The 19th century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies.” Having lived with dogs for around 40,000 years, humans have many convictions about dogs and their behaviour. Like some of our other famous human convictions, such as lightning never strikes twice in the same place, many of our beliefs about dogs and their behaviour just don’t hold up under even basic observation and reasoning.
We have a need to explain what we don’t understand. Malcolm Gladwell writes in his book Blink! about famous baseball player Ted Williams who attributed his ball-hitting skill to his ability to “see the ball hit the bat.” When this claim was tested and film showed that Williams’ eyes were in fact closed when the ball hit his bat, Williams had no explanation left. As American scientist Edward Wilson puts it, “Old beliefs die hard even when demonstrably false.”
So Much Poppycock
So what do we “believe” about dogs? Let’s leave out discussion of the big theories of behaviour and focus on the day-to-day things. There is plenty of “common knowledge” about dogs that is just plain wrong and it gets repeated and passed on every day. Dog trainers tell their clients and clients tell their friends and on it goes.
One of my favorites is that dogs like to forge ahead on walks as a way to assert their “leadership” by being out in front of the “pack.” Another common belief is that small dogs are “pushier” and have a greater need to assert their “dominance” than medium or large dogs. Dogs misbehave on purpose to get you back for something. Dogs chew on the wrong things out of revenge or spite for being left. It goes on and on.
In most cases, these assertions about dogs appear reasonable enough. We observe our dog’s behaviour and, in a human context, we see enough evidence to create plausible explanations for what’s going on. But like Ted Williams, maybe we’re not exactly right in our assessments. Maybe, on closer examination, our dogs have very different motives. And suddenly we have been punishing our dogs for something they never intended. That tugging at the end of the leash has more to do with discovering new smells and less to do with attempts to dominate us or improve their social standing.
Professional Poppycock
These days we have a whole new level of corporate misinformation about dogs coming at us from media outlets. Any number of television programs on dogs and dog training make assertions with regularity. One such program identifies Red Zone dogs, dogs who are a potential danger to their owners or other dogs. We are then supposed to unquestioningly believe that the techniques frequently shown by this show’s trainers — force and intimidation — are the ONLY way to save these dogs from being taken away and put to death.
And then there are the books and DVDs and websites. Go to Google and do a search on the phrase “secret dog training” and you will get page after page of links to sites that promise you the “secret” to a happier life with your dog. Many of these will recommend “discipline” and establishing yourself as “pack leader” and making your dog “respect” you. Some will suggest shock collars and prong collars and choke collars.
In spite of thousands of years of human cohabitation with dogs, and despite millions of dogs in homes around the world, there are still those who claim to possess the “secrets” about dogs and how to train them. And they will sell them to you for a price.
Remarkably, everyone who lives with a dog has easy access to the foremost experts on those very subjects — the dogs themselves. Why are we so reluctant to just ask the dogs?
For Every Answer, Have A Question
Our modern world is an age of miracles. Everything from microwave ovens to the Internet and cell phones comes out of our scientific endeavors to question the world around us and find out how and why things work. Why should our dogs and their behaviour be any different? The answers are there if we ask the questions.
The essence of scientific method is to test any hypothesis to determine whether it holds true or not. To do that, we need to create experiments to test our beliefs about our dogs’ behaviour. Ideally, we change one variable at a time and continue testing until we come to the truth of what’s really going on. And then there is Occam’s Razor, the principle that if all things are equal, the explanation that requires the fewest number of assumptions tends to be the correct one.
For dog owners, behavioural science and ethology are two sciences that can guide us quickly to a better understanding of our dogs, and through that understanding, give us a better life and relationship with them. What if we were not so ready to accept the “conventional wisdom” we hear about dogs and simply asked a few questions?
A Real World Example
Recently a friend asked me what I thought about a behavioural situation with her small dog. When she left the house, the dog would go into her office, jump up on the desk, and chew up any paperwork found there. My friend wanted to know what she had done to upset her dog so much that she would tear up her important paperwork. My friend believed her dog thought something like, “Mom left me alone again! I’ll show her, I’ll tear up her important paperwork!”
A little examination here can go a long way. Let’s look at some of the assumptions my friend was making:
- Dogs are emotionally equipped to feel “upset” – True
- Dogs can keep track of how many times you “upset” them – False
- Her dog understood the importance of the paperwork – False
- Her dog believed that tearing the paper would “teach mom a lesson” – False
Now let’s look at a few alternative assumptions about dogs:
- Chewing or shredding is an instinctive, stress-relieving behaviour for dogs – True
- Smell is important to dogs, particularly the smells of their primary care giver – True
- A dog’s brain is complex enough for higher-order emotions like “revenge” – False
If we look at these two explanations, which seems more plausible?
- The dog shredded the paperwork on the desk out of spite and revenge.
- The dog was anxious at being left alone and engaged in an instinctive behaviour (shredding) of objects that smelled like a comforting source (mom).
What’s important about this kind of questioning is that it will affect how the owner deals with the situation. Does she punish the dog for being “spiteful” or does she make note that her dog gets anxious when she leaves and should be put in a safe place with appropriate items to chew/shred to relieve stress? It’s quite possible in this case that the owner punished the dog for doing a natural thing to feel better when stressed. How confusing for the dog!
It Doesn’t Have To Be Like This
It’s been my experience that our own human misconceptions can actually be the cause of our problems with our dogs. I frequently see owners punish their dogs for the wrong reasons. They reward them for the wrong reasons too. Most owners love it when their dogs jump up to give them hugs and kisses when they come home from work but then get angry when the dog does the same thing when company comes to visit.
If we take the time to question time-worn advice about dogs and behaviour, new possibilities open up. “If your dog jumps up, just knee him in the chest. He’ll figure it out” is a common piece of advice. Wouldn’t that make dogs wary of approaching people who are standing up? What if we rewarded the dog for sitting and did nothing if they jumped up? Would that work? Try it and see! (It does work. We do it in our house.)
Over the past eight years, I have questioned virtually everything I ever thought I knew about dogs. Some of it remained true after closer examination. But most of it was wrong, either in part or completely. But the questions led me to more and better information. They led me to more effective ways of communicating and training my dogs. They led to less confusion and more trust from my dogs.
Look at the things you “know” about dogs. Ask a few questions. Go out and find a few answers and see if you were right or not. Along the way, you will likely find some new knowledge and understanding. It will make you a better dog trainer, I promise. At the very least, it will make you a more understanding friend for your dog.
Until next time, have fun with your dog!
Photo Credits
Who Am I – Marvin Kuo 2009 from Flickr
Scientific Method Diagram – from ScienceBuddies
Shred! – an iconoclast 2005 from Flickr
In The Field -Leighblackall 2006 from Flickr
As always I enjoy your articles..I do have a comment to the effect that not all dogs are created equal, rather like kids. Trainers tend to lump behaviours into “Dog” behaviour. It is expeditious but what works for one dog/breed doesn’t work for all… Two of my BCS are verbally oriented and have a large vocabulary of human words. The other 2 are not. I would compare present day training for our canine friends to schooling for children, as recently as my childhood. We were sat in rows and “Taught”. Too bad if you didn’t fit the norm. Picture dog training classes. Your dog sitting in a row. My point is until we accept our dogs individuality we will fail to fully realise their potential.