort. Proofing helps dogs learn to adjust to variables in the environment and respond appropriately.

What experts call “behavioral leveling” typically occurs when dogs become familiar with their environment and understand what’s expected of them. For most dogs, that seems to magically take place when they’re 18 to 24 months old. Or not. Plenty of dogs act puppylike well into adulthood, not achieving a grown-up brain until they’re five or six years old, if ever.

But no matter when your dog achieves maturity, learning is a life-long endeavor. Continuing to practice a dog’s skills and teach new ones throughout life, even into old age, helps to keep their brains supple and may well help to stave off dementia.

The post How Quickly Do Dogs Learn? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

In recent years, behavior scientists have refuted prior thinking that dog brains were pretty limited. (Scientists now acknowledge that canines have extensive cognitive abilities, which has given rise to a whole new range of canine toys, games and training protocols.. Because thinking is very tiring (remember studying for that chemistry exam?), the really good news is that brain exercise can be as tiring and fun as physical exercise.

Here are some of our favorite indoor dog games to help you and your dog survive social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic:

Interactive DIY Dog Toys

While there are commercially-available interactive toys, you can also make toys from things you have at home. Here are some DIY ideas:

Muffin Tin Game: Take a muffin tin and as many tennis balls as your tin has cups. Place a treat in each cup, and press a tennis ball into the cup. Show your dog there’s a treat under the ball if necessary, then hold the tin while she works to recover the goodies.

Tootsie Rug Roll: Let your dog watch you roll up a carpet runner as you drop treats into the runner every six to twelve inches. When the carpet is completely rolled up say “Find it!” and let her figure out how to nudge the roll open to get to the treats. Sometimes feed her meals this way!

Watch Closely: Put three opaque drinking mugs on the floor (wood or vinyl floor works best). Show your dog a treat and place it under one mug. Say “Find it!” and wait for her to nose one of the mugs. When she does, pick up that mug. If the treat is there, let her eat it. If it’s not, cheerfully say, “Too bad!” reset the treat and mugs, and repeat. When she noses the correct mug reliably 8 out of 10 times, take the next step: put the treat under one mug, and shuffle two of the three mugs once. The treat is now moved by one spot. Say “Find it!” Pick up the mug she noses. If it’s there let her eat it. If not, say “Too bad!” and repeat. When she’s successful 8 out of 10 tries, increase difficulty, first by shuffling all three mugs briefly, then shuffling for longer periods.

Cognition Games

Cognition means “mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, including thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and problem-solving.” As we learn more about canine cognition, we add even more creativity to our training. 

Related: Are Canines Cognitive?

Here are some simple dog cognition exercises:

Choice: Let your dog watch you close a treat in one fist. Offer him both closed fists and say “You choose!” Open the fist he sniffs first. If the treat is there, let him eat it. If it’s not, say “Too bad!” and repeat. When he chooses the treat-fist 8 out of 10 times, generalize “You choose” to other situations and let him indicate his choice. Go the door and say “Inside or outside? You choose!” Let his body language tell you which he wants, and honor his choice. Take him for a walk on leash, and when the path divides, say “This way or that way? You choose!” Do these (and many more) as frequently as possible, and he’ll happily understand what it means when you are giving him a choice. 

Want More Tips? Read Pro-Choice from the November 2016  issue.

Object Discrimination: Start with objects your dog already interacts with. Say “Ball, touch!” and invite him to touch it with his nose or paw. Repeat until he does this promptly and reliably, then do it with a second known object: “Fluffy, touch!” Now hold out both objects with one much closer to him, and ask him to touch the one that’s closer. Repeat, randomly swapping the closer one. Gradually decrease the offset until both are the same distance and he can touch the requested item reliably 8 of 10 times. Now add other objects to his repertoire, including new objects that you name.

There are many more cognitive and interactive games you can teach your dog, including reading, color discrimination, imitation and painting.

These days, the fun you can have with your dog indoors is limited only by your imagination and creativity. Time to get busy!

Read Next: Copy That

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1. Prepare a few objects in advance.

If you think using toys will get your dog too excited, pick some items that mean nothing to him, like maybe a strainer, a paperweight, and a flashlight (I’ve randomly chosen these items simply by looking around my kitchen and picking things my dog has never interacted with). Choose items that would be difficult for him to put in his mouth if you want to avoid inadvertently triggering a game of chase. Larger items can easily be targeted with his nose.

2. Sit down with your dog.

Get into position. Have your dog sit or lie down and then sit on the floor facing him.

3. Start by having your dog target one item.

Place one of the items on the floor in front of him, close enough that he can reach it with his snout. The instant he leans towards it to sniff it, click or say “Yes!” and give him a treat. Deliver the treat away from the object, but close enough to your dog so he doesn’t need to stand up. When he’s done eating the treat he will probably turn his head back toward the object to check it out again. Click or say “Yes!” and reward him again.

If your dog has done target training with his nose before, he should pick up on the game quickly and touch the object with his nose easily. If he’s new to target training, be patient and mark and reward even the slightest movement of his nose towards the object. You want to encourage curiosity and interaction with the object.

4. Give the first item a name.

When your dog reliably targets the item with his nose, give that item a name. Say the name just as he’s leaning toward it. For example, say “Strainer” just before he touches the strainer with his nose. Mark and reward. Repeat this several times so that he gets to hear the word “Strainer” often. We want him to begin to associate the word with the object.

5. Have your dog target a second object (but don’t name it yet).

After many repetitions of saying the name of the object and marking/rewarding your dog for touching the object with his nose, it’s time to bring in a second object. You will now have both the strainer and the new object on the floor in front of your dog. He will likely explore the new object with his nose. Ignore that; don’t mark and treat. Say “Strainer” (or the name of the original object), give your dog a moment to think about it, and mark/treat for touching the first object.

If your dog is able to comfortably and safely take a few steps, move the two objects to a new location, even if it’s just a few feet away from where you were a moment ago. Place the objects about two or three feet apart and cue your dog to “Go touch the strainer.” Mark and reward if he gets it right!

6. Add another item to target.

Increase the level of difficulty by adding a third item, but continue to ask your dog to identify and target the first object.

7. Name additional items as you include them in your targeting exercise.

To name another item, start the process over again with only the new item to be named in front of your dog. Refer back to #4; say the name of this new object just before he touches it, mark and reward when he does. Repeat several times so he associates this object with its name (for example, “flashlight”). With practice, you’ll be able to place more than one named item on the floor and ask your dog to touch each object by name (“touch the strainer”). Mark and reward when he gets it right! Learning to discriminate between items by name can take time and lots of repetition. Enjoy the process – there’s no hurry!

The post How to Teach Your Dog Object Names appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

There’s a good likelihood that this lack of choice is at least partly responsible for the amount of stress we are seeing in many of our canine companions these days. Imagine how stressed you would be if your life was as tightly controlled as your dog’s! We can introduce choice to our dogs by teaching them a “You Choose” cue: Select a very high-value and very low-value treat. Show one to your dog and name it (Meat, Beef, Chicken). Let her eat it. Repeat several times. Show the other to your dog and name it (Kibble, Milkbone). Let her eat it. Repeat several times. Now tell her to “Wait,” say your high-value name, put it in a bowl and set it on the floor at your feet. Repeat “Wait” if needed, say your low-value name, put it in a bowl and set it on the floor six inches to the side of the first bowl. Now say “You choose!” “Pick one!” (or whatever you want your “Choice” cue to be) and invite her to choose a bowl. While she eats that treat, pick up the other bowl. Repeat numerous times, randomly putting down high-value/low value first, on random sides, until it’s clear she’s realizing she can choose her preference. (You might be surprised to discover what you think is higher value for her; it may not be!) Now think of other ways you can offer your dog choices in her daily life!

The post Teach Your Dog to Choose Things appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

1. Get cognitive with your dog. Check out the possibilities and play with the ones that appeal to you.

2. Find a dog training professional in your area who offers classes or instruction in canine cognition learning.

3. Give your dog opportunities to make choices and observe his selections; you might learn something about him that you never knew!

There was a time, centuries ago, when scientists and philosophers told us that animals don’t feel pain. Of course, we know now how wrong and cruel that was, and I doubt there’s a Whole Dog Journal reader out there who would try to argue that dogs don’t feel pain.

Then we were told that humans are the only species that make and use tools. Oops, wrong again. A quick online search on “Animals, Tools” finds multiple intriguing articles and videos about a multitude of various animals that make and use tools, including insects, birds, mammals, and more.

Next, we were warned that if we credited “human” emotions to non-human animals we were engaging in anthropomorphism, defined as “the attribution of human traits, emotions, and intentions to non-human entities.” It’s now pretty widely accepted that many other animals, including dogs, share much the same range of emotions that we do, and in fact that it’s pretty arrogant of us to claim them as “human” emotions. Think about it. Can your dog be happy? Sad? Frightened? Worried? Those are emotions.

In our apparently endless quest to prove our species superior to all others who walk this earth, even as those other dominoes fall, we have long clung stubbornly to the belief that dogs and other species were seriously deficient in the cognition arena. Defined as “perception, reasoning, understanding, intelligence, awareness, insight, comprehension, apprehension, discernment” (and more, depending on the source), cognition also includes the ability to grasp and apply concepts, and “theory of mind” – the ability to recognize and understand the thoughts of others.

Academic Discoveries in the Cognitive Ability of Dogs

Fifteen years ago, you wouldn’t have found the words “canine” and “cognition” in the same sentence. Today, following on the heels of a blossoming interest in animal cognition in the field of behavioral science, there are canine cognition researchers and laboratories springing up all over the world. Among the most notable: Adam Miklosi’s “Family Dog Project” at Eötvös Loránd University, in Budapest, Hungary; the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard College in New York City (with Julie Hecht and Alexandra Horowitz); the Clever Dog Lab at the University of Vienna, in Austria (Zsofia Viranyi and Friederike Range); and the Duke Canine Cognition Center at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina (Brian Hare).

You can find a more complete list of Canine Cognition research centers at Patricia McConnell’s blog on the subject. Suffice it to say, it’s happening all over the place.

So what does this mean for the regular dog owner? The knowledge gained and shared by canine cognition researchers can inspire your local forward-thinking dog training and behavior professionals to introduce new and interesting activities in their dog training programs.

You can also access a growing body of information that can lead you to fascinating things you can do with your own dog in the comfort of your own home. Brian Hare, PhD, who co-authored The Genius of Dogs with his wife, Vanessa Woods, created the citizen science Dognition program, which offers a cognition assessment tool for your dog and a new cognition game you can do with your dog each month. (See “The Dog’s Mind,” May 2013.) Our new and growing understanding of canine cognition can move the entire dog training profession toward a more enriched world that better meets the needs of our canine companions.

Early Cognition Fun

Here at Peaceable Paws (my training center in Fairplay, Maryland), we have been following the canine cognition revolution with great interest. One of the first glimmers of a practical application of our dogs’ cognitive abilities came with Claudia Fugazza’s “Do As I Do” protocol. Studying under Adam Miklosi in Hungary, Fugazza developed a protocol to teach dogs to imitate human behavior – something it was previously believed dogs weren’t capable of doing. We started offering “Copy That” workshops, and delighted in seeing dogs master the art of imitation.

The training world has also embraced the cognitive concept of choice for our canine pals. (See “Training A Dog to Make Choices,” November 2016.) To quote psychology professor Dr. Susan Friedman, “The power to control one’s own outcomes is essential to behavioral health.” Acknowledging that dogs often have very little choice in their lives, trainers have begun teaching a “You choose” cue, encouraging clients to find more ways of offering their dogs a choice. Learn how to play “You Choose” here.

Discrimination Games for Building Canine Cognition

Many cognition games involve the concept of “discrimination” (selecting one designated object from other similar ones) and “fast mapping” (quickly learning the names of new things and being able to correctly identify them). The famous Border Collie Chaser knows the names of hundreds of different objects and is able to correctly select the one her handler asks for. Even more impressive, if a new object is placed with several that she already knows, when asked for the new object she can correctly select that one and bring it back, using “process of elimination” (she knows all the others and correctly surmises the new word must apply to the unknown object).

