Just as I was getting my head around the ‘Training Quadrant’ I came across the ‘Punishment Quadrant’. This is Ian Dunbar’s idea as described in Cesar Millan’s book ‘Cesar’s Rules’. The four quadrants are:- 1. ‘non-aversive, non-punishment’, 2. ‘aversive non-punishment’, 3. ‘aversive punishment’ and 4. ‘non aversive punishment’. Keep up the good work Ian! (I think).
Author: richardjarrold
Antisynurbism – A True Definition!
As a student of ecology I sometimes come across words that are conspicuous by their absence; words that have not yet been invented. Here is such a word:
antisynurbism – noun: (pronounced: anti-syn-urb-ism) To act in an antisynurbic way. Cats, dogs, rabbits ect. returning to a feral or semi-wild state but happy to remain in an urban environment living alongside and scavenging from humans may be said to be antisynurbic or displaying antisynurbism. Opposite to synurbism.
Should we ignore our dog when entering a room and then make him wait in the queue for his food?
The above are two of the five golden rules to be good *pack leader* according to New Zealand dog trainer and behaviourist Doggy Dan. The other three are that everything should be on YOUR terms, control barking (by taking time out) and only walk the dog when calm. We can all identify with the last of these but what about the other outlandish statements? In his various videos and book ‘What The Dogs Taught Me About Being A Parent’ Dan does an awful lot of talking without saying much. Whilst I agree with a lot of what he DOES say, which is mainly common sense, this could mostly be condensed into one short chapter – so don’t waste £7 on the eBook unless you are REALLY curious!
I do admire Dan for his policy of creating calm before a formal training session. Unlike Zak George who always appears hyper active. These two are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. Perhaps Zak is not such a good role model after all! What do you think? Feel free to leave any comments below.
** For more information on the “pack theory” see my blog ‘When Is a Pack Not a Pack’ – April 26, 2017.
Some common behaviours in dogs and wolves.
The wolf, Canis Lupus, has exactly the same number of chromosomes as the sub species Canis Lupus Familiaris or domesticated dog. These amount to 78 and, after studies comparing the DNA of dogs and wolves, it has been found that dogs possess 98.8% of wolf genes. The closest relative is the Grey Wolf (can be spelt Gray) with DNA differing by only 0.2% (Temple Grandin, 2009). The colour grey is something of a misnomer as there are various shades of black and white also with the potential to include red and blue. The point is the Grey Wolf is neutral, able to blend into the background! There are 37 sub-species of canis lupus, all potentially able to cross breed. It is conceivable that the more wolf like the dog’s appearance, the more wolf like its behaviour, for example the German Shepherd Dog and Malamute. However, we know that dogs are not wolves