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YorkieShadow · 08-24-2008, 10:33 AM

I saw this and thought I would post it.

How does the dog think?For a better understanding of our best friend...VIVAPETS :: The global pet community, dogs, cats, kittens, puppies

Most owners think that their dog’s brain works like ours. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Misunderstandings between men and dog result from their different ways of thinking. Man has the ability of abstract thinking, of thinking in past, present and future terms and of analyzing and drawing conclusions from the events. A dog thinks in a much simpler way and he doesn't distinguish what is good from what is bad.

People know they should not kill, steal, lie, etc. They know that they should help a friend in need and take care of the sick. But the dog, because he does not have the ability of abstract thinking, only thinks about the immediate, here and now; he doesn't have a moral perspective of what he does. In the end, he likes doing the things that he likes doing or that help him to maintain his position in the group.

We can only influence the canine behaviour if we stimulate the wanted behaviour by positive reinforcement (rewards). Thus, the dog will like to obey, because obeying is linked to a pleasant sensation. On the contrary, an unwanted behaviour should be punished in a way that may be understood by the dog. The dog should be able to relate the punishment with the wrong doing.

Praising and rewarding the dog when he obeys or displays a wanted behaviour and punish him when he does something wrong or displays an unacceptable behaviour seems to be the logical course of action. But, in fact, it is exactly in the acts of rewarding and punishing that most owners commit the biggest mistakes in the canine education, confounding the situations, assuming that the dog thinks like us and forgetting that the animal sees the sequence of the events in a more immediate way.

Let’s analyze the following example, to emphasize the most common mistakes made when training a dog:

The owner calls the dog, who is far away in a field smelling something that pleases him. The dog hears the calling, but he doesn't show any interest in answering. Only after consecutive callings the dog will approach the owner, with an expression slightly submissive. What happens then? Will the owner reward the dog for having finally answered the call? No. Usually it is the opposite: the owner scolds the dog saying: You have no shame! I had to call you endless times until you answered. You deserve a punishment!

This is one of the situations when we act according to the human thinking: we have in mind an action of the past and punish it in the present moment. We forget that the dog feels he is being punished for answering the call... and not for the time he took to answer! In this instance the owner should praise the dog effusively, even if he has taken a long time to obey. This way, the dog correctly associates the reward to the act of answering the call.

08-24-2008, 10:33 AM	#45
YorkieShadow BANNED! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: USA Posts: 9,999	I saw this and thought I would post it. How does the dog think?For a better understanding of our best friend...VIVAPETS :: The global pet community, dogs, cats, kittens, puppies Most owners think that their dog’s brain works like ours. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Misunderstandings between men and dog result from their different ways of thinking. Man has the ability of abstract thinking, of thinking in past, present and future terms and of analyzing and drawing conclusions from the events. A dog thinks in a much simpler way and he doesn't distinguish what is good from what is bad. People know they should not kill, steal, lie, etc. They know that they should help a friend in need and take care of the sick. But the dog, because he does not have the ability of abstract thinking, only thinks about the immediate, here and now; he doesn't have a moral perspective of what he does. In the end, he likes doing the things that he likes doing or that help him to maintain his position in the group. We can only influence the canine behaviour if we stimulate the wanted behaviour by positive reinforcement (rewards). Thus, the dog will like to obey, because obeying is linked to a pleasant sensation. On the contrary, an unwanted behaviour should be punished in a way that may be understood by the dog. The dog should be able to relate the punishment with the wrong doing. Praising and rewarding the dog when he obeys or displays a wanted behaviour and punish him when he does something wrong or displays an unacceptable behaviour seems to be the logical course of action. But, in fact, it is exactly in the acts of rewarding and punishing that most owners commit the biggest mistakes in the canine education, confounding the situations, assuming that the dog thinks like us and forgetting that the animal sees the sequence of the events in a more immediate way. Let’s analyze the following example, to emphasize the most common mistakes made when training a dog: The owner calls the dog, who is far away in a field smelling something that pleases him. The dog hears the calling, but he doesn't show any interest in answering. Only after consecutive callings the dog will approach the owner, with an expression slightly submissive. What happens then? Will the owner reward the dog for having finally answered the call? No. Usually it is the opposite: the owner scolds the dog saying: You have no shame! I had to call you endless times until you answered. You deserve a punishment! This is one of the situations when we act according to the human thinking: we have in mind an action of the past and punish it in the present moment. We forget that the dog feels he is being punished for answering the call... and not for the time he took to answer! In this instance the owner should praise the dog effusively, even if he has taken a long time to obey. This way, the dog correctly associates the reward to the act of answering the call.