Here are some discrimination games you and your dog can play. In each case, we are asking her to grasp a concept – object names, shapes, colors – and apply that understanding to make correct choices:

Object Discrimination

1. Select two objects that your dog likes – a stuffed toy, a ball, a stick. If she already knows the names of the objects, you’re ahead of the game!

2. Name one object, offer it in your hand, pause, and then cue her to touch it with her nose or paw – ie. “Ball, touch!” When she does, click and treat. Repeat several times.

3. Now do the same with your second object – “Teddy, touch!” Click and treat.

4. Now offer both objects at the same time. In order to help her succeed, offer one closer to her, and cue her to touch that one. Repeat multiple times, randomly alternating which one you offer closer to her and ask her to touch. Also switch sides, so the same object isn’t always in the same hand.

5. Gradually decrease the offset of the target object until you can offer them both to her at the same distance, and she will consistently touch the one you ask her to touch.

6. Now repeat the process with the objects on the floor, again starting with the target object closer to her to help her succeed, until she can touch either requested object consistently and correctly with both objects the same distance away.

7. Finally, name and add more objects to her repertoire. The sky’s the limit!

Shape Discrimination

For this one, you will need to find or make shapes that are similar in size and color, with the shape being the only difference. We use black shape silhouettes (squares, circles, and triangles) glued onto square white boards.

1. As with the object discrimination game, hold up one shape, name it, and ask your dog to touch it, i.e., “Square, touch!” Repeat several times.

2. Now do the same with your second shape – “Circle, touch!”

3. Now offer both shapes at the same time. In order to help her succeed, offer one closer to her, and cue her to touch that one. Repeat multiple times, randomly alternating which one you offer closer to her and ask her to touch. Also switch sides, so the same shape isn’t always in the same hand.

4. Now repeat the process with the shapes on the floor, propped up against a wall, again starting with the target shape closer to her to help her succeed, until she can touch either requested shape consistently and correctly with both objects the same distance away.

5. Finally, name and add more shapes to her repertoire.

Color Discrimination

This one can be a little tricky, since dogs are red-green color-blind, like some humans. Blue looks like blue to them, yellow looks like yellow, and black looks like black. Greens and oranges also look “yellow-ish,” while reds look brown or tan. When we teach colors we use colored paper plates and start with blue and yellow, since we know dogs can distinguish those. We then use red for our third color, since whatever it looks like to the dog, we know it is different from blue or yellow. The process is essentially the same as the previous two discrimination exercises.

1. Hold up one color, name it, and ask your dog to touch it, i.e., “Blue, touch!” Repeat several times.

2. Now do the same with your second color – “Yellow, touch!”

3. Now offer both colors at the same time. In order to help her succeed, offer one closer to her, and cue her to touch that one. Repeat multiple times, randomly alternating which one you offer closer to her and ask her to touch. Also switch sides, so the same color isn’t always in the same hand.

4. Repeat the process with the colors on the floor, again starting with the target color closer to her to help her succeed, until she can touch either requested color consistently and correctly with both the same distance away.

5. Finally, name and add red to her repertoire.

And what then? You can get creative and mix them up. See if she can learn to select the red balls from a pile of red and blue ones. Teach her the names of the rooms in your house and ask her to bring the yellow Frisbee to you from the bedroom. Teach her the names of family members and ask her to take the blue teddy to Dad in the living room.

Reading, Writing, ‘Rithmetic

No fooling – taking cognition one step farther, it really is possible to teach dogs to read, count and even write. We’ve touched on canine reading before (See “Teaching Your Dog to Read,” October 2006), but here’s a quick rundown of how to start:

1. Make two white signs that are identical in size and shape, with the word “SIT” in large black letters on one sign, and the word “DOWN” on the other.

2. With your dog standing in front of you, hold up the “SIT” sign, pause, and verbally cue your dog to sit. Repeat until you can hold up the sign and he sits without you having to say “Sit.” He now thinks holding up a white square with black squiggles on it is a cue for “Sit.”

3. Now hold up the “DOWN” sign in the exact same position you previously held up the “SIT” sign, and verbally cue your dog to down. Repeat until you can hold up the sign and he lies down without you having to say “Down.” He now thinks holding up a white square with black squiggles is the cue for “Down.”

4. Now vary which sign you hold up in the exact same position, pause and cue the appropriate behavior, until you see that your dog is beginning to offer the correct behavior in response to whichever sign you hold up. Your dog is reading – if recognizing that one set of squiggles means he should sit, and the other means he should lay down.

5. If you want to take it further, make additional cue cards for behaviors your dog knows, and use the same procedure to teach him new words.

What about writing and arithmetic? Ken Ramirez, former head curator at the Chicago Aquarium and current Executive Vice President and Chief Training Officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training, has taught his dog to count to 14. It’s too complicated to explain here, but you can read Ramirez’s description of the amazing project here.

Emily Larlham of Dogmantics Dog Training in San Diego, California, demonstrated her dog’s ability to write words with a marker held in his mouth to a dumbfounded crowd of dog trainers at last year’s Pet Professional Guild Summit in Tampa, Florida. I kid you not. There is still so much more to learn about our dog’s cognitive abilities. The sky truly is the limit.

The post Are Canines Cognitive? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Thanks to the pioneers in the development of effective, force-free dog training techniques, there are now thousands of trainers (including me) who use, teach, and promote force-free training. In the past few decades, we’ve learned the value of creating relationships with dogs based on voluntary cooperation, built on a foundation of mutual trust and respect.

We learned about the “four quadrants of operant conditioning,” and realized that the tools many of us had successfully used in the past, such as choke chains and prong collars, and verbal and physical punishment, worked because they suppressed behavior. They taught the dog that if he did the wrong thing, we would hurt or intimidate him.

We learned to ask questions. Not just, “Does this work?” but “Why does this work?’ and the very important “Is this something I am willing to do to my dog?”

We learned that there was an entire body of science behind dog training and behavior. We eagerly embraced the science, and learned about behavior analysis, unconditioned responses, classical conditioning, and much more.

The more we learned, the more we committed to our position that, while old-fashioned punishment-based methods may work, there is no need to use them, and no ethical justification to do so. We became operant conditioning junkies. We thought we had it all figured out.

Then the world shifted again.

Cognitive scientists turned their attention to dogs, and confirmed what we had suspected all along: that canine behavior is far more complex than what can be explained by Skinner boxes and Pavlovian responses. Our canine companions not only share a wide range of emotions comparable to our own, but also, they are capable of grasping and applying complex concepts, functioning on a higher cognitive level than we had previously been encouraged to believe. While positive reinforcement-based trainers had long come to value the role of “relationship” in training, to a blossoming new generation of trainers, “relationship” doesn’t just have a role; instead, training is relationship.

Positive reinforcement-based trainers have acknowledged the importance of relationship, in part, just by altering our vocabulary. Because they are a reflection of our internal processing, and because they influence our associations, words matter. Many of us now say “Cue” (a signal that indicates an opportunity to perform a behavior to gain a reinforcer) instead of “Command” (do this behavior or else!). We call our training classes “good manners” instead of “obedience.” We “ask” or “help” our dog do a behavior rather than “make” him do it. We recognize that, as the supposedly more intelligent species, it’s our job to get our dogs to demonstrate that they happily and eagerly want to do what we ask of them.

Some professionals are going one step further, calling themselves “teachers” rather than “trainers,” and suggesting that we are “educating” dogs in a broader, cognitive sense rather than just “training” them to do a specific set of rote behaviors. It’s a compelling position.

Our Dogs’ Choices and Empowerment

One would expect that the rise of force-free training methods and the increased awareness of and respect for dogs as sentient creatures would make life easier for them. We should expect to see a corresponding rise in the number of calm, stable, well-adjusted dogs who are happily integrated into lifelong loving homes. But many training and behavior professionals note with alarm the large number of dogs in today’s world who seem to have significant issues with stress and anxiety, with high levels of arousal and low impulse control.

It’s quite possible this is a function of societal change. There was a time not so very long ago when life was pretty casual for our family dogs. They ran loose in the neighborhood day and night; ate, slept, played, and eliminated when they chose; and many had jobs that fulfilled their genetic impulses to herd some sheep or cows, or retrieve game felled by a hunter’s gun.

In contrast, life today is strictly regimented for many of our canine companions; many live in social isolation, and when they do get out, their activities are on a tight schedule. Owner expectations and demands are high. Dogs are told what to do from the moment they are allowed to get up in the morning until they are put to bed at night, including when and where they are allowed to poop and pee. Some of today’s dogs never get to run off-leash or socialize freely on a regular basis with other dogs. During any free time they may have, they are expected to just lie around and be “well behaved” (by human standards, not canine ones!). They have virtually no control over what happens in their world. Some trainers suggest this strict regimentation is a significant contributor to the stress and arousal levels of today’s family dog. Imagine how stressed you might be if your life was as tightly controlled by someone else.

Canine Empowerment Pioneer

The word “choice” started cropping up in positive training circles well over a decade ago, in no small part thanks to Susan G. Friedman, Ph.D., who was a faculty member in the Psychology department at Utah State University from 1995 to 2014. Today, Dr. Friedman is a frequent presenter at animal behavior and training conferences, always promoting the use of Applied Behavior Analysis – the technology of behavior change, developed originally for human behavior applications – for working with animals of every species.

Dr. Friedman began her career in psychology 40 years ago by working with adolescents with severe behavior problems at a residential treatment facility. After earning a Ph.D. in special education, she worked for a number of years in human education settings. She was drawn into the study of animal behavior after obtaining pet parrots for her young daughters.

“When I read the lay literature for how to care for and interact with the birds, I was horrified at the density of the cultural fog about how behavior works,” Dr. Friedman says. At the time, the field of parrot training was even more densely populated with punishment-based methods than dog training, and most of the advice that could be found was focused on getting rid of problematic (mostly aggressive) parrot behavior.

In Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), the goal is to develop procedures that will produce objectively measurable changes in behavior. In humans, the work might be aimed at increasing the amount of time that a hyperactive child will focus on homework, or increasing the number and quality of personal self-care skills (brushing teeth, bathing) that an autistic child can be expected to perform. Given her experience with using ABA to help humans increase the incidence of their socially acceptable or personally beneficial behaviors, Dr. Friedman immediately saw that the same principles could be used to help animals change their behavior, too.

“I started writing about the science of behavior change and its basic focus: that behavior is always conditional. To change behavior we need to change conditions – not the animal! – by making the right behavior easier and more reinforcing. The wrong question is to ask how to stop problem behavior. The right question is, ‘What do you want the learner to do instead?’ ”

Dr. Friedman began writing for and presenting information to animal training audiences, explaining the benefits and strengths of using ABA for teaching children with severe behavior disorders, and suggesting that the same approach can be taken with animals of any species.

One of the most basic standards for professional ABA educators is to use the most positive, least intrusive procedures that are effective for teaching new behaviors. Dr. Friedman explains that this standard is upheld in public federal laws that protect children, as well as in the Guidelines for Responsible Conduct for Behavior Analysts. She proposes,

“Surely a similar intervention hierarchy, both ethical and feasible to implement, would be in the best interest of companion animals, their caregivers, and the professionals working with them to solve behavior problems,” she says. “By selecting the least intrusive, effective procedures (i.e., positive reinforcement-based and empowering) we increase the humaneness of our interventions without compromising our learning objectives.”

Today, Dr. Friedman maintains a busy schedule, presenting lectures and behavior workshops to all sorts of animal behavior and training professionals and enthusiasts. She’s a faculty member at Karen Pryor’s Clicker Expo and her online course, “Living and Learning with Animals for Behavior Professionals,” has provided even wider dissemination of effective, humane behavior change practices to students in more than 30 countries.

