The Importance of Using Science to Study Dog Behavior

As you might know I'm one inquisitive canine that enjoys hanging out in the science camp of animal behavior, just like my mom the Ventura dog trainer,especially if I get to be a study subject (well, only if it involves humane techniques, not that "I gotta be a dominant pack leader" type that totally stresses me out.) Ugh, I've written about that myth before - click here to find out more about my canine point of view on dominance myth in dog training.

Anywho, I was out with mom and dad last week, going for exercise, running errands together (two of my favorite motivators), when they decided to get some positive reinforcement for themselves...Costco yogurt is one of moms favorite after she's gone for a long run. Dad and I sometimes share a hotdog, but this day in particular he decided to get something called a churro.

Since mom is totally into research and studying animal behavior, and dad is into research too (he runs studies where he works), they thought it would be fun to run their own little research project right in the middle of the Costco parking lot!

What was the study? Which treat this inquisitive canine would find more motivating: Frozen yogurt or Churro. You'd think I do backflips for both, but like mom teaches her dog training class students, each animal is an individual when it comes to likes and dislikes, and it's important to determine which motivators work better for certain situations, then use them to your advantage as opposed to giving everything away for free!

Don't get me wrong, I'll take anything I can get...I'm no idiot. But if mom learns from studying my behavior that I like one yummy item, or activity, more than another, she might use it for rewarding me during those times when the behavior might be more difficult for me to perform - such as coming when called when the garbage or mail trucks are around. She's not one to assume I'm thinking or feeling a certain way, she comes to conclusions by studying my behavior.

As you can see from the pictures, mom and dad presented me with both items, for three trials total. I would have done a lot more, but 1) mom and dad didn't want me to eat all of it (I could get sick) 2) mom and dad didn't want to share (the real reason).

What was the outcome? I'm my mothers son...yogurt wins! I do like the churro, but if I had my choice, the yogurt is numero uno in this inquisitive canine's book of positive reinforcers! Viva la science of animal behavior!! And viva la Costco yogurt!

I wonder what's next on the ol' animal research agenda? Beef versus lamb? Croutons versus potato chips? UPS versus E.J. Harrison? Hmm, something for this inquisitive canine and research geek to ponder.