Researchers in Vienna Demonstrate that Owner-Dog Relationships Share Striking Similarities to Parent-Child Relationships

A very interesting study has been published by researchers in Vienna. 

Lisa Horn (Ludwig Huber Department of Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Austria & Ludwig Huber, Friederike Range Clever Dog Lab Society, Vienna) with Ludwig Huber, Friederike Range Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna claim that their scientific study provides an important piece of evidence for the similarity between the "secure base effect" found in dog-owner and infant-caregiver relationships.

The study is the first to show that the secure base effect in dogs extends from the Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure to other areas of dogs' lives and that it can also manifest in cognitive testing. A comparable effect has been shown in human children when they were confronted with a problem-solving task: those children that were able to use their mother as a secure base were found to be more motivated and persistent in solving the task. However, while the secure base effect is usually only evident in infanthood, where it balances the infants' exploration of the world with maintaining the crucial proximity to the caregiver, dogs seem to be unique in having retained this behavior into adulthood. Dogs living in animal shelters have even been found to establish preferences for specific humans after short positive interactions in adulthood, which already strikingly resemble attachment bonds.

Although the secure base effect we found in this study was specific for the owner, unfamiliar humans like the experimenter also seem to be able to provide some social support for the dogs. A similar effect has been observed in human children when they seek social support from non-attachment figures with whom they had been familiarized prior to the test. Although in adult dogs it has so far mainly been shown that owners are the ones who provide social support for their dogs, in dog puppies social support can also be provided by an unfamiliar human. 

It is likely that the presence or absence of the owner might substantially influence dogs' motivation in other more complex test situations. The owner's absence in the generally unfamiliar experimental setting might cause a lack of security, which in turn could influence the outcome of the test.

The message to take from this research is this: your dog is not a child and should not be treated as one.  However, in the same way that young children need to be allowed to develop their confidence and life skills by exploring the world from the safety and comfort of their mother's arms, so a young puppy needs to be able to develop its confidence and understanding of its environment from the safety of its owners arms.  So don't overwhelm your puppy by constantly throwing it in to new and stressful situations.  Rather gently expose it to new and unsettling situations, but always with a safe pair of arms for it to retreat to if everything threatens to overwhelm it.      

Puppy Dog Tales - Rewards for Training

Little Boy is responding well to all the basic commands - SIT, DOWN and STAND.  

Obviously I use only reward-based training, and so I have a treat bag permanently attached to my belt so that I can reward wanted behaviours whenever they occur.  It is very important to let young animals know what is a 'good' behaviour, and what is a 'bad' behaviour so continual and consistent guidance in the form of rewards for 'good' behaviours is very important.  I do use voice, touch and games too, but with food-motivated dogs such as Labradors, treats make the whole process very simple.  

It does carry its own problems in that I have to ensure that the treats do not make up a large proportion of the puppy's diet - a young, growing animal needs a well-balanced dog food suitable for his age and breed.  Similarly, the older animals are prone to putting to weight, so the quality and volume of treats has to be strictly controlled.

For the puppy I am using a mixture of his kibble pellets and dehydrated liver cubes.  The latter are available in little tubs from pet stores, have no additives or chemicals and come cut in to little cubes of about 0.5cm.  They are quite soft so I can break them up further with my nails and so can treat frequently using the tiniest of pieces.  The older dogs can have problems with sensitivity to wheat so for them I use gluten-free beef or chicken chomping chews.  These are made from 50% meat, and are soft, thin flat strips about 15cm long x 2cm wide.  As with the pup, I break the strips in to about 4 pieces to have in my treat bag, and reward with a small piece broken off one of these quarters.  The size of reward can thus be varied as appropriate for larger or smaller dogs.  

If your dog is very overweight you can measure out the dog's daily kibble allowance, and instead of feeding it all at one time in the dog's regular meal, you can put half of it in your treat bag and use that to reward behaviours.  If your dog is fully grown but is very stubborn, you could try not feeding a meal at all and instead put the dog's daily kibble allowance in your treat bag and reward desired behaviours constantly during the day so that he has to work for every piece of kibble.  However, if you try this approach you would need to be careful that you were consistent and fair in your rewarding, and that your dog was an adult, in good health, and no longer growing as puppies need a different feeding regime to adult dogs.  

For the older dogs, if I am trying to teach them something new or difficult, or trying to encourage them to do something they are worried about - such as getting Little Girl to do the Dog Walk at Agility - then I will use small amounts of a high-value treat.  High-value treats are exactly what they sound - a treat that is of high-value to your dog.  It could be a piece of cheese, or fish, cream, a piece of hot-dog sausage - whatever your dog adores and will do anything for.  Obviously, to keep their status as 'high-value' you must limit their use to those occasions when you are having problems otherwise they will lose their value. You can also use them to distract your dog when working on resolving behavioural issues such as inappropriate barking.