“The power to control one’s own outcomes is essential to behavioral health,” Dr. Friedman frequently tells her audiences, using examples from many captive species of animals, from marine mammals in “sea parks” to parakeets in cages (and, yes, including the dogs in our homes). “Research demonstrates that to the greatest extent possible, animals should be empowered to use their behavior to control significant events in their lives. When a lack of control becomes a lifestyle, it may result in aberrant behaviors.”

I believe that Dr. Friedman’s thesis explains many cases of canine separation anxiety, aggression, and other behaviors that indicate our dogs’ unhappiness and cause problems for dog owners. Perhaps we can help our dogs be emotionally healthier by finding ways to give them more choices in their world.

Shaping Our Dogs to Make Choices

One way we can incorporate more choice and empowerment into our dog’s daily lives is through shaping and other positive teaching techniques, where the handler sets up problems for the dog to solve.

In shaping exercises, the dog must figure out what behavior to offer in order to elicit a treat from his handler. It might be a simple behavior such as a “sit,” or it might be a complex cognitive challenge like “match to sample,” in which the dog indicates a color, shape, or object that matches the “sample” provided to him. When the dog solves the problem and offers the behavior that earns him a reinforcement, you might hear his teacher/trainer enthusiastically praise with “Good choice!” Lots of behavior choices happen in the everyday lessons of any force-free program.

But canine teachers who promote choice and empowerment have a much grander vision than basic problem-solving options. Here are some other ways in which dogs are being offered choices so they have more control in their lives, with the goal of increasing their behavioral health:

Do You Want to Work?

Some trainers now ask their dog some version of this question before embarking on any training exercise. If the dog moves agreeably or enthusiastically forward to the task, the activity continues. If the dog indicates any reluctance to engage, the activity stops, or the trainer initiates a different activity that the dog might be more enthusiastic about participating in.

The Bucket Game

London-based trainer Chirag Patel developed a protocol he calls “The Bucket Game,” in which the dog has the opportunity to indicate his choice to proceed with a husbandry procedure – or not.

Patel, who has a Bachelor of Science (Hons) degree in Veterinary Sciences from the Royal Veterinary College in London as well as a post graduate certificate at the University of Lincoln in Clinical Animal Behavior (and has a Kelpie!), presented the game to the Pet Professional Guild membership at its first conference in November 2015, and its use is spreading like wildfire. A trainer demonstrated the procedure at a recent Peaceable Paws Behavior Modification Academy. I am now a fan, and will be sharing it with many of my future clients.

In the Bucket Game, the dog is reinforced for focusing attention on the bucket (or cup, or any other small item used as a target), and the handler initiates the beginning steps of the husbandry task – perhaps touching the dog’s ears in preparation for ear cleaning. If the dog takes his attention away from the bucket, the task stops – as does the reinforcement! If the dog stays focused on the bucket (or returns his gaze to the bucket), the task (and the reinforcement) is continued. The dog learns that he controls the procedure, and as a result becomes less stressed about it, eventually choosing to continue the procedure by gazing at the bucket.

A Facebook page that has been created by Domesticated Manners for the Bucket Game describes the game as an activity that empowers the dog to indicate when she is ready to start, when she may want to take a break, when she wants to stop, and when she wants her handler to slow down. “This game was initially designed to teach essential husbandry behaviors, (those that allow your dog to actively participate in her daily and veterinary care). But you will soon learn how this game can be integrated into your every day training to help reduce barking, increase confidence, and enhance your overall relationship.”

Which Way?

Next time you take your dog for a walk, how about letting him choose the way? When you get to the end of your driveway, let him decide whether to turn left or right. If the path divides in the woods, at least sometimes follow his lead instead of always telling him which way to go. Let it be his walk.

You Pick!

If your dog isn’t accustomed to making choices with you, you can teach him to understand the choice concept with this very simple “You Pick” exercise:

1. Hold a high-value treat in one hand, and a lower-value treat in the other.

2. Show both treats to your dog in your open hands. He can sniff, but don’t allow him to eat them.

3. Close your fists, say “You Pick!” and offer both to your dog, palms up, about 6 inches apart.

4. When he “picks” one hand by sniffing it first, open your fist and let him eat that treat.

5. Repeat, using various value treats, making sure the higher value treat is not always in the same hand.

6. When your dog indicates that he understands the game by his prompt eagerness to pick a hand, generalize it by holding two of his toys and letting him pick one. (Then play with him with that toy as the reinforcer for his choice.)

7. Generalize even further by looking for opportunities to ask him to pick – which way on the hike, which food bowl, perhaps even which collar and leash he’d like to wear. Start offering him verbal choices – “Up on the sofa, or on the floor? You pick!” “Inside or outside? You pick!”

What Else?

So – where do we go with all this? All the way, with Jennifer Arnold’s Bond-Based approach (see “A Bond-Based Approach to Dog Training“), where actually teaching your dog to do specific behaviors becomes secondary to developing your relationship with him? Or is there, perhaps, a middle ground, where we are much more sensitive to the role relationships plays in our lives with our dogs, while still using positive-based training methods to help them learn the behaviors we need them know in order to live happily with humans?

We’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think of the idea of giving your dog more choice and empowerment in his life? What opportunities can you identify in your life with your dog where you might be able to offer him more choices? Do you have examples you’d like to share of choice experiences you’ve had with your dog? As much as it stretches our brains, we’re excited about this step forward in the world of dog training and behavior. Are you?

The post Training a Dog to Make Choices appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

I have long had a love affair with an “All done!” or “That’s all” cue that tells my dogs that whatever activity we were engaged in is now over (similar to the “That’ll do, pig” from the beloved movie, Babe). It started in the mid-1980s with our first Australian Kelpie, Keli, who was seriously ball-crazy. Only her “All done!” cue would work to get her to stop bugging me to throw the beloved ball one more time.

I taught the cue to Keli by giving the “All done” cue and then placing the ball in a closed cupboard where she couldn’t even see it, and then steadfastly ignoring every behavior she offered to try to get the ball to come back out. Eventually she learned that there was no point in trying, and the “All done” cue effectively resulted in a calm, non-demanding Kelpie. I’ve used it with all my dogs ever since.

Some of my favorite trainers confirmed that they, too, have unconventional cues that they use with their dogs, many of which “just happened” as a result of daily life. Here are some of them:

Enough

Renee Amodeo of Vienna, Virginia, is a volunteer with Fairfax County Animal Shelter. She uses “Enough” much like I use “All done.” Her dog Dexter is an attention sponge, and when she tries to work on her laptop or read, he will paw her for attention.

To counter this, she says, “I will pat the top of his head and say ‘Enough!’ He stops and goes to the other end of the couch. I taught him this by doing just that; a tap on the head with ‘Enough,’ then ignoring any of his attempts to engage me. Initially I gave a very short timeout – just a few seconds – then would pile affection and praise on him. I gradually increase duration, and now he can go for as long as I need.”

Inside/Outside

Valerie Balwanz of Pampered Pets in Charlottesville, Virginia, uses the cue “Inside” in place of “Come” to get her dogs to come into the house from the backyard. Her “Come” cue means “Come to me,” and her “Inside” cue means to run past her into the house.

It’s useful to have an alternative to “Come” for the behavior that specifically means to come into the house, especially if your dog prefers playing in the yard to coming indoors. You can inadvertently “poison” your “Come” cue (give it a negative association) if you frequently use it to mean that the fun for your dog is over and he has to come inside now. Doing so can make “Come” become less effective when you need your dog to run happily to you. The method Valerie uses to teach “Inside” keeps her dog’s “Come” cue happy, and gives a very positive association to her “Inside” cue.

“To teach this,” Valerie describes, “I began with my dog Trixie outside when there were no distractions. I opened the back door and stood in the entryway. I tossed some kibble onto the floor, making sure that it was bouncing and rolling far into the house, and let her run toward it. As she passed through the doorway, I said, ‘Yes!’ (that’s my verbal marker – you could click instead) and let her gobble up the food.

“The kibble makes a distinct sound when tossed on the hardwood floor. The sound and the kibble’s rolling movement encourages Trixie to run inside. To increase the value of the kibble, I coat it with beef liver powder (made with a liver cube and a cheese grater).

“When Trixie was chasing the kibble into the house reliably, I introduced the cue, saying, ‘Inside!’ just before I tossed the kibble on the floor. I gradually started using the cue when she was farther out in the yard and we didn’t necessarily have eye contact. Then I started using it when there were distractions present, such as squirrels and deer. I mixed very high-value food with the kibble when she came away from distractions involving wild animals. I kept a jar of treats by the back door for years and heavily reinforced this cue. Now, when they hear the word ‘Inside!’ both of my dogs come running at top speed into the house.”

Indoor/Outdoor Toys

Estie Dallett of Civil Dogobedience in Washington, D.C., also has unique cues for indoor/outdoor-related behaviors, but with a different purpose. Kip, her Sheltie/Border Collie-mix, has toys that are specific to indoors and outdoors. When Kip wants to come inside but has a toy in his mouth that belongs outside – particularly dirty or noisy – she says, “Outside toy,” waits until he drops it, then lets him in. She uses “Inside toy” when he wants to go out but has a toy in his mouth that she wants to keep indoors (to keep it clean and fuzzy or to prevent it from getting lost under bushes).

Estie says, “Now he’s pretty quick to drop an item when he hears this. Sometimes it still takes him a little while to decide if he wants to stay outside to play with his favorite toy – a plastic water bottle with pebbles in it – or come in without it. So we close the door until he asks again to come in. We didn’t aim to teach it, but it evolved well!”

Go Lie Down

Carolyn Kerner of Dog Gone Right in Hammond, Louisiana, reminded me of an unconventional cue I frequently use with my own dogs: “Go lie down,” which is different from the formal “Down,” which means “lie down right now wherever you are.” “Go lie down” means “You can wander around and find a comfortable spot in which to lie down.”

Carolyn says, “I use ‘Go lie down’ with all the dogs that come into our house; it means for them to go find a comfy spot to chill, chew a bone, or just be out of the way for a little while. Most of the time I use it when I have a dog who continuously wants attention or petting and he has gotten more than his share already. I generally start the new dogs off by saying the cue, then encouraging them to go to a dog bed, and giving them something to keep them occupied. After a week or so they start picking up on it. I started using this many years ago in general conversation with my dogs.”

Usually, we tell people not use the same word for two different behaviors, but the dogs seem to understand the difference with this phrase!

Find the Poop

Lisa Marino of Head of the Class Dog Training in Winchester, Virginia, taught her Samoyeds to find hidden poop in her yard so she could scoop and keep the yard clean.

Lisa says, “It was kind of unintentional. With four dogs out at the same time in the dark (or in the snow, autumn leaves, etc.) one dog poops in one corner of the yard, and one goes in another corner. By the time I bag one deposit, the next dog has moved away from where he pooped. So even with a flashlight, I can’t always find the pile right away.”

To teach her dogs to help her find stray poops, Lisa “captured” the behavior. “As the dogs sniffed where poop was likely to be, I watched for more intense interest and got there to praise and reward them as soon as I found the poop. After a few times, when I was confident about reading the body language signs accurately, I would say, ‘Did you find the poop?’ and it eventually became a cue. I either toss a cookie to the side, so I can scoop the poop, or say, ‘Leave it’ if I am unarmed. The cue is especially useful in the autumn, when poop is hard to find among the fallen leaves in the yard.”

Go Now

Simone de Lima of Brasilia, Brazil, is the founder of Pro Anima, an animal advocacy group. She lived in New England for a time and, as a Brazilian native, was unaccustomed to the cold New England winters, complete with blizzards. She taught her Lab-mix, Mali, to poop on cue so she could get back inside the warm house as quickly as possible.

Simone remembers, “I had to teach her something to get her to poop quickly because this poor Brazilian woman wanted nothing to do with the outdoors in such weather!”

To teach it, she simply gave Mail positive reinforcement (treats) for defecating, and added the cue “Coco, Mali” (a slang Portuguese term meaning “poop”) when she knew her dog was about to oblige. Simone says, “It’s the best thing I ever taught her!”

