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How Dogs Think
A Non-Verbal Link
to Canine Communication
The following
article by William E. Campbell was first published by
Dogworld magazine. It is presented here to
convey the concepts behind Campbell's humane, non-punishment
systems for correcting problem behavior in pet animals.
Please feel free to copy the article and use it as a
means of spreading the word for a more enlightened approach
to pet animal ownership. If you use it in a club publication,
newspaper or magazine, etc., please mention it also
appears in "Behavior Problems in Dogs," ( 1995, Mosby
Yearbook Publishers) and "Owner's Guide to Better Behavior
in Dogs," (1995, Alpine Publishers). See Campbell's
Pet
Behavior Resources on the Web.
Copyright
©1996 HomeVet
Introduction
Have
you ever seen a device or a program designed to correct
a dog behavior problem that explained how smart dogs
are and how they think? Most plans or gadgets enable
owners, literally, to declare war on their hapless pets.
Little or no concern is afforded to what the dogs happen
to think about them. In fact, the implication is that
dogs don't think at all ... either they just react to
external stimuli like robots , or respond according
to genetically controlled "drives." Dogs are rarely
credited with the ability to solve a problem mentally;
to analyze a situation; imagine ways to manipulate or
control it, then take a pre-planned course of action
toward a goal that was preconceived in the dog's mind.
In short, the dog is considered a real dummy, then treated
like a dummy. But this concept is not correct. Dogs
are smart. They can, and usually do, think rings around
their owners. And they can do it because most owners
have never learned how to think like a dog.
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Understanding
Non-Verbal Thinking
We all
wonder now and then what our dog is thinking. If we
wonder aloud, perhaps when mealtime is approaching and
the dog is looking expectantly at us, we might say something
like, "I'll bet Tippy's thinking, 'When is my dinner
going to be ready?' " In all likelihood, Tippy isn't
originating any thoughts about 'when dinner will be
ready.' It is more likely Tippy is imagining (or 'imaging'
in his mind) the words and movements you usually say
and perform before getting his dinner; something like,
"You want dinner, Tippy?" All that tail wagging and
those pleading eyes are aimed at stimulating you to
say it.
But, an inability
to originate thoughts in a spoken language does not
make dogs unintelligent. Even people don't actively
think in a spoken language unless they actively 'speak'
it. For instance, during a short vacation to Japan,
if you don't already speak the language, you'll probably
pick up the meaning of a few words. After a few natives
look at you in the morning and say "Ohio," you may eventually
learn that they're not curious about where you're from,
but are wishing you a "Good Morning." Still, you won't
think in Japanese unless you live there a few months
and actively speak it. Even a pet Akita will never learn
to speak or think in the native lingo because their
voice boxes, tongues and lips cannot formulate the sounds
of Japanese ... or English, or French, etc, etc. The
limit of our dog's language-learning is the meaning
of the sounds of certain words. Luckily, dogs are quick
to learn the sounds that are important to them.
With this in
mind, when Tippy is prodding us about serving dinner,
we'd be wise to discard ideas about complete sentences
being originated and thought about, and replace them
with the non-language concept of mental images. To illustrate
this further; when most Tippys are asking for dinner
they actually look from their owners toward the place
where it is served, generally the kitchen.
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Evidence
of Imagery
Some
very convincing research suggests that dogs think in
sensory impressions; visual, sound and odor images,
etc. This is not to say that they sit around on quiet
days experiencing videos inside their brains. However,
they likely share our ability to form and experience
in their minds certain images, odors and sounds. The
scientific basis for this idea came from Russia and
was published in the US in 1973. A scientist named V.S.
Rusinov1 was studying the electrophysiology of the brain
and had several dogs wired with brain wave equipment
and radio transmitters. When the dogs were brought into
the lab from the kennels for experimental conditioning
tests, the electroencephalograph machine was turned
on to record their brain wave patterns. This was done
at the same time each day, five days a week. One weekend,
purely by accident, Rusinov brought a group of visitors
into the lab and turned on the EEG machine. Lo, the
dog that was normally scheduled for tests during the
week at that time was sending wave forms nearly identical
to his regular working patterns! When the testing time
passed, the dogs' brain waves soon returned to their
normal 'at rest' forms.