Puppy Dog Tales - The First Few Days

Little Boy is progressing well - and he has a new friend to cuddle!  

He is happy to go to his crate and be confined when necessary as he gets a Kong toy with a few pieces of kibble to keep him distracted as I leave.  He spends a happy few minutes rolling the Kong around the crate to get the kibble out then eating it.  The crate is covered with old towels so it is dark and draught-free, like a little den, and he can feel secure.  He is a clean pup and when confined alone he toilets mainly on the newspaper.   He performs on cue outside when given the command to Go Toilet and by watching him carefully inside, I can normally catch him and rush him outside.  He has a funny little walk when he needs to poo and he rushes around, nose stuck to the ground, circling, until he finds the perfect spot so that is always a useful sign for me to act quickly. If he remembers when playing, he will rush off to his newspaper to toilet, but he is usually too engrossed in his game to remember.

His training is going well, he knows his name, how to make eye contact, Go Toilet, Come, responds well to Leave and is learning Stand.  He is also learning by watching the bigger dogs that calm behaviour is rewarded rather than the hysterical, excited jumping up of puppies.  Jumping up to demand food or attention may be endearing in a little pup, but is extremely irritating in a full grown dog so we are not encouraging it and instead reward the instant he sits calmly and looks at my face. 

My main problem a the moment is trying to prevent Little Girl from hurting him accidentally.  They play a lot - she brings him toys and plays tug-of war, or lets him climb all over her, or they wrestle and play chases.  However she is also young (2 years old) so she can get over-excited very easily and starts charging about or play-biting him so he could easily be badly hurt.  Also all dogs need to learn self-control.  

We have all seen toddlers in supermarkets having a tantrum because they want a sweet or a toy and Mum has refused.  A very similar thing happens with dogs and puppies when they become over-excited and they start charging about, crashing into people or furniture, perhaps barking or nipping.   As with jumping up, this can be endearing in a little pup if no damage is done, and if children are involved they will probably find it great fun, playing chases with the pup, the children squealing and the puppy barking hysterically.   However, allowing this to happen without moderation is laying down trouble for the future as the pup is learning that out-of-control behaviour is acceptable and indeed fun!  However, when the dog is larger or fully grown it will still display these behaviours and that is when owners realise that the behaviour is no longer acceptable and that they have a problem dog.

Owners and their children should most certainly play with their pup - it is necessary for the pup's development and strengthens the bond between dog and owner. However, the owner is the leader in the relationship and must moderate the behaviour of the pup and those it is interacting with (be they adults, children, dogs or other pets) to ensure that play remains fun but if the pup does start to lose control and act hysterically that it is encouraged to calm down and play more quietly.  By gently restraining it and not allowing it to continue to play and telling it quietly to calm down, then allowing it to continue playing once it is calmer you are teaching it to manage frustration (at being denied play) and learn self-control.  It will learn that the appropriate behaviour to allow it to gain access to play is calm and happy and that if it doesn't moderate its own behaviour through self-control then play may be withdrawn.  If adults or children react to hysterical, out-of-control behaviour in a pup by squealing, laughing at it, chasing or egging on the behaviour (there are many videos online of owners doing this!) then the pup will see this attention as a reward and be encouraged to repeat the behaviour. 

It is easier to lay down boundaries and stop your pup from demonstrating unacceptable behaviours at this age so think carefully - do you really want your pup doing this when s/he is fully grown?   If the answer is NO then stop it now!

Asking for a Hidden Object - Gaze Alternation in Dogs

Have you ever wondered why your dog will stare at your face as if to get your attention, then flick his/her eyes to another location, then back to your face – all with no or little movement of the head?  

The reason is most likely that s/he is asking for a hidden object – probably food or a toy.  Big Boy used to do this frequently when he wanted a carrot.  He knew where they were kept on the counter-top, and would stand and stare at the location, then flick his eyes to my face, then back again to the carrot location.  Carrots were his ‘filler food’, designed to fill his stomach without actually put weight on him and so he was fed them fairly liberally to stop him scrounging more fattening foods.  As a Labrador with damaged joints, keeping his weight down is of utmost importance!

A recent French study has demonstrated that dogs exhibiting this behaviour are indeed attempting to communicate to their human partner the location of a hidden object that they desire.  So the next time you see your dog do this, just follow the direction of their gaze and try to understand what they want – it will help strengthen the bond between you if your dog has confidence in your ability to understand him.

Similarly, both Big Boy and Little Girl will stand motionless and stare fixedly at the bottom edge of a sofa or fridge if a treasured plaything or a tasty treat has been knocked underneath.  They stand staring and motionless, ears forward, not looking at me, for several minutes until I come to see the reason for their unusual behaviour and retrieve the object for them.