Took us a Minute

Kelly Fahey, of The DogSmith of Hunterdon in New Jersey, has a cue she uses to position her dog Cooper when she has to clean off his rear end when he has loose stools due to allergies.

Kelly describes, “In the beginning stages of Cooper’s allergy issues, he would have times where he would poop and, well, it didn’t come off clean. I would need to clean off his butt. I figured if I tossed treats on the floor he would likely move in a circle as I tried cleaning him off. I decided to toss high-value treats on the top step in our garage that comes into the house.

“There are three steps. I figured by tossing the treats on the top step, he would likely walk up and have his front paws on the second step and his hind legs still on the garage floor, keeping him at an angle where he wouldn’t walk in a circle. I made sure to scatter plenty of food on the top step so I could clean him off the entire time he was eating. If he finished eating before I was done, I stopped, scattered more treats, and continued cleaning. As I was cleaning him off I would say ‘Tookus, wanna clean your tookus?’ After a while, all I had to do was say, ‘Wanna clean your tookus?’ and he would run to the steps and get into position.

“I selected the word ‘tookus’ rather than ‘butt’ because he loves having his butt rubbed, and already has a cue for that. He will roll into a half somersault position and keep his butt in the air while we scratch it or pat it and say, ‘Where’s your butt?’ His tail wags like a weapon and he makes sounds that rival a dinosaur. I didn’t want to confuse his fun game of ‘Where’s your butt?’ by using ‘butt’ for the cleaning behavior.”

Pills

Kelly Fahey, the trainer who taught her dog Cooper the “tookus” cue, also taught him an inadvertent cue when it was time to take his allergy medication.

Kelly recalls, “I didn’t set out to teach this cue. It was my intention to make Cooper’s pill-taking a fun game. Each time I needed to give a pill (or pills), I would call him over and happily say, ‘Do you want your pills?’ I’d hide them in various pieces of food.

“Each time I would stuff a pill and go to give it to him I would repeat, ‘Do you want your pills?’ in a super happy, playful tone. Now, all I have to say is ‘Do you want your pills?’ and he will come running from anywhere.

“For a bonus behavior, my other dog, Brynn, has learned that ‘Do you want your pills?’ means to sit patiently on the other side of me (Cooper always gets his pills on the right side, she waits on the left), while I play pharmacist. When I’m done giving out the meds, she gets a treat for sitting nicely and not being a noodge.”

You’re Not Going

My Kelpie, Kaizen, provided the motivation for yet another unconventional cue in the Miller household. My husband and I recently started taking Kaizen to agility classes at Kamp Kitty in nearby Falling Waters, West Virginia, and he adores his class – so much so that he started getting totally amped up every time we made preparations to go anywhere. We began telling him “You’re not going!” anytime he wasn’t accompanying us, and he quickly learned it meant he was staying home, so there was no point in getting all excited.

Now when we give him the “You’re not going!” cue he calms right down – and looks a little sad.

Win a Prize!

Now it’s your turn. I’m willing to bet there are a ton of Whole Dog Journal readers who have unconventional and unintentional cues that they use with their own dogs. Send a description of yours to WDJEditor@gmail.com by June 15, and we’ll include some in a blog post on wholedogjournal.com and pick one winner to receive a Pat Miller book or DVD.

Author Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ’s Training Editor, and lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center.

The post Doggy Inside Jokes: The Unconventional Cues Our Dogs Learn appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

While dog training does not require a degree in animal behavior, it is useful to understand how dogs learn. If you understand how your dog learns, you will be able to teach her more than what’s presented in this or any book, magazine, or class. You’ll also be better able to solve problems that arise. All animals, including humans, will maximize their well-being in the process of learning – which is just a fancy way of saying that animals do what works best for them. This includes getting things like food or desired objects as well as a sense of emotional well-being, such as feeling safe, happy, or engaged. Animals avoid things that make them uncomfortable and seek out things that they like, want, or need. So if you want an animal to do something for you (called a behavior), then either provide a pleasant consequence when she cooperates, or an unpleasant consequence when she doesn’t. Sometimes an animal is consciously thinking about what is happening around her. At other times, she is learning without any thought at all. In both cases, the animal is learning. Let’s take a moment to look at each of these scenarios, because they are important to understand.

When your dog is making choices and is aware of what she is learning, you are using operant conditioning. Although you probably didn’t realize it at the time, you were using operant conditioning when you taught your dog to perform some basic behaviors. Operant conditioning simply means that your dog makes an association between doing something and the resulting consequence. Nothing more, nothing less.

There are three basic ways you can use operant conditioning:

1. Your dog learns that when she does something you want, something awesome happens. For example, you may have taught your dog to sit by using a cookie.

2. Your dog learns that if she doesn’t do what you want, something unpleasant happens. Some people teach their dogs to sit by pulling up on the collar.

3. Your dog learns through a combination of each of the above. Cookies when she sits, and receiving a collar correction when she doesn’t.

Each time you give your dog a cue to do something, she makes a choice. She can calculate the sum of the possible motivators with the possible punishers and choose whether or not to comply. If complying with you works in her favor, she’ll likely obey. Same as with people.

There’s another form of learning, and this one is a bit more subtle. It’s called classical conditioning. Unlike operant conditioning, where the animal is making choices, classical conditioning doesn’t require any conscious effort at all to learn. It just happens. Animals are learning all the time, whether we are aware of it or not. When you were teaching your dog to sit – no matter how you did it – she was learning more than just how to sit. She was learning about training in general; is it fun and something to look forward to, or something unpleasant and best avoided? She learned how much she enjoys (or doesn’t enjoy) your company. She learned if the world is a safe, predictable place, or if it’s unsafe and anxiety-provoking. As you may have already guessed, people have the same experiences with classical conditioning. If you’re ever had a really super teacher who was patient, kind, and consistent, yet held you to high expectations, you know how hard you worked to learn and to please her, and how much you wanted to be in her company. On the other hand, if you’ve ever had a teacher or an employer who was grumpy, demanding, unreasonable, or unpredictable, you know how anxious you felt in her presence. You may have even discovered that under her supervision, you were unable to do even simple tasks because your nervousness blocked your ability to learn or to perform correctly. That is because fear overwhelms rational thought. Again, this is true in all animals, including dogs and humans.

Since classical conditioning isn’t conscious, you might find yourself feeling anxiety and unpleasantness well after the event that caused those reactions in the first place. Many parents who did not enjoy their school years have reported feeling upset or anxious when they first walked into their child’s school classroom, even twenty years later! Long after they have forgotten exactly what it was about school that was unpleasant, they still harbor the negative feelings. That’s classical conditioning at work. Just as the dog was learning without realizing it, it is quite likely that you were teaching these lessons without realizing it either. It is critically important for your dog to learn that training time is pleasant, because fear and anxiety block effective and efficient learning. The more your dog is able to relax and look forward to her lessons, the more quickly she will master them and work to please you. If you want your dog to be an engaged learner, then make it a priority to set up training sessions that are short, positive, and rewarding for your dog. In contrast, if you express disappointment in her work or use physical manipulation to get the desired responses, you’ll erode your working relationship by creating unpleasant classically conditioned responses to training.

I teach and use positive training methods for several reasons:

1. We want to condition our dogs to enjoy working with us so that they can learn more quickly.

2. We want our dogs to respond even when they are out of our physical reach. Dogs are smart. If compliance is gained primarily through methods that involve corrections, they quickly learn when you can and cannot enforce your cues. If your dog complies only when he is on a leash or when he is wearing a special collar, you need to consider how this relates to your training goals. How often do you need a recall on a six-foot leash? Probably never; he’s already with you! All dogs can figure out if they are wearing a leash, but it’s a rare dog who knows if you have access to a cookie. (Note that I said “access to.” Most dogs know if you have a cookie in your hand or pocket!)

3. While residual fear and the generally easygoing nature of dogs might allow for cooperation even when enforcement is not possible, it’s not much fun to have a dog cooperate because she is afraid of you. The purpose of having a dog is to enjoy the mutually beneficial relationship that can exist across species. Why create a relationship based on fear when it’s not necessary?

Good training plans take both operant conditioning and classical conditioning into account. You and your dog should both enjoy the process! If you aren’t both having fun, go back and look at why this might be. What are you teaching your dog without meaning to? Are you doing something to scare her, even if you don’t mean to? Find ways to make the process enjoyable for you both!

You can purchase Beyond the Back Yard from the Whole Dog Journal bookstore. 

The post Training Your Dog to Learn appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

First, there was the 1997 study in which some litters of puppies were allowed to watch their narcotics detection dog mothers while working in a real-life work environment, while other litters of puppies did not. When the pups were six months old, the pups who watched their mothers at work learned the task more easily and quickly than the pups who did not watch.

Later, Ken Ramirez, currently the executive vice president of animal collections and training at Chicago’s world-famous Shedd Aquarium, demonstrated how he taught his dog that the cue “Copy!” means “Do what that other dog just did.” When he shared his “Copy!” procedure at Karen Pryor’s Clicker Expo in 2011, the dog training world sat up and took notice.

Now there is an exciting new development in the study of canine cognition, thanks to Italian PhD ethologist Claudia Fugazza, who is currently studying at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, conducting research on social learning and imitation with Professor Adam Miklosi. Fugazza has developed a training method she calls “Do As I Do,” which relies on a dog’s social cognitive skills to learn new behaviors by imitating humans. Did you get that? Fugazza tells us that dogs can learn new behaviors by imitating human behavior.

According to Fugazza, using her training protocol, owners can teach new behaviors to their dogs by simply showing them what to do. Then they can put the new behavior on cue.

This flies in the face of everything I have learned in the past. It makes sound biological/survival sense that dogs could and should be able to imitate each other’s behavior. But imitate the behavior of an entirely different species? Seriously?

Skeptic that I am, I ordered the DVD and was completely and totally gobsmacked. I was so taken by the procedure I immediately determined to try it with one of my dogs, Bonnie, an eight-year-old Scorgidoodle.

A Little Prep Work

It was a humbling experience. For starters, your dog has to know at least three behaviors (other than “Sit!”) on verbal cue – without any body prompting, gestures, or even a sideways shift of the eyes. This is necessary in order to avoid inadvertently giving him a very subtle cue to perform (see “The Clever Hans Phenomenon“).

For Bonnie, I selected the behaviors “Down,” “Tap,” (touch an Easy Button with a paw), and “Up” (step up and sit on a “Stepper”). I discovered that “Down” was solidly on verbal cue, but we needed some work on “Tap” and “Up” to fade the very natural, subtle but unacceptable body prompts. After several brush-up sessions focusing on those two verbal cues, we were ready to proceed.

How Dogs Learn to Imitate

Bonnie needed to learn the “imitation rule” (Phase 1). That is, whatever behavior I do, followed by the cue “Copy!” means “You are supposed to do the same behavior.” (I chose to use “Copy!” rather than Fugazza’s suggested cue of “Do it!” because I use “Do it” to initiate the “101 Things to Do With a Prop” game.)

I stood in front of Bonnie, told her to “Wait,” and then did the behavior myself (either push the button, step up and sit on the Stepper, or lie down facing her). Then I returned and gave the “Copy!” cue, followed by the verbal cue for the behavior I had just performed, without any body-language prompting. In theory, the association between repetitions of “Copy!” and the verbal cue for the behavior that was just demonstrated, teaches the dog that “Copy!” means “Do whatever I just did.” Would it work for Bonnie?

Well . . . eventually. Because the behaviors that I had selected for her weren’t as solidly on verbal cue as I had hoped (other than the “Down”), we worked through several permutations of “Copy!”, “Cue!”, and waiting to see what she did. She tended to offer the three behaviors somewhat randomly at first; alternatively, she’d sit and wait, looking at me hopefully for further instructions. Each time I got an incorrect response (or no response) I started over: cued her to “Wait” while I performed the behavior, returned to stand in front of her and said “Copy!”, followed by the appropriate verbal cue. It wasn’t until our third practice session that I began to see glimmers of understanding; hesitantly at first, then with growing confidence, Bonnie would perform the correct cued behavior.