I never found
any mention by Rusinov as to whether the dogs out in
the kennel were actually performing their conditioned
laboratory behaviorisms. Chances are they were not,
but one thing is almost sure; compared to human experience
in similar types of studies, the dogs were apparently
experiencing them mentally2,3.
The late Polish
scientist, Jerzi Konorski,3 taught dogs to salivate
and expect food in their trays when a light flickered.
This was done regularly every few minutes. However,
after a few trials, the dogs started salivating and
looking at the trays as if the food were actually there,
even though the light had not flickered. Konorski ventured
that the dogs were hallucinating about both the stimulus
(the light) and the reward for salivating (the food).
One thing is sure: Something was going on in the dogs'
minds that made them behave as if they were happening.
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Some
Human Examples
Before
going on with dogs, let us consider some facets of our
own 'mind's eye,' as suggested by Konorski. Imagine
we have a date to meet a loved one at a busy restaurant.
We get there on time and sit at a table near the door.
Fifteen minutes go by, but no friend arrives. We begin
to wonder if they are coming at all. We start watching
people approach the door. Pretty soon, people with similar
features almost cause us to call out to them. The more
concerned and anxious we become, the more apt we are
to mistake strangers for our friend. When he or she
finally arrives, the pleasure and relief we feel is
often mixed with mild displeasure. We are ambivalent
... we have mixed emotions about meeting them in the
future.
Almost everyone
has mental imagery. Often, just the thought of a loved
one conjures up their image. This can apply to sounds,
as well. Think about your favorite musical piece and
your can often hear it in your 'mind's ear.'
These are positive
images. They are emotionally pleasant. At the other
end of the scale, recalling a terrifying experience
can not only create its images, but sometime even make
us shudder. This is an example of negative, emotionally
unpleasant images.
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Back
To Dogs
So it
is with our dogs. When we are late getting home, or
if they over-miss us because we spoil them with attention
and petting every time they demand it, they very likely
worry in images, too. They may well recall images of
us and our activities, such as fluffing the pillows
on the sofa, putting away record albums, handling magazines
and books, putting on shoes just before leaving, sitting
in a favorite armchair, etc. As a result of this, they
often engage in activities which involve them with these
images: Pillows wind up on the floor, albums or magazines
are moved or chewed, a chair seat gets dug up, shoes
are brought out of the closet. If they can't have us
there, they try to interact with things that symbolize
us.
If dogs really
do store up and recall images of us and life's other
objects and experiences, it follows that we might use
this to our mutual benefit. But since most owners do
not understand how dogs think, this imagery is where
the seeds of most behavior problems are sown. Dogs receive
and recall conflicting images of owners and many important
experiences.
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The
Puppy's Dilemma
Consider
the new puppy whose owners come home at regular times
and join in an ecstatically joyful greeting ceremony.
This imagery is quickly ingrained, and the pup begins
to anticipate the experience, just Konorski's dogs hallucinated
about the flickering light and the food tray. However,
as will happen in even the most well regulated household,
one day the owner is late. The puppy begins experiencing
the images of his tardy owners ...starts fretting, pacing.
Well primed energies, ready for the greeting ceremony,
demand an outlet as the adrenaline starts pumping.
What's going
on in its mind's eye or ear? It probably imagines hearing
footsteps, perhaps even sees the door open... which
doesn't happen. But it should. This introduces conflict
between what it wants and expects and what is really
happening. Conflict creates frustration. Frustration
produces anxiety, which triggers an even greater adrenaline
rush. The pup searches for something real to satisfy
its desire to 'experience' the owner ...a magazine or
book it saw the owner reading recently. It is rich with
the owner's scent. If it cannot have the owner there,
it can at least have their genuine odor or taste. So
it sniffs, tastes, maybe even swallows parts of the
article. Naturally, this does not fully substitute for
the whole owner, so the puppy's social appetite is not
really satisfied.
Finally, here
comes the owner. The puppy innocently launches into
its joyous, semi-hysterical ritual. The owner starts
to join in, but spies the pulverized magazine or book.
