Before you dismiss your dog as dumb, think about the last time he pawed your leg under the table and gave you those big sad eyes. He was letting you know what he wanted, and this is far from dumb!
Humans and dogs have a successful relationship that goes back thousands of years, and one reason why it works out so well is because we communicate in a way that they understand. Think about what they are saying when they bring you a stick. You know that they want to play fetch, don't you?
These are just two examples of the way that your dog tells you what is going on in his mind, and you'll find that they are not the only way that they engage in complex behavior.
Remember that just like we do, dog can see and remember a lot of language and posture, but they process it very differently from the way that we do.
Remember that your dog's eyes will respond very differently to color, and they can see very well in low light. They can turn their ears around very quickly and accurately, which lets them figure out where sounds come from, and don't forget that famous sense of smell.
These differences lead to a difference in the way that their minds work, and the way that they figure out cause and effect is very different from the way that we do.
When it comes to classic consideration, where the subject figures out the connection between cause and effect, we can beat it pretty easily if it was just a coincidence. On the other hand, dogs create a very persistent relation between cause and effect.
Then look at operant conditioning, where cause and effect are reinforced through positive and negative means, and the differences become even larger.
Whenever I am going to go play fetch with my Golden Retrievers, I go out the back door. Whenever I do this, we always play fetch. On the other hand, when I let them out the side door, I never go with them, and I just let them go outside for half an hour or so. Because of this, they know to go to the back when it is time to play games.
When I train my dogs, I always use a certain tone and a unique hand gesture with every command, and this lets them learn a wide range of behaviors. They will lie down, roll over, release their jaws, come, sit, fetch, drop it and even eliminate on command.
However, on the other hand, I still cannot prevent them from eating something off of the floor because they cannot connect the bellyache a few hours later with the food that they ate before. This is just something that takes too much time.
Whether your dog is a Retriever or a Shepherd, a Basset Hound or a Dachshund, you'll find that you can get him to learn a lot of different things, as long as you know what is possible and what to expect
For instance, one fairly well-known woman has taught her dogs how to dance on command for the show circuit, and rescue dogs can locate children and pull them out of dangerous situations. Service dogs are incredible when they can do things as different as opening a door, pulling a wheelchair or even fetching a container of water without spilling a bit of it.
Remember, though, that they are not people, and that even when they try to act like us and communicate like us, they are still going to do things like eat little dead critters they find in the yard and turn around three times before they sleep! - 31866
Humans and dogs have a successful relationship that goes back thousands of years, and one reason why it works out so well is because we communicate in a way that they understand. Think about what they are saying when they bring you a stick. You know that they want to play fetch, don't you?
These are just two examples of the way that your dog tells you what is going on in his mind, and you'll find that they are not the only way that they engage in complex behavior.
Remember that just like we do, dog can see and remember a lot of language and posture, but they process it very differently from the way that we do.
Remember that your dog's eyes will respond very differently to color, and they can see very well in low light. They can turn their ears around very quickly and accurately, which lets them figure out where sounds come from, and don't forget that famous sense of smell.
These differences lead to a difference in the way that their minds work, and the way that they figure out cause and effect is very different from the way that we do.
When it comes to classic consideration, where the subject figures out the connection between cause and effect, we can beat it pretty easily if it was just a coincidence. On the other hand, dogs create a very persistent relation between cause and effect.
Then look at operant conditioning, where cause and effect are reinforced through positive and negative means, and the differences become even larger.
Whenever I am going to go play fetch with my Golden Retrievers, I go out the back door. Whenever I do this, we always play fetch. On the other hand, when I let them out the side door, I never go with them, and I just let them go outside for half an hour or so. Because of this, they know to go to the back when it is time to play games.
When I train my dogs, I always use a certain tone and a unique hand gesture with every command, and this lets them learn a wide range of behaviors. They will lie down, roll over, release their jaws, come, sit, fetch, drop it and even eliminate on command.
However, on the other hand, I still cannot prevent them from eating something off of the floor because they cannot connect the bellyache a few hours later with the food that they ate before. This is just something that takes too much time.
Whether your dog is a Retriever or a Shepherd, a Basset Hound or a Dachshund, you'll find that you can get him to learn a lot of different things, as long as you know what is possible and what to expect
For instance, one fairly well-known woman has taught her dogs how to dance on command for the show circuit, and rescue dogs can locate children and pull them out of dangerous situations. Service dogs are incredible when they can do things as different as opening a door, pulling a wheelchair or even fetching a container of water without spilling a bit of it.
Remember, though, that they are not people, and that even when they try to act like us and communicate like us, they are still going to do things like eat little dead critters they find in the yard and turn around three times before they sleep! - 31866
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