When I could see that she knew what to do before I gave her the cue for the behavior, I stopped using the cue, using only the “Copy” cue after performing the behavior myself. At first, she seemed confused, and went back to offering random behaviors. If she offered the correct one she got a click-and-treat and very happy praise. If she offered an incorrect behavior I simply reset her, performed the behavior again, returned to stand in front of her, and gave the “Copy!” cue. It was exciting to watch as her correct responses gradually began to outnumber the incorrect ones. I could see she was beginning to understand the “rule.”

I had watched several dogs try to learn the rule on the Do As I Do DVD. Some were brilliant, apparently grasping the imitation rule after just a couple of sessions. Others were still struggling at the end of the two-day seminar. Of course, I assumed Bonnie would exhibit the “brilliant” end of the rule-learning continuum, but in all honesty she was more just slightly toward the brilliant side of center. Or maybe I was the one who was less than brilliant; it was easy to see on the DVD that the dogs with the more skillful trainers learned the rule more quickly. Hmm…

In my defense, the trainers on the DVD had Fugazza herself coaching them. In contrast, I was stumbling around on my own, trying to remember what I had watched, and occasionally hearing bits of Fugazza’s charming Italian accent in my mind’s ear saying, “Mmmm… You ges-turd weeth yur eyez!” when I caught myself glancing at the “easy” button along with my “Copy!” cue.

Nevertheless, despite my ineptitude, Bonnie did seem to catch on to the imitation rule after three days, with several sessions per day. Although we weren’t flawless, we were about 90 percent by the end of the third day; nine out of ten times when I would perform the behavior myself, return to stand in front of her, and then give her the “Copy!” cue, she would perform the behavior.

We’re ready to start Phase 2 (generalization of the rule), adding three more behaviors that Bonnie already knows. These do not have to strictly on verbal cue – apparently that’s most important for the first three behaviors. After the next three are solid, we’ll move on to the very exciting Phase 3, where we will see if Bonnie can copy behaviors that she hasn’t previously been taught. Then we will copy behavior sequences. Woo hoo!

Fugazza believes that her “Do As I Do” method has great potential for application in training, with possibilities for quickly teaching dogs new behaviors, including shaping. Whether or not that proves to be true, it’s great fun to have a new training challenge for me and my dogs. I’m already planning to offer “Copy That” workshops in 2014. Can your dog copy that?

The post Train Your Dog Using Imitation appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Only in the past 15 years has the domestic dog begun to be accepted as a study subject for behavioral research.  Brian Hare, PhD, professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, is one of the people who have legitimized the field, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interview him recently, on the occasion of the publication of his enlightening new book, The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs are Smarter Than You Think (Dutton, 2013).

Dr. Hare opened the Duke Canine Cognition Center (DCCC) in the fall of 2009. With his wife and co-author Vanessa Woods (a research scientist at DCCC, as well as an award-winning journalist and author of Bonobo Handshake), Hare wrote the book to provide a comprehensive review of what they’ve been studying at the DCCC – everything about dog cognition or, as they call it, “dognition.” Their goal was to bring historical and current information about canine cognition to the general public.

The Genius of Dogs covers a lot of material. Dr. Hare writes about his own dog-related experiences, professional and personal, such as visiting Russian scientist Dmitrii Konstantinovich Belyaev’s famous silver fox breeding compound in Novosibirsk, Siberia (Belyaev died in 1985, but others continue his work there); working with New Guinea Singing Dogs at the New Guinea Singing Dog Conservation Society in Eugene, Oregon; and struggling with training challenges he encountered with his own dog, Milo, a probable Lab/Chow mix. It’s a fascinating book, even given that other behavioral scientists have been critical of some of Hare’s conclusions about canine cognition, accusing him of overreaching at least a little.

Hare was a delight to interview. He is wildly enthusiastic about his work and can only be described as effervescent when speaking about his book, the Dognition website, and canine cognition in general.

Pat Miller: Your new book on canine cognition, The Genius of Dogs, co-written with your wife, Vanessa Woods, recently made the New York Times Best Seller list. Why did you write it?

Dr. HARE: There were a few things we wanted to communicate:

1) Science is really excited about dogs. That’s not always been the case.

2) There was not a book written that tried to do a historical review of the field of behavior aimed at the general public/dog-owning audience. We wanted to write that book and make the information accessible.

3) We wanted to explain how scientists think about intelligence.

4) And we wanted to discuss how an evolutionary approach can help us understand our dogs – and ourselves.

Miller: Thirty years ago, the words “canine” and “cognition” weren’t often used in the same sentence. Why has that changed?

Dr. HARE: Because a cognitive revolution has occurred, just in the last 10 to 15 years. What’s going on in the minds of animals has become central to our understanding of psychology.

Miller: You say that another cognitive limitation is that dogs do not understand what someone knows or doesn’t know. How do we know that? Is it possible we may find out otherwise down the road, just as we once said animals didn’t feel pain, couldn’t use tools, didn’t have emotions?

Dr. HARE: It’s absolutely possible. It’s important to understand what science is: It is fun and powerful and you can be part of it (you don’t have to have a PhD). It’s also fluid. In part it’s about discovering “truth” – and even more, it’s about falsification of past conclusions. The entire thesis of this book could be wrong – and could be falsified by future studies. Science is eternally a work in progress.

Miller: How is “understanding what an owner can see” (p. 245) different from “understanding what someone knows or doesn’t know”? Is it about what the person knows in the present versus what the person knew in the past?

Dr. HARE: That’s a great question, and one that can keep cognition scientists engaged in long discussions. “Understanding what an owner can see” is, in a way, understanding the geometry of the situation – understanding what the human knows in the present. The dog can see how the human orients in relation to what the dog does.

“Knowledge” is much more complicated – it involves an understanding of what was known in the past. We don’t currently think dogs can do this. We could be wrong.

Miller: You’re kind of hard on trainers and behaviorism in the last part of your book. You relegate trainers to two categories, neither of which is very flattering: the “top dog” school and the “more is better” school. Is there not a third group that currently exists – trainers who meld the work of Pavlov and Skinner with an interest in and awareness of dogs’ cognitive abilities? What role does behaviorism play, if any, in your vision of the perfect approach to dog training?

Dr. HARE: It was not my intent to be harsh toward trainers, and I apologize if that’s how we came across. I have great respect for trainers; I’m a pitiful trainer!

The goal was to say “Let’s look at these two schools of thought, and let’s look at what’s in the literature about them. And in fact, there’s not much about dog training in the scientific literature. It’s an opportunity that begs for attention.

I actually do think trainers are using a cognitive approach – because they use terms like “the dog knows,” and “the dog wants to perform.” Those are terms of cognition, not behaviorism. But trainers haven’t had access to the literature. In academia, behaviorism says operant and classical conditioning are the only approach to canine learning. There’s no room for cognition in behaviorism. And it’s not that operant and classical conditioning don’t work – of course they do. It’s just that they are one kind of intelligence and learning – one kind of many occurring in the dog’s mind. I think trainers know this. It’s perhaps just a miscommunication about definitions.

Miller: What’s your opinion of what you call the “top dog” or “alpha” approach to dog training?

Dr. HARE: Again, I’m not a trainer, but let’s look at the science. Is the rationale behind the alpha approach to training backed up by good science? There is not good evidence in the literature, and it doesn’t make much sense. In fact, the alpha thing is based on a big mistake: using wolves as a model for dog behavior.

It’s easy to get befuddled by evolution. Dogs are descended from wolves, therefore dogs are like wolves. In some ways, this is correct. But it’s also correct that dogs are a different species than wolves, and therefore they are not like wolves.

In fact, a much better model for dog behavior is the behavior of thriving packs of feral dogs. The feral dog social system is nothing like that of wolves: there is no alpha pair, no reproductive suppression, no infanticide, no fatal aggression over territory. In fact there is very little aggression in feral dog packs; the leader is simply the dog with the greatest number of affiliative relationships – the dog with the most friends.

There is one caveat – a significant difference between feral dogs and our dogs. In an established feral pack, over generations the dogs all end up being of similar size (a medium size) at maturity. The similarity in size helps to minimize aggression. We have such a huge variation in size in our companion dogs, so we do see significant aggression, both in our homes as well as places like dog parks.

Miller: You talk about the dog’s ability to “learn how to learn” as a part of cognitive training. How does this differ from what modern trainers call “learning how to learn” as a part of positive reinforcement-based training?

Dr. HARE: It probably doesn’t. It’s just an acknowledgement – one that many trainers seem to be aware of and are making use of – that canine learning goes beyond the behaviorism interpretation of simply learning and solving the same problem over and over again. Rather, dogs, through learning and experience, possess a learning set; they can actually form a concept and apply it to new problems. That’s cognition. The idea would make Skinner roll over in his grave.

Miller: You say (on page 246) “When an experimenter shows where food has been hidden but then points at another location, dogs do not search for the food they saw but instead go to where the human pointed.” I did the Dognition games yesterday with my Corgi, Lucy, and she went for the food she had seen 100 percent of the time, rather than where I pointed. Can you explain?

Dr. HARE: Studies involving dogs utilize a small sample size – usually fewer than 30 dogs. We develop group statistics based on this sample and then try to apply our conclusions to the whole population. It doesn’t necessarily mean they all do it. So if, in our study, 60 percent of the dogs go to where the human pointed, we say that’s what dogs generally do, even though 40 percent of the dogs did something else. Some dogs, like your Lucy, rely on their own memory (knowledge) more than they rely on signals from their humans.

Miller: You’ve also recently launched the online service “Dognition.” Can you describe what is offered at Dognition? Why did you create it?

Dr. HARE: As a scientist, I’m excited about outreach – communicating to people that science is fun and powerful, and they can participate in it. I see it as a service: to give people a fantastic experience and the opportunity to gain more information and better explanations about their dogs’ behaviors, to help them see and understand things about their dogs, and to enhance their relationships with their dogs.
Of course, we’re seeking to make discoveries about dogs, and to have fellow dog lovers participate in making those discoveries. We are also working to be good canine citizens; we’re offering Dognition memberships to shelters for free, to give them another tool for working with the dogs in their care.

We also plan to fund more behavioral research, and look forward to working with trainers to develop an even more cognitive approach to dog training. We really would like to see the application of our research – to help trainers see things about dogs they wouldn’t see otherwise. Our ultimate goal is to see a quantum leap forward in our ability to help dogs.

We’re already happy with what we’re seeing on the site. It’s very rewarding to see the many comments like, “I had no idea my dog was capable of doing that!”

Subscribers to Dognition will receive a new game every month to play with their dogs. They will be the first to see new discoveries in our work with canine cognition, and have access to scientists’ comments and scientific content.

The punch line for Dognition – it’s a place where you can play fun games with your dogs. “Just like we feed their stomachs, we need to feed their minds.” Dognition can help people understand that.

We tend to think of intelligence as that which can be measured by an IQ test. By that standard, our dogs fall low on the scale. But there are many different ways to measure a dog’s capabilities. If dogs were to develop an IQ test it might well rely on the ability to find scent – in which case they would be brilliant and we would be the dullards!

Inferences:  Having heard about Rico, the German Border Collie who learned the names of more than 200 objects, retired psychology professor John Pilley adopted an 8-week-old Border Collie pup and decided to see how many object names his dog could learn. Over a period of three years, Chaser learned the names of more than 1,000 different objects. Both Rico and Chaser, when asked to fetch an object they weren’t familiar with, unerringly picked the one object in the group for which they hadn’t learned the name. The dogs inferred that it must be the correct object, since they knew the names of all the others. Researchers tell us that this is similar to how children can learn the names of new objects.

Pilley took this research game with his dog one step further. Children are able to categorize objects. “Sock,” for example, is not just one object that happens to be a sock, but rather is a category name for all sock-objects of different sizes, colors, shapes, and textures. When scientists suggested that babies could learn words as categories and dogs could not, Pilley took up the challenge. He taught Chaser that his toys were classified into different categories. Then he mixed toys from different categories, and asked Chaser to fetch a category of toy. Chaser performed flawlessly.