What's this? Naturally, if not wisely, the owner angrily
grabs the pup, drags it to the demolished object and
scolds it, or slaps it's snout or rump, or both. The
pet's single-track mind is riveted on the owner. It
yips, rolls over, or struggles vainly to escape. Punishment
concluded, the owner angrily picks up the remnants of
the article and storms to the trash basket.
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Psychic
Trauma
The net
result of this is a totally confused pup with a conflicting
set of images of its owner. This sort of shock to the
nervous system is called psychic trauma in both animals
and humans. A conflict has been instilled between the
positive image of the owner (happy Dr. Jekyll) and the
negative (Mr. Homecoming Hyde). This creates frustration
and anxiety about homecomings, growing in severity if
the scenario is repeated a few times.
(It is interesting
that in many cases, owners tell us that the pup was
fine for a day or so after the first punishment. This
may equate to the human experience of repression, in
which memory of the traumatic experience is suppressed,
creating a sort of 'backwards amnesia.') Even when this
occurs, since the punishment was not associated with
the act of chewing up something, the puppy seeks out
another article, perhaps a shoe, and the cycle is repeated
until the total relationship between owner and dog is
tainted with emotional ambivalence. Mixed feelings are
eating away at the positive qualities of their relationship.
Negative emotional impressions may start to dominate
it.
At about this
stage, many owners conclude that the punishment may
not have been severe enough. That's why the correction
was not permanent. So they intensify it. The relationship
erodes further as weeks go by. Enough of this cascading
negative effect and the owner is ready take drastic
action. The dog, now hyper-sensitive to its owner's
mood change, feels something is wrong. This often is
reflected by new problems, such as submissive wetting
when the owner comes home or approaches the dog at other
times; off-schedule bowel movements or urination occur,
etc.
Many pets act
insecure, currying more favor when the owner is home,
and hence, missing the owner even more acutely when
left alone. Frustration and anxiety build, while the
isolation-related, tension-relieving behavior mounts.
The unwitting owner, who originally may have thought
the dog is'getting even' for being left alone, begins
to consider it incorrigible.
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HELP!
This
is when outside help is often sought. A book is purchased.
The veterinarian, breeder, pet shop, a trainer or behaviorist
may be consulted. If lucky, the owner gets advice that
brings genuine insight into pet/owner relationships
and dog behavior. But, more likely, they find traditional
quick fixes and the dog winds up in a desensitization
program; gets dosed with anxiety relieving drugs or
barbiturates; is stuck in a cramped crate or cage all
day, or banned to the yard or garage, or has its mouth
stuffed with chewed debris and taped shut for hours.
Since none of these approaches deal with the causes,
the 'thinking dog' and the total relationship with its
owners and the environment, success is rare. The majority
of these formerly precious pets find themselves rejected
... relegated to the local pound for five to seven days,
where the odds are 3-to-2 they'll suffer society's 'ultimate
solution'. But things don't have to be so grim, if the
owners learn some 'dog think.'
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Applying
Positive Imagery To Solve 'Separation Anxiety'
Dogs
that misbehave when they are left alone are said to
be suffering from separation anxiety. The term is a
neat buzz-phrase; almost everybody uses it. It sounds
professional. The trouble is, as a transplant from human
psychiatry, it really doesn't convey much useful information.
However, the term is here, so we'll use it in its broadest
sense, which is; "a troubled feeling when left alone
or apart from a certain person or persons." This allows
us to recommend a remedial behavioral program that deals
with the realities of the dog's total relationships.
First, however, we must be sure that the dog's veterinarian
has ruled out the many physical/medical causes for anxiety,
such as thyrotoxicosis, hyperthyroidism, pre-diabetes,
encephalitis, allergies, hyperkinesis, etc. etc.
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The
Program
Dogs
that are unduly upset when left alone usually enjoy
their owner's attention and petting whenever they ask
for (or demand it) when the people are at home. To apply
the imagery concept to this relationship, we could say
the dog 'sees itself' as directing, or leading the owner.
When it wants some petting, it nudges or otherwise stimulates
the owner, and the owner complies. The dog wants out,
whines at the door or at the owner, and the door gets
opened. Mealtime approaches, dog whines and prances,
and dinner gets served. When the owner goes from room
to room, the dog is either ahead, leading them, or close
behind. This is the reality of their relationship, at
least in the dog's mind. But, when the owner leaves,
against the dog's wishes, the pet is predictably upset,
and problem behavior occurs. This can involve barking,
chewing, pacing, self-mutilation, off-schedule bowel
movements, urination around the house, etc.
