Who's Training Who?

Since that conference last month, I've been thinking a lot about how dogs learn. It's not that I didn't think about it before, it's just that there is so much great new research going on that it's got my brain spinning with ideas.  And that article I posted yesterday about how scientists need to listen to dog trainers really brought it all home for me.

There are lots of ways that dogs learn.  They learn by being taught. They learn by passive observation.  And they can learn by imitation.  What they do in any given situation isn't so much determined by their age, their breed, etc., but by what's worked for them before.  So, a dog who has been taught to perform complicated behaviors for a sport like canine freestyle, for example, will pick up on a new behavior quicker, perhaps, than the dog who has only been taught new behaviors in the more traditional sense. It doesn't mean that the dog taught more traditionally can't learn new ways to behave or perform tasks, because they certainly can.  I just think that performance dog has been primed to learn new behaviors.

One of my favorite ways to learn about dogs is just by sitting and watching them.  Whether it's watching my own dogs, or watching yours during our classes together or during our one-on-one appointments, dogs are so fascinating.  Seeing them "get it" when we show them an alternate behavior that makes them feel less anxious, for example, makes my heart happy.  And seeing Desi watch Ozzie do something completely inappropriate like climb up on a chair at the table and help himself to a prime spot, cracks me up.  Desi's response?  Well, I can do that too, and he'll shove his way in between two chairs and make himself a spot at the table as well. Observational learning at its funniest!

Have you tried imitation with your dog?  Do what your dog does, and what do they do?  Does your dog bow if you bow?  If you jump in the air, do they do the same? My favorite thing is to suddenly notice something on the ground.  As soon as I take an interest in that random spot on the floor, I have two dogs right there with me looking to see what it could be. The best though is when Ozzie realizes I was just joking around. He'll usually back up and bark at me as if to say, "Hey!  Quit fooling around. There's nothing there worth all that attention!"  Desi is much more patient. He'll usually just nudge my hand and turn the situation around into a petting session for himself.  Smart dog.

So, who's training who?  Did I train my dogs to look where I was looking or did Desi train me to pet him?  Or both?  And does it really matter?  We have much to learn from dogs, probably more than they have to learn from us given that they are much better observers overall than we are.  

As always, if you are having trouble with your pets, you know where to find me.

The expression on Ozzie's face when I ask him if he's "ready to work!"