Symbols: Canine cognition doubters also suggested that if dogs truly learned words, they should also be able to learn symbols. If you show a child a replica of a toy, a child understands it is a representation of a real life thing. If you show a child the replica and ask him to go get the thing, he can do it. Could a dog? Dr. Juliane Kaminski, the scientist who did the original studies with Rico in 2004, pursued this question. She used Rico and several other Border Collies, asking them to fetch toys in another room by showing them a replica of the toy, rather than using the name of the toy. Some of the replicas were the same size, some were miniatures. All of the dogs were successful at retrieving the correct object after being shown the replica. Rico and one other dog were even able to retrieve the correct toy when they were just shown a photograph of the object.

This means dogs are able to grasp concepts – the idea that something can symbolize something else. We can only wonder – and wait – to see what other incredible things the world of canine cognition science has yet to uncover about our dogs’ intelligence. Or maybe you don’t have to sit idly by and wait. You and your dog can participate!

Dr. Hare is not the first nor the only researcher working to bring attention to the cognitive abilities of the canine mind. Even the facility he founded, the Duke (University) Canine Cognition Center is not unique; similar facilities now operate at Harvard, Barnard College, the University of Florida, and many other places; in fact, you can find them all across the U.S. and Europe.

In her 2010 book Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell and Know, cognitive scientist Dr. Alexandra Horowitz, who runs the canine cognition lab at Barnard College, addresses the workings of the canine brain.

Dr. Marc Beckoff, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, touched on the subject back in 2002 in his book Minding Animals; Awareness, Emotions and Heart (this book is mostly about wild animals), and has written extensively about canine ethics, emotion, and intelligence over the past decade. In a July 19, 2010 post on his “Animal Emotions” blog on PsychologyToday.com, Beckoff ascribes to dogs the quality of metacognition: the ability to know what someone else knows, a concept that was long held to be a prerogative of the human brain.

Dr. Marc Hauser, an evolutionary biologist and a researcher in primate behavior, animal cognition, and human behavior, was a Harvard University professor from 1992 to 2011, regarded as “a leader in the field of animal and human cognition”. In 2011, the university found him guilty of scientific misconduct (fabricating and manipulating research data in some monkey studies) and he resigned. Reportedly, he now works with at-risk youth.

As part of his ongoing work on canine cognition, Hare and his colleagues have created a website (dognition.com) that invites – nay, begs for! – public participation. Using suggestions on dognition.com, you and your dog have fun playing cognition games together. You learn more about your dog, and your results are compiled as data for current and future studies.

According to the website, “A key aspect of the Dognition methodology is our use of Citizen Science – research that can be conducted by everyone, not just people with PhDs. By gathering this data we can begin to understand more about all dogs, much more quickly and on a broader scale than if scientists had to conduct this research themselves.” Citizen science. I love it!

In preparation for my interview with Dr. Hare, I worked through the Dognition Toolkit games with my 9-year-old Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Lucy. It was fun – and a little stressful (for example, when I had to set her up to “disobey” her “Leave it” cue). I was bemused to discover in one of the games that Lucy does not do what the majority of dogs do: Rather than going to the empty upside-down cup I point to, she consistently goes to the upside-down cup on the opposite side, where she saw me hide the treat . . . meaning she relies on her own observation more than she relies on me indicating where the treat might be. Isn’t that just like a herding dog?

I recently paid the membership fee to join Dognition for a year. I admit I initially balked at the idea of paying to play, but I really am enchanted by the idea of citizen science, and the curious part of me couldn’t resist the opportunity to see some of the results. And hey, Lucy and I get to be a part of making cognition history. How could we resist that? Maybe we’ll see you there.

The post The Dog’s Mind appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Today, we look back with horror at the time, not so very long ago in historical perspective, that scientists assured us that  nonhuman animals didn’t feel pain. We know now how cruelly wrong that was. Next we were told that the thing that differentiated us from the other animals was that humans made and used tools, and other animals didn’t. Dr. Jane Goodall’s work, among others, proved the error of that position. You can find countless examples of various  nonhuman animals using (and even creating) tools on Youtube.com! My favorite video clip is of a crow bending a wire into a loop so he can reach into a long tube to hook the handle of a small container of food so he can pull it up and eat the food (you can see the clip for yourself at tinyurl.com/cyaeep).

Okay, so other animals can make and use tools, but certainly they don’t have “human” emotions. Or maybe they do. In fact, it’s pretty species-centric to even call them “human” emotions when they are simply . . . emotions.

Current research has demonstrated that many species, including our beloved canines, share brain circuitry very similar to the human part of the brain that controls emotion – the amygdala and the periaqueductal grey. While there’s no doubt among most dog lovers that dogs have emotions, this concept is still being discussed in the halls of academia. Some insist that even though animals show emotional behaviors that we can observe, we can’t assume the behaviors mean the animals who display them have emotional feelings. (I don’t know how anyone can think this, but some scientists really do!) Others, such as the esteemed neurobiologist Dr. Jaak Panskepp of Washington State University, argue that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck – it’s probably a duck!

Given that most of us now accept that many animals in addition to humans have at least some emotional capacity, the last stronghold of science is the vast superiority of human cognition: the ability to think.

There was a time when our species believed that dogs (and other  nonhuman animals) possessed very little cognitive potential compared to our own large front-brain ability to ponder the mysteries of the universe. It was believed that the size of the cortex controlled cognitive potential, and since a dog’s cortex is relatively smaller than a human’s, they must possess very little real ability to “think.”

Recent studies, however, have demonstrated that even insects, with their tiny brains, are capable or more complex thought than they’ve ever been given credit for.

Getting Up to Date

According to a growing number of studies, most notable those done by Lars Chittka, Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary’s Research Centre for Psychology and University of Cambridge colleague Jeremy Niven, some insects can count, categorize objects, even recognize human faces – all with brains the size of pinheads. Instead of contributing to intelligence, big brains might just help support bigger bodies, which have larger muscles to coordinate and more sensory information coming in via the larger body surface.

Only in the past decade has the domestic dog begun to be accepted as a study subject for behavioral research. Brian Hare, assistant professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, opened the Duke Canine Cognition Center in the fall of 2009, the same year Marc Hauser, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard University, opened his own such research lab. Similar facilities are now operating across the U.S. and in Europe.

The results are challenging our past beliefs about canine cognitive abilities. Many dog owners have heard of the studies that demonstrate a dog’s ability to follow a pointed finger.

More recently, in a study conducted by John W. Pilley and Alliston K. Reid, the accomplishments of Chaser, the Border Collie who learned more than a thousand names of objects have generated excitement in the dog world.

Of even greater interest to cognitive scientists is Chaser’s ability to distinguish between the names of objects and cues. She understands that names refer to objects, regardless of the action she is told to perform in relation to those objects. She was asked to either “nose,” “paw,” or “take” one of three toys in an experiment, and could successfully do so.

Even more astounding was the final piece of this study, which concluded that Chaser (and by extrapolation, other dogs) is capable of inferential reasoning by exclusion. That is, she can learn the name of a new object based on the fact that it is the only novel object in a group of objects whose names are all already known by her. Meanwhile, biologist and animal behaviorist Ken Ramirez is currently engaged in eye-opening research that studies a dog’s ability to imitate (copy) another dog’s behavior.

While growing evidence supports a theory of significant cognitive ability in dogs, the last holdout may be metacognition – the “self-awareness” that some tightly hold to be a uniquely human trait. But just like treasured misbeliefs from prior eras, this, too, may fall.

David Smith, PhD, a comparative psychologist at the University at Buffalo who has conducted extensive studies in animal cognition, says there is growing evidence that animals share functional parallels with human conscious metacognition – that is, they may share humans’ ability to reflect upon, monitor or regulate their own states of mind.

We now find it absurd to have ever believed that other animals don’t feel pain; there may well come a time when we also find it absurd to believe that dogs and other nonhuman animals aren’t self-aware.

Let’s Talk About It

Recently, I had the honor of attending (and speaking at!) the 21st conference of the Professional Animal Behavior Associates (PABA), and the theme of the entire conference was “Exploring the Dog’s Mind.” What a delight!

I walked into the lecture hall at the University of Guelph (Ontario), excited to be speaking among such notables as Dr. Andrew Luescher of Purdue University; Dr. Alexandra Horowitz, Barnard College at Columbia University; Dr. Meghan Herron, Ohio State University; Karen Pryor, Karen Pryor Clickertraining; Kathy Sdao, Bright Spot Dog Training; and omigosh, Dr. Jaak Panskepp! I was in heady company. Plus, I hadn’t attended a conference for some time, and I was eagerly looking forward to this one that was focused on cutting-edge concepts in canine cognition – how dogs think. I was not to be disappointed.

Dr. Andrew Luescher

Board-certified veterinary animal behaviorist and director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at Purdue University, Dr. Andrew Luescher emceed the conference, and spoke on “The Psychological Needs of Dogs,” and “Companion Animal Welfare.” Dr. Luescher addressed the now well-known importance of early development, and stressed that “Deficiencies or abnormalities in early development can often not be compensated for, and that behavior/temperament issues based on early deficient development have a poor prognosis.” 

While we all know of success stories from people who have rescued and rehabilitated dogs who were either undersocialized or traumatized during their early developmental periods, the greater likelihood is that pups who don’t have the opportunity to develop normally during this period will never be completely normal.

Luescher reminded us that part of proper early development requires puppy-proofing and management. While old-fashioned trainers still assert that a dog has to learn that there are consequences for mistakes in order to be fully trained, Luescher refutes this, saying, “The idea that a puppy has to do the wrong thing to learn what the right thing is, is wrong.” His behaviorally scientific explanation for this is, “If a behavior is successful, others are suppressed.” In other words, if a pup is reinforced for doing desirable behaviors, the undesirable ones don’t happen.

In addressing companion animal welfare, Luescher focused on the unsound practice of always breeding for “more.” We have a tendency in our show ring/breeding culture to always exaggerate characteristics. If a breed is big, make it bigger; if it’s small, breed for smaller. If a nose is long, make it longer; if it’s short, make it shorter.

The fallacy of this approach is that it breeds unsoundnesses into our dogs, such that Bulldogs can’t breathe well; the giant breeds have very short lifespans; and many toy breeds can’t whelp without a Caesarian section.

Dr. Meghan Herron

Board Certified Veterinary Animal Behaviorist Meghan Herron, DVM, head clinician at the Behavioral Medicine Clinic at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, spoke about her research project on the effects of confrontational training methods on dogs.

Since we are always alert for scientific verification of our assertions that positive training methods are better, and documented statistically significant studies on training methods are rare, Herron’s study is important for dogs and the people who love them. Notable conclusions from her study included:

-Confrontational techniques increase the likelihood of aggression, especially in dogs

-Few dogs respond aggressively to reward-based training

Herron acknowledges that her study had some limitations (as do all studies): it was a “self-selected” sample of dogs presented at the clinic for behavior problems; the study utilized a limited list of potential behavior interventions; it was a self-reporting study, relying on owner-interpretation of behavior; and it did not study the efficiency of various behavior interventions, only the uses and outcomes.

Herron is planning a future study that will utilize a larger sample size; assess a more general population and a wider variety of methods; conduct a stricter comparison between positive reinforcement and positive punishment; and design a prospective study that follows the behavior of the study-group dogs into the future.

Kathy Sdao

The dynamic speaking style of well-known and highly respected applied animal behaviorist Kathy Sdao, MA, ACAAB, puts her in great demand as a seminar presenter. Early in her career, Sdao trained marine mammals at a research laboratory at the University of Hawaii for the U.S. Navy. Now based in Tacoma, Washington, she’s been training dogs and their people since 1995.

