Devil on My Shoulder

There are so many, commonly said expressions that contain references to the Devil. Devilish is a word I use to describe, the slightly naughty....especially in a pup. The Devil Made Me Do (D'Ewe) it, comes to mind~as does Devil May Care, Dealin' With the Devil.

The Devil on my shoulder, in this case Scream! puppy....plotting his next Naughty, as all of the others are draped around, sleeping.The imagery of an Angel on one shoulder (or in this case Maze on my lap) and a Devil on the other, comes to mind with this Pup!!!! Angel/Devil...the sides of human nature, deciding right and wrong and representing how we feel about choices, operate in the world at large, etc.. Does it hurt your feelings of someone criticizes you or raises their voice to you? Then why are we surprised we see this reaction in our dogs? They live, they breath, they feel???????????????????????????????????????????????????

Some people go through life embracing their inner Devil, without a thought to what is "right" or "just", or caring how they make others feel-or allow the Devil on their shoulder, to dictate their actions. Serving their inner demons first, without thought to affect on others. While others, let the Angel rule and are never one step out of line, selfless, always thinking of how they may affect another. Most of us, are somewhere in between, the pendulum swinging one way or the other, on any given day. I wonder if in the canine world, could there be sentient thought to right and wrong? In dogtraining-an instructor can either be a Devil..giving really bad advice which screws up your dog or your relationship with your dog, or an Angel who helps you work things through and build a stronger bond!! Happy versus, not so much...any question????

I know Scientists, say it can't be so, but for how many years did we pride our evolutionary existence as seperate from that of Chimpanzees, on a human's ability to make tools, only to have Jane Goodall discover that Chimps indeed, used rudimentary tools to problem solve and laugh!! Yes, they are apes, more closely related to us than dogs, but dogs have evolved within the context of our lives for centuries. So, why do we assume dogs are just mirrors of our egos and can't really feel or think, for themselves? Maybe, not to the degree humans do, but why so far-fetched??

When working with a new pup, I see such shades of Angel and Devil in each.There may not be quantifiable evidence that a dog can "choose" to behave in a certain way, or "feels" a certain way when they do, but do you ever wonder? As pups, I often try to remind someone that the naughty they see today, does not mean that is how their pup will be tomorrow or forever. We positive reinforcement based dogtrainers are all pretty born-again in embracing the concept of and preaching to clients, that dogs live in the moment and do not possess longterm cause and effect thinking. I still hear people refer to their dogs as "guilty, or "knowing they were wrong"...all words that attach a human emotion and understanding to an action. So who's right? Whether right or not, the message of after-the-fact punishment creates stress not learning, has delightfully finally gotten through to many of the proletariat. Unfortunately, whether in terms of housebreaking or in agility or other dogsports, delayed punishment or applied correction often based on the "but he knew not to do it"..peeing on the rug-rubbing their nose in it-Huh??? Or "knows" to hold a startline behavior-if they "break" taking them off the course, rather than having done a better job of training & proofing in highly exciting, stressful or distracting environments???...all a negatively based mentality, that still exists.

The Devil~Pup @ Rest!

Reading another's blog who recently "found" positive training and seems so surprised at the results...I wonder what took you so long?????? Punishment based training, doesn't give a dog a chance to think, it brings negatives to the equation-which for most dogs clouds learning, creates robots or becomes quite demotivating. The fallout of punishment based training is irrefutable, as far as I'm concerned. Dogs must feel confusion, when they try, but we as the humans change the game, without having shared the new rules. Results are often a dog who either starts to stress high or low-zoomies, more submissive, stressed body language or shutdown-they give up, after being told they are wrong, too many times. Interesting, if you take a dog who is sensitive or stresses easily and always tell them they are right, you often get a more motivated dog. The reverse, also holds true. Focusing on perfection or results before a pup is able to handle the pressure, or before their training is really close to finished, sets many up to fail.....unless one goes into it with an attitude of just seeing what you have...even still, introducing negatives, not cool in my book!
The overall feeling of a dog being able to count on our support & trusting us to be consistent in the interaction, affects the symbiotic relationship of training & competing & life, with a dog.

I love a thinking dog-but also realize that requires me to be a much better trainer. I would say that I purposefully select for thinkers, which means the people that my pups go to, need to be better trainers, too. Part of why I am so picky!!! Overfacing a young dog, is my main concern with these furry Einstein's-they learn so quickly, yet often their physical and mental maturity needs time to catch up, to their brilliance. Yes, I have not placed pups, based on the attitude of the potential trainer!!! And, have taken dogs back, based on that too!!! Even if a child can drive a car or boat (not that they should), I would not give them keys!  Same with dogs, I think how we support them and make them feel as they learn and begin to compete, is as important as the training process. A thinking dog learns in context quickly, so we need behaviors to be so solid, that we are almost on auto-pilot as we begin trialling..getting up early, noise, nerves, etc....affects us too...so we should be able to trust what we have trained well enough, to not have to think too much, ourselves or bring negatives into the equation.

So, in thinking about how Dogs think...I wonder as more people like me, select for a more operant brain in a dog, are we changing the possibility that a canine can actually read and think through situations? Are we affecting the evolution of a dog's brain, in how training also has evolved into a more sentient, shaping, operant approach? Did Karen Pryor start a Revolution by introducing clicker training??? Hopefully!! :)

I think of training as a cooperative effort, where I "pay" the dog with something they want, for engaging in the activity,that I want and hopefully it is mutually beneficial. Be it agility, working stock or just behaving themselves in public (we'll get to that in a minute)...all require the dog to think within the context of the activity. So, why do we think they don't read predictor cues or are able to assess a situation and react differently, not just based on activity or environment, but how they feel, how they feel us feeling, or how they "read" a situation? Why do some people seem to have a fluid "conversation" or relationship with their dogs, while others seem to be arguing, or "butting heads"? If we are the originators of the human/canine bond...is it not up to us, to set the tone for the interactions? You can't be a tourist on a bus, and sightsee when training a pup, and blame the lack of a view, on the driver...You ARE the Driver!!! Get off the BUS!!!!! No backseat drivers needed, if how someone tells you to drive, affects your path negatively, ignore them!!

By more people training, in the mode of shaping or reinforcing behavior offered, are we changing our dogs, or just learning how to understand who they have been, all along? Yes, there are still consequences in life and training, but lack of reinforcement, applied correctly is much stronger in teaching to a thinking dog, than badly applied "corrections".

Speaking of the Devil and reading situations..Scream! is going to keep me on my toes!! He LOVES everyone-sits beautifully to be petted and loved by admiring fans... but greets other dogs like a Bat-out-of-hell. Scared the Bejeesus out of a Shih-Tzu pup, when I took him on errands after working yesterday. He literally Speaks in Tongues...with his crazy sounding voice, no evil intent, but with prey drive oozing out of every pore and stock sense already seeming pretty strong, for such a babe-he sounds like a flock of angry geese flying into their face, can't really blame the other pups, who are a recipient. May need to come up with some alternative greeting behaviors for my little loud, grippy, tuggy, wild, control freak :) My little Devil, embracing his Inner Naughty!!! He makes me feel his Laughter!!