The leadership
problem can be turned about by presenting a different
reality to the dog; one in which the dog is pleasantly,
but firmly and consistently told to perform some simple
act, such as 'sit' whenever it attempts to gain attention
or affection, or whenever the owner wants to give the
dog some attention. All 'sits', or whatever command
is used ('down' is a good one for highly bossy dogs)
are praised happily as 3 to 5 seconds of petting is
awarded; then the dog is cheerfully released with an
"OK" or "Free." (Free is a good release because OK is
too common a word.)
If a really bossy
dog refuses to obey, and many do when they realize their
relationship is being turned around, simply ignore the
situation, turn away and go on about some other activity,
ignoring the dog. Some dogs have refused to respond
for as long as four days before coming to terms with
a follower relationship. However long it takes, after
a few days the dog's image of itself seems to evolve
from one of giving direction to taking it with compliance
prior to being petted, getting dinner, going out the
door, getting on the couch, etc.
In moving around
the house, whenever the dog forges ahead, simply about-turn
and go the other way. This must be repeated until the
dog walks patiently behind or, better yet, doesn't even
follow. It is also helpful, but not vital, to practice
down-stays of increasing length during several evenings
a week.
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Images
of Hyper-Emotionality
Most
'home alone' problem dogs get extremely emotional when
their owners get home; some even get excitable when
regular departure times approach. To supplant these
emotionally over-stimulating images, sit quietly for
about five minutes before leaving, in the area where
the dog will be left. No eye contact or speaking is
allowed. Then, get up and go without looking at or speaking
to the pet.
At homecoming,
enter quietly and ignore the dog until it quiets down
completely. Then it is greeted happily, but briefly,
away from the door of arrival. This subdued routine
soon replaces the dog's highly emotional mental images
of returns and departures with calmness and serenity.
Here's the tough
part for most all dog owners: When coming home the place
is a mess! Pillows have been chewed, or the chair is
tattered again, or a pile of poop graces the doorway,
or some other problem is evident. If we keep in mind
that the dog has in the past suffered from conflicting
images at homecoming, it is imperative that no emotion,
or even attention, should be directed at the remnants
of the problem; such as chewed up magazines, shoes,
defecation, etc. Instead, after five minutes of ignoring
the dog, it should be greeted away from the scene of
the misbehavior, and then pleasantly taken outdoors
or to another room and left alone while the mess is
cleaned up. This avoids creating new (or reinforcing
old) conflicting images of emotional reactions to, or
interactions with, the debris, defecation, etc.
I have always
called this 'the secret clean-up'. It has worked wonders
as part of programs ranging from digging in the yard
to housetraining puppies. Just why it is such an effective
adjunct to correction programs remains to be satisfactorily
explained. In the meantime, we'll have to say that the
lack of an image of the owner and the mess is more beneficial
to correction than is the image.
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The
Big Picture
So, there
it is. Dogs think in images and we can mold and change
their behavior in hundreds of ways if we will think
as they do. For instance, on the negative side, a set
up whereby a car screeches to a stop, horn blaring,
just as a dog starts toward the street from the sidewalk,
then praising its retreat, is a valuable exercise in
negative imagery. However, it must be repeated until
the dog avoids the street when cars are not present,
as well.
Teaching the
'panic' command to come needs the dog's name followed
by a code word, a sound image that is exclusive to coming
when it is absolutely necessary, and praise words or
a vocal rhythm that is unique to that command, coupled
with fast hand-clapping while taking a crouched position.
These combined, positive images can create a dog that
will dependably respond to your code word and come to
your praise. It is especially important to teach this
command when the dog is out of sight, as well.
Please
note: The information provided here is meant to supplement
that provided by your veterinarian. Nothing can replace
a complete history and physical examination performed
by your veterinarian. - Dr. Jeff
I greatly value your feedback. Please let me know what
you think of this site and what you would like to see
on it. drjeff@homevet.com
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