Sdao addressed the often-raised question as to whether old-fashioned coercion training is faster than clicker training.  Sdao confirmed that if two trainers were in a contest to see which one could get an untrained dog to place his body flat on the ground faster, the trainer using force would likely win. She also confirmed what any experienced clicker trainer knows: that more valuable long-term goals are without a doubt better served by clicker training than by the use of force and coercion. What sort of goals? Simple and clear communication; motivating the dog to act, interact, and engage with humans; building a relationship of trust between dog and human; and creating an accelerated learning process.

Sdao also presented a session on “Hierarchy Malarkey,” refuting the unfortunate “conventional dominance wisdom” that lingers in the minds of the dog-owning public despite the best efforts of positive trainers and behavior consultants worldwide. (In fact, “anti-dominance theory” was an ongoing thread throughout the conference.)

Sdao presented a slightly different perspective by arguing that even the “Nothing In Life Is Free” protocol promoted by many positive trainers – in which a dog has to earn all good stuff by offering a good manners behavior (such as a sit) first – is based in outdated “alpha” theory. Life with dogs isn’t all about who is trying to overthrow the pack leader. Sdao suggests that this perspective needs to be replaced by an approach that embraces cooperation and affection.

Dr. Alexandra Horowitz

Alexandra Horowitz, MS, PhD, is an assistant professor at Barnard College in New York. She has specialized in animal cognition, and has conducted more than 10 years of research on dogs. We anticipate that her current research and studies will provide much needed and credible information for those of us who insist that anthropomorphism is no longer a dirty word.

Anthropomorphism is the use of human characteristics to describe nonhuman animals. According to a 2008 survey of 337 dog owners, most owners believe that their dogs feel sadness, joy, surprise, and fear. There was less of a consensus on other “secondary” emotions that some attributed to their dogs:

-Embarrassment 30%
-Shame 51%
-Disgust 34%
-Guilt 74%
-Empathy 64%
-Pride 58%
-Grief 49%
-Jealousy/fairness 81%

Most dog training and behavior professionals agree that the behavior owners commonly describe as “guilt” is actually simply appeasement behavior offered in response to human body language. Horowitz designed a study to test the guilty look phenomenon, by having the owner leave her dog in the room with a piece of food, after telling the dog not to eat it. Sometimes Horowitz left the food in view, sometimes the dog ate it and sometimes not, and sometimes she removed it and told the owner the dog ate it. If the food was gone, the owner scolded the dog. Horowitz’s findings were:

1) Guilt did not change the rate of the guilty look. The rate of measured “guilty” behaviors was similar whether the dog was “guilty” (ate the treat) or “not guilty” (didn’t eat the treat).

2) Owner behavior did change the rate of the guilty look. The rate of guilty behavior was significantly higher when the dog was scolded than when the dog was greeted, regardless of whether or not it had eaten the treat.

3) Dogs showed the most guilty behavior when they were “not guilty” but punished. Scolding led to higher rates of guilty look behavior when the dog had not eaten the treat than when the dog had eaten it.

It’s always nice when we have science to back up some of our dearly held training and behavior beliefs, like the one that says “dogs are offering appeasement behaviors, not showing guilt, when their owners come home to a soiled carpet or overturned garbage can.” Horowitz’s current and ongoing study on whether dogs perceive “fairness” is likely to have equally interesting results.

Horowitz’s second intriguing presentation was entitled “What Is It Like to Be a Dog?” She reminded us that because of dogs’ incredible sense of smell, their world arrives on the air, and they tell time differently than we do. If the wind is right, they can smell the future – that which is in front of them that they will soon encounter. When they are smelling the ground, or the neighborhood pee-post, they are actually smelling the past – that which has come here before.

For more on her perspectives on how dogs perceive the world, you can read Dr. Horowitz’s fascinating book, Inside of a Dog; What Dogs See, Smell and Know, published in 2009.

Karen Pryor

A behavioral biologist with an international reputation in the fields of marine mammal biology and behavioral psychology – as well as one of the founders of clicker training – Karen Pryor spoke on “creativity and the animal mind.”

According to Pryor, being creative implies novelty: producing something new and different. She referenced Dr. Jaak Panskepp’s work with the seeking system – that which motivates an animal to go out and have fun. Seeking behavior is not driven by survival; it happens only when the animal is already comfortable.

In humans, seeking includes things like window-shopping, doing puzzles and playing games, and Web surfing. In  nonhuman animals, seeking may include exploring new terrain and showing curiosity about new objects and other living things.

Pryor suggests dog training can capitalize on seeking and creativity by clicking and treating exploration, chance-taking, persistence, and novel behavior. Because your dog can’t be wrong (you’ve not asked for a behavior) there’s no association with failure, so the dog has fun. The more behaviors you capture or shape, the more innovations your dog is capable of inventing. The well-known “101 things to do with a prop” is a great example of asking your dog to innovate.
 
Dr. Jaak Panskepp

Jaak Panskepp, PhD, is the Baily Endowed Chair of Animal Well-Being Science for the department of Veterinary and Comparative Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Physiology at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Emeritus Professor of the department of Psychology at Bowling Green State University.

Dr. Panskepp has been described as being 20 years ahead of his time. His work on animal emotions and the brain’s “seeking system” – fueled by the neurotransmitter dopamine, which promotes states of eagerness and directed purpose – takes behavior science to the cutting edge. Panskepp describes the seeking system as, “the mammalian motivational engine that each day gets us out of the bed, or den, or hole to venture forth into the world.”

Panskepp argues convincingly that not only do  nonhuman animals possess emotions, but they also possess what behavioral science calls “mind.” In refuting the “lack of proof” argument in the “do dogs have emotions?” discussion, he asserts that scientists deal with “weight of evidence,” not “proof.” The weight of evidence overwhelmingly indicates that animals have feelings. In fact, the evidence is so strong that animals have emotional feelings (not just emotional behaviors), that he says it’s a done deal, case closed (although the argument still rages in academic circles).

The question of “mind,” or metacognition, may be more open to debate. Mind has three fundamental properties:

Subjectivity – Experiences “self” in the real world.

Volition – Deliberate behavior; intentionality, seeking, desire, interest, and expectancy.

Consciousness – The capacity for self- consciousness, includes questions about “theory of mind” in nonhuman animals; whether animals are capable of attributing mental states to others.

Hard scientific evidence of canine mind is harder to come by than canine emotion. The same brain circuits exist in humans and many other animals, suggesting that mind may exist for them. Panskepp argues that animals do possess at least some degree of mind, and that the answer to this question will become clearer with continued neurobiological and cognitive study. Indeed, some aspects of canine mind seem inarguable. Does anyone doubt that dogs have volition? If it walks like a duck . . .

Pat Miller

I also spoke at the conference, on two topics dear to my heart: shelter assessments and modifying dog-dog reactivity. I presented video and an applied science discussion from my work in these areas (citing Kelley Bollen’s 2007 study on shelter assessments).

Mostly I watched, listened, and marveled at the depth and breadth of information offered at the conference, and at the evidence of how far we have come in the world of dog training and behavior. Not so long ago, few, if any, dog trainers had a clue about the science of behavior and learning, nor a working knowledge of operant and classical conditioning, theory of mind, metacognition, creativity, shaping, or any of the other concepts presented at this conference.

We may still have much to learn about what our dogs are thinking, but we have come a long, long way from those dark days when animals supposedly didn’t feel pain.

Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, CDBC, is WDJ’s Training Editor. She lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center, where she offers dog training classes and courses for trainers.

The post What Does The Dog Think? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

TEACH YOUR DOGS TO READ: OVERVIEW

1. Make flash cards for the five behaviors your dog knows best and start teaching your dog to read.

2. Work in short sessions, progress slowly, and give high-value rewards for success.

3. Think of different ways to incorporate reading into your dog’s life and training.

Curling up with a good book? Maybe your dog would like to read one, too.

Don’t laugh. If Bonnie Bergin, EdD, has her way, dogs all over the world will soon be reading – maybe not books and articles, but individual words or sets of words strung together. Now president of the Bonnie Bergin Assistance Dog Institute, the world’s only academic college that awards associate and master’s degrees in dog studies, Dr. Bergin originated the service dog concept when she founded Canine Companions for Independence more than 30 years ago.

The dogs she worked with were so intelligent and responsive that from time to time she thought about teaching them to read. The idea stayed in the back of her mind until 2002, when she began a canine reading experiment. Now she has written a book, Teach Your Dog to Read: A Unique Step-by-Step Program to Expand Your Dog’s Mind and Strengthen the Bond Between You, which invites everyone to join her. “It’s an exciting project,” she says, “because we’re on the brink of a revolution. Dogs who can read are the dogs of the future.” In the future that Dr. Bergin envisions, dogs and their human companions will have a means of communicating that goes far beyond what’s possible now. Dogs may, for example, combine their exceptional sense of smell with their ability to read and help medical doctors identify specific diseases, such as different types of cancer.

Service dogs working with the visually impaired will be able to recognize and look for exit signs, appropriate restroom signs, and other important markers. Pet dogs will recognize and pay attention to signs that warn them away from furniture or kitchen counters, just as they will look for signs that invite them to relieve themselves in designated areas at highway rest stops. Dogs participating in reading programs with children, adolescents, or adults will inspire and encourage those who are struggling to read by showing how they are learning to read themselves. Most important, she says, will be the deepening of everyday communication between dogs and their humans.

“I have been training my own dogs to go to posted signs saying water, treat, or pet me, to tell me what they want,” says Dr. Bergin. “We’re still in the early stages of this two-way communication, but it has incredible implications. Dogs who can read will find it much easier to share information, and the possibilities are endless. In every way, teaching your dog to read can help your dog be a smarter, better companion, and it will deepen and strengthen the bond that connects you.”

How to Get Your Dog Reading

Puppies raised at the Assistance Dog Institute are introduced to the written word at just a few weeks of age. They literally grow up reading. But while puppies and younger dogs may have an easier time learning to read, it’s never too late (assuming that vision problems don’t interfere) to teach old dogs new words. Your first reading lesson can be this very afternoon. All you need are your dog, yourself, and a sheet of paper.

For those who would like to use Dr. Bergin’s flash cards, her printed cues and cartoon stick figures can be downloaded from her website. But you can make your own flash cards by printing words by hand in large, dark block letters or by using your computer’s largest, darkest font (avoid fonts with squiggles, serifs, or other elaborations). Print one word or cue per page in black ink on plain white paper, printed sideways (“landscape” orientation). You can laminate the cards for durability. Begin with a cue that your dog knows well. “But don’t start with sit,” she suggests. “Everyone always starts every training session with sit, and it’s a pattern dogs come to expect. I suggest starting with down or some other command.” Make a list of 5 or 10 cues that your dog responds to readily when you give a verbal instruction. Dr. Bergin’s list includes down, sit, stand, roll (roll halfway over and expose stomach), turn (spin), shake, speak, bow, up (place paws on the edge of a table, countertop, desk, or wall), kiss, and go to bed. Save behaviors that involve a prop (such as placing paws up on a table or fetching a particular toy) until the dog is adept at reading other cues, because positioning yourself near a prop is a dead giveaway, and you want your dog to focus on the card and its word, not on your body language. “We know that dogs can learn to read up to 20 written words,” she says, “from three-letter words that represent the most basic commands, to five-letter words that call for more dramatic responses, such as shake or speak, to three-word sentences such as ‘Get the shoe.'”

Start in a quiet room with no distractions. Clicker-trained dogs or dogs trained with positive reinforcement, says Dr. Bergin, are most likely to offer a variety of behaviors when they’re motivated to earn a reward, and motivated dogs who offer different behaviors learn quickly.

Day 1 Lesson Plan

Dr. Bergin recommends following these five steps in your first reading lesson (“down” is a perfect first word) and whenever you introduce a new word.

1. Get ready.

Hold your flash card in one hand behind your back. Hold a treat, ball, toy, or other favorite reward in the other, or, if you’re holding a clicker, place the reward where your dog can see it or knows it’s there.

