GUNDOG CENTRAL - HUNTING DOGS FOR SALE

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Scott Linden | https://findbirdhuntingspots.com/ | All Hunting Articles

Posted 04/12/2020

"If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them."
- Phil Pastoret



Just like a therapist can best help someone by venturing inside their mind, we can guide our dog toward excellence by understanding how he thinks. This form of "training" is helpful primarily for us, adjusting the way we think based on how our dog reasons (or we think he reasons), rationalizes and justifies his behavior.

We humans can think in more than one dimension, plan ahead, reason, debate alternatives, and consider abstract concepts. Dogs, for the most part, string thoughts (actually, probably more like reactions than thoughts in the human sense) in a linear pattern. "A" is followed by "B," and then comes "C" and so on. If you work with phone company call centers often enough you may not always agree, but in general humans have much more experience with life - and learning - than they do.

I've also noticed that dogs think literally. Here's the classic example: my guys watch me enter the shop across the driveway from their yard. They spend much of the next half hour staring at the doorknob, willing it to re-deliver me to them. I went in that way, I will come out that way (they think). If I exit from another door, they are baffled. A cruel variation is the hide-the-treat game, sneaking it from hand to hand behind your back. Again, they saw it in one hand ... it must still be there, right?

Time and again I'm also reminded that dogs truly live in the moment. Their actions, desires, and needs are right now, right here. Unlike the abstract thinking humans utilize (excepting some in-laws) canines are all about NOW. Look up "immediate gratification" in the dictionary and there will be a picture of a dog.


Mental = physical

Besides mentally moving one step at a time in what to them seems a logical order, dogs often also move physically in that fashion. Watch yours. He'll likely take the shortest route between two points, unless there is an impenetrable (or more distracting) object between them. Because that object is a literal, physical obstacle, it can often put the kibosh on a dog's thought process and bugger up whatever you wanted him to do: retrieve a bird, come back to you, or go in his crate.

So how do you use this knowledge in a training situation? Thinking like a dog is a good start. Anticipate his next move (good or bad) and set up scenarios to ensure success based on that literal and linear thought process.



Here's an example: your dog scents a bird and points. Thanks to your superior mental abilities (hah) you have anticipated the menu of potential actions that might result. He could rush in and flush the bird on his own, or maintain his point, or slink away. You've been watching him carefully, so are ready with a "whoa" command the moment he screeches to a stop, front leg raised. You've restructured his linear thought process with your command and helped him to the next desired action - in this case, a staunch point. You've circumvented his instinctive desire to crash in and catch the bird, guiding him to a much better (in your eyes) outcome.

Knowing about these traits might help in how you give direction, teach a skill or establish reasonable expectations for your dog at whatever stage or age they are.

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