There were about 75 students in the class, but an additional 30 heard about the lecture and asked to sit in as well which meant a lecture hall for my presentation, instead of a classroom. I actually got butterflies in my stomach as I've not stood at the front of a lecture hall in over thirty years! Classrooms yes, big lecture halls? That was a flashback experience for sure. I really enjoy talking about how animals learn, so once I got started, the butterflies disappeared and we were off and and running.
When I took my first animal learning course at UC Davis back in the 1980's, it was primarily a historical perspective class, with a very dry textbook that covered all of the pioneers in learning theory (think Thorndike, Pavlov, and Skinner). Now when I talk about animal learning, I like to present the topic from a "look how far we've come" perspective. For me, the joy comes in introducing students to the new pioneers in the field like Alexandra Horowitz, James Serpell, Clive Wynne, and Zazie Todd. I brought books by these authors just so the students could peruse them and perhaps make notes on ones to get for themselves.
For a lot of intro to psych students, a guest lecture like mine will be their one and only foray into the world of animal behavior. Most of the students taking the class are there for units outside of their major, or because they have an interest in human psychology, or because they thought the class would be easy! By the end of the class, I felt like there was at least a handful of students who could see there was so much more to the world of psychology than they'd thought when they walked into that lecture hall.
Even more than my lecture, I really enjoyed the questions when I was through. They ran the gamut from philosophical (why choose a field like this instead of being a veterinarian or professor) to practical (how can you treat the animal mind when they can't really tell you what they are feeling). I could tell the kids who'd read my book because they shared knowing looks when those questions were asked. I did have a favorite question, however, and it's one that took me by surprise. I asked the student after class if I could share her question with all of you and she was quite pleased to be asked, immediately saying yes!
Her question was actually quite personal. She really wants a dog as she's just moved into an apartment that allows pets. Her concern was that, as a student, she didn't have the resources to care for a dog "the way they should be cared for." I asked her to elaborate, thinking she was going to point to limited funds for veterinary care; I was wrong. She was afraid that because she couldn't buy expensive dog food, dog beds, and dog toys like she saw other dog owners doing all over social media, that she shouldn't have a dog. She made sure I knew that she could afford veterinary care because her parents would help her with that as long as she kept up her grades and worked part-time. I was impressed as I could tell she'd thought about this quite a bit. Here's what I told her: Quality over quantity. Dogs don't need expensive dog food, dog beds, or a million toys. Some dogs don't even play with toys! My first dog, Shadow, slept on a folded blanket, up against a corduroy study pillow, covered in a fitted sheet that I could wash to keep the "dog bed" clean for her. She didn't play with toys much, but would occasionally play with an old tennis ball or squeaky toy handed down from a friend's dog. As for food, she ate out of one of my bowls and what I could afford: Purina from the grocery store. Was she a happy dog? Yes. Not because she had all of the most expensive things, but because I paid attention to her. I made her puzzles out of boxes from the recycle bin. I walked her. I brushed her. I took her with me everywhere I could. Quality over quantity. My dogs now are quite spoiled by comparison. Do I think they are any happier or any better off than Shadow? Absolutely not. Dogs are happy with whatever we give them. They are content to have us, whatever that looks like. It's what makes them such ideal companions. They don't judge us by our pocketbooks or bottom lines. They want our love most of all and giving love to a dog is something we all can afford to do.
She seemed relieved by my answer and wanted to know a bit more about building her own puzzles, so she walked with me to my car and we talked a bit more about that. I hope she sends me a picture of the dog she finds for herself. I think that's going to be one lucky dog.
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
Shadow wearing the bandana we found at a flea market for 50 cents. It was her favorite. She had quite the collection by the time she crossed the rainbow bridge because people always gave them to her. She'd take them gently when you handed them to her and we'd put them in a basket by her bed. She wore a bandana every day she lived with me, choosing one for herself in the morning. They were like a security blanket for her. She'd pull them up into her mouth and nibble at them if she was anxious, an interesting behavior I discovered when I gave her her first bandana, a dark blue one we'd found in a parking lot on our first day together. I still have her bandana collection. I've never had another dog who enjoyed wearing them the way that she did.
No comments:
Post a Comment