Without touching your dog or giving any cues ahead of time, have your dog stand in front of you. Then:

2. Present the card, and 3. Immediately say the cue.

“Timing is essential,” says Dr. Bergin. “Your dog should get a glimpse of the word a split second before you say it. Also, if your dog is more used to hand signals than verbal commands, give the appropriate signal with one hand just as you bring the flash card out from behind your back with the other.” Avoid making eye contact with your dog, as that is a distraction. Look down at the top of the card or past your dog (see photo, below left).

4. Hold the card.

Hold the flash card still. Be sure you’re holding the sign with your fingers away from its letters. Don’t move. Wait for your dog to lie down.

5. Reward your dog.

As soon as your dog lies down, say “Yes!” in an enthusiastic, high-pitched voice. Dr. Bergin recommends clipping the “Yes!” so that it almost sounds like “Yesp!” as this will help you say the word faster. If you normally use a clicker to mark the end of a behavior, click as soon as the dog lies down.

While saying “Yes!” or clicking, move the card behind your back or set it on a table where your dog can’t see it. Leaving the card in sight is like repeating a cue after your dog has already performed the behavior.

Reward your dog with praise, a vigorous pet, a food treat or toy, or all of these so that he feels appreciated and looks forward to doing this again.

Repeat the exercise by doing the same five steps in exactly the same way. Then repeat it again.

During the fourth run-through, if your dog has been responding readily to the verbal cue, present the card but don’t say anything or give a hand signal. Instead, just hold the card in front of you. Don’t jiggle or move the card. Hold still, exactly as you did in the previous exercise.

If your dog hesitates for more than a few seconds or seems confused, go back to step 3 and say the word “down” or give your hand signal. With time and practice, you’ll learn whether it’s more helpful to repeat a cue or to wait and let your dog figure it out. As soon as he lies down without any prompting from you in response to of the “down” card, celebrate! Now is the time for over-the-top treats, praise, and enthusiastic rewards.

“Dogs love, need, and crave emotion,” says Dr. Bergin. “That’s why I prefer the word ‘Yes!’ to the click of a clicker. Charged feelings, preferably positive feelings, reinforce behavior. So shower your dog with praise.”

End today’s practice session on a high note and continue tomorrow. Limit each day’s training to six to nine exercises per flash card, no more than 15 minutes total. With young puppies, do considerably less, working in shorter sessions.

Introducing a Second and Third Word

To determine whether your dog is ready for a new word, test her to see if she responds to the “down” flash card without a verbal prompt or hand signal three out of five times. To introduce a new word, such as “sit,” follow the same five steps as before.

Most dogs anticipate the card that they already learned, so don’t be surprised if your dog lies down. If that happens, don’t correct or punish her. Simply move back, encouraging your dog to follow, and repeat the sequence of actions.

Many dogs sit before lying down, so if this happens, you have a split second in which to click or say “Yes!” while she is still sitting.

As soon as your dog successfully sits, remove the card and reward her. Do the exercise two or three more times to reinforce the “sit” cue.

Now that your dog recognizes the word sit, start to mix things up. Without breaking stride or indicating in any way that something different is about to happen, show her the word down without saying anything.

“Most dogs respond correctly by lying down,” says Dr. Bergin. “They get it! They can discriminate between the two words. If your dog responds this way, congratulations are in order. Give a resoundingly positive ‘Yes!’ and be generous with praise and high-value food treats.”

If your dog doesn’t recognize the difference between sit and down, practice with each card a few more times and help out with verbal cues if needed. If your dog offers an incorrect behavior, either ignore the behavior or say “No” in a calm, serious, low-key voice. Saying “No” in this way tells the dog that this isn’t the behavior you want, so try something else. Put a lot of emotion into your “Yes!” whenever your dog does something correctly, and keep emotion out of your “No” when she does something else. (See “Opinions About ‘No Reward Markers’ Vary,” below.)

End on a positive note – when your dog does the behavior you asked for, with or without a verbal cue, and you make a big fuss – and continue tomorrow. Limit each day’s training to about six to nine exercises with each card, and with puppies, do less.

“It’s important to stop while you’re ahead,” says Dr. Bergin. “It’s easy to become enthused, especially if your dog catches on fast, but if you push too hard, you’ll exhaust your dog, feel disappointed, and you’ll both burn out. The best thing you can do is end early, end on a high note, and let your dog’s mind grapple with this new challenge while sleeping. A good night’s rest can improve the next day’s performance.”

Continue to work in short training sessions. When your dog knows three words, start mixing them up and present them randomly. Always be sure your dog responds correctly to each word at least three out of five times before adding a new word. Use the same procedure for introducing each new word.

“Be patient,” says Dr. Bergin. “Whenever you introduce a new word, your dog’s overall performance will decline. Your dog knows sit, down, and stand, but when you introduce the card for bow, he forgets everything. This is when reading becomes an effort for your dog, just as it was for us when we were kids. Be patient, stick to the program, work in short sessions, review the cards, and give verbal cues as needed. Your dog will be stretching his mind in new ways, and that’s hard work. Do everything you can to make the experience rewarding.”

By the third word, many dogs express their frustration by barking or vocalizing. Don’t correct or even acknowledge this, just ignore it.

Motivated dogs may offer every behavior they can think of in an effort to win the treat or reward. If your dog runs through her repertoire by sitting, lying down, standing up, spinning around, waving, bowing, rolling over, and so forth, don’t smile or laugh. Keep a straight face and calmly ignore or say “No” to each wrong answer and give a highly enthusiastic “Yes!” for each right one.

Some dogs begin shutting down when they feel confused, becoming less physically active and offering fewer behaviors. “You have to counteract that lethargy by being a good coach,” says Dr. Bergin. “Use whatever tools you have to infuse your dog with your infectious energy and enthusiasm for the upcoming exercises. Really cheer your dog on, wave favorite treats and toys, and make the whole experience positive, upbeat, happy, and rewarding, not a boring chore.”

A lack of interest at the beginning of a reading session is a bad sign, suggesting that your dog may be on the brink of burnout. If she turns her head away, walks away, or just doesn’t want to practice, take a break. “If I had to choose between burnout or stopping prematurely,” says Dr. Bergin, “I’d stop prematurely. Put the cards away for a few days or a week. Renew your dog’s enthusiasm for life and training with favorite activities. And when you resume, keep your sessions short and positive.”

In her book, Dr. Bergin provides detailed step-by-step lesson plans, training tips, and advice for preventing and solving problems. One chapter helps volunteers train their dogs for work with children in schools and libraries.

She also describes how learning to read will help dogs conceptualize, understand new ideas, make new connections, communicate more effectively, and enhance their relationships with humans.

Opinions About ‘No Reward Markers’ Vary

In this article, Dr. Bergin describes using the word “no” in a specific way: as a “no reward marker” or NRM. This is a unique and neutral signal that lets the dog know that the behavior he is exhibiting is not the desired one, so he should try something else to find the desired behavior, for which he will be rewarded. Dr. Begin recommends keeping any emotion out of your voice when using “no” in this way, so the dog is not discouraged, but merely understands that he should try something else. The word is offered as information, not as punishment. “A firm “No” should not sound threatening, angry, frustrated, or disappointed,” says Dr. Bergin. “Use it to inform, redirect, and guide.”

However, the success of the word “no” as an NRM may hinge on more than just the owner’s scrupulousness at saying “no” in a neutral way. Unfortunately, many dog owners use the word “No!” to stop their dogs from doing anything the owner doesn’t like – chasing a cat, sniffing a countertop (preparatory to jumping up and snatching some food, perhaps), barking at someone through the living room window. That’s why some dogs develop an unconscious negative association with the word; it becomes a precursor to being punished, or is experienced by the dog as punishment itself. When these dogs hear “no,” even in a neutral tone, they may just give up, thinking anything they do next will be wrong.

If your dog “gets” the concept of the neutral NRM, and keeps trying various behaviors when you mark his incorrect attempts with the word “no,” you’re doing a good job, just as Dr. Bergin describes! However, if he “shuts down” or stops offering different behaviors when you use the word, try saying it more brightly and cheerfully. Or, better yet, try a different NRM, one without any negative associations for the dog. Some trainers use a word like “Oops!” which naturally comes out of most people’s mouths cheerfully. Other suggestions include “not!”, “try again!” (or just, “again!”), “next!”, or “cold!” (from the children’s game where a person tries to find a hidden object and is told “warmer” or colder” based on his movements as he searches).

Understanding Reading

After her first reading experiment with dogs being trained at her Assistance Dog Institute, Dr. Bergin spent the summer of 2003 studying the history of human reading. She learned that humans began their written communication by drawing pictures, which eventually became stick figures, which were eventually turned on their sides, which is how they became phonemes (symbolic sounds) and letters of alphabets.

“Our dogs were already recognizing words made of letters,” she says, “so I moved on to cartoon stick figures, which I created on my computer. I was amazed at how quickly the dogs made the connection between their word command flash cards and the stick figures that illustrated those commands. I could show them a stick figure and they all did the corresponding behavior without being taught.”

Dr. Bergin then brought a Stanford University researcher to the Institute to help her explore the canine mind with regard to reading. “I learned that printed words are hard for dogs to understand because they are abstract shapes that have to be identified and responded to, while stick figures might be easier to decipher but understanding them involves a higher level of cognition.”

What amazed Dr. Bergin the most was the ability of reading dogs to conceptualize, to make connections between seemingly unrelated ideas.

“I know that there are people who still believe dogs can’t think,” she says, “despite all kinds of scientific evidence to the contrary. Well, up to this point I knew dogs could think, but I didn’t think they thought very much. I would hear stories from people who got assistance dogs from me about how brilliant their dogs were, and I’d always take those stories with a grain of salt. I tended to dismiss them as anecdotal reports, nothing based on objective science, and I didn’t pay much attention. Now I realize that the reports were probably quite accurate, not the exaggerated claims I had assumed them to be, and I wish I could turn the clock back and hear them all again. I would pay much more attention.”

Dr. Bergin also learned that people who don’t read cannot conceptualize the way people who read can. “This helps explain why people who can’t read are so often stuck and unable to change their lives. It’s because they can’t imagine anything different. Learning to read unlocks all kinds of possibilities for them. I’m convinced that the same will be true for dogs and that dogs who can read will demonstrate degrees of intelligence, problem solving ability, and talent that we can’t begin to imagine.

“The possibilities for reading dogs are endless,” she says. “We just need to keep exploring them. Reading dogs are revolutionaries – and by teaching them to be literate beings, we can participate in their revolution. When you teach a dog to read, you’re not just teaching him a cute trick to show your friends. You’re developing his mind and helping him become a better problem solver. My hope is that these simple training techniques will transform your expectations about what your dog can learn and do at home, and that it will change the way that veterinarians, dog trainers, and breeders approach dog training forever.”

Dogs Help Promote Reading Skills in Others

Not only can dogs learn to read, they can actually help kids learn to read. Since 1999, registered therapy dogs have been visiting schools, libraries, and other facilities as Reading Education Assistance Dogs® or R.E.A.D.® Program participants. Founded by Intermountain Therapy Animals in Salt Lake City, Utah, the R.E.A.D. program is dedicated to improving the literacy skills of children of all ages by providing them an opportunity to read aloud to a dog in a setting that is supportive and nonjudgmental. After all, the presence of dogs helps lower blood pressure and relieve anxiety – and dogs never correct your pronunciation.

In a pilot study conducted at a Utah elementary school in 2000-2001, children in grades 2 through 6 significantly improved their reading scores. In addition, teachers reported that the participants experienced decreased absenteeism, improved self confidence and self esteem, a sense of pride in their accomplishments, increased participation in field trips, clubs, and other extracurricular activities, improved hygiene, kinder and more respectful interactions with animals, better grades, and increased use of the school’s library. R.E.A.D. program volunteers work throughout the U.S. and in parts of Canada. The program is open to registered therapy dogs and other therapy animals.

WDJ contributor CJ Puotinen and her Labrador Retriever, Chloe, are members of the Hudson Valley Humane Society Visiting Pet Program, which is a R.E.A.D. Program affiliate. They live in New York.

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