Years ago I did a personal growth workshop (The Hoffman Process: Amazing!) in which we were asked to look into another person's eyes for minutes at a time. Our "partner" was someone we had just met. At first it felt downright awkward, as you can imagine, but after a bit (30 seconds?), each of us began to feel a sense of overwhelming warmth and empathy for someone who was essentially a stranger. "Mutual gazing," as it is called, is a well-known social phenomenon which acts to bond mother to child, and partner to partner in romantic relationships. Indeed, one can evaluate the level of maternal bonding by measuring the length of mutual gazing, and predict the amount of gazing based on maternal oxytocin levels. Gazing and oxytocin levels appear to exist in a "positive loop," in which gazing Read More
Archives for April 2015
Positive Reinforcement is Defined by the Receiver, Take Two
I've been thinking a lot lately about how important it is to remember that "reinforcement" and "punishment" are defined by the receiver. I'm not sure what got me thinking about it. Perhaps it was learning about a study that found cows perceived being yelled at as distressing as being shocked with an electric prod. Or perhaps it was realizing that Willie most likely doesn't enjoy practicing penning the sheep anymore (the most pressure-filled part of a sheepdog competition) because he doesn't like the pressure. (Thank you friend Donna for making the suggestion.) Or maybe it was while explaining to friends that getting a free trip to anywhere right now wouldn't be reinforcement, it would be punishment. This is not the first time I've broached this subject. Here's what I wrote in 2008 about Read More
Can Fake Dogs Help Real Dogs?
Can we learn anything about a dog's behavior around unfamiliar dogs with the use of a fake, stuffed dog? That is the question asked by a team of researchers in Massachusetts, who did a study comparing the responses of 45 shelter dogs to a live dog and a fake, plush, stuffed dog. The real dogs were presented with a neutered, male American Staffordshire mix and a similarly-sized, fake dog who was the same size as the real dog but is described as "having the appearance of a pointer breed dog". Individual behaviors were recorded as occurring or not (approach, sniff, bark, growl, back away, etc.) and were also later lumped into three categories: "aggressive, fearful or friendly/playful". The authors summarized the results by saying that "friendly" responses were the responses most likely to be Read More
Healthy Dog Play in Georgia, Sweet Georgia
We're just back from a short week with good friends Jim and Peg in northern Georgia. Heavenly! They live on a gorgeous 200 acre farm and we got to enjoy the fun of 80+ new born lambs, and none of the work, thanks to our hard working hosts. Maggie and Willie got to work sheep every day, along with numerous long walks with the seven resident Border Collies on the property. Basically, we ate (Jim A. is the best amateur chef I know), walked (two stunningly beautiful hikes and lots of dog walks) and worked dogs (Peg is one of the top handlers in the country and gave me some invaluable advice). Sounds rough, doesn't it? Here's a huge shout out to Peg and Jim for their gracious hospitality. I thought you'd enjoy a sequence of dog play that I took with the camera on rapid fire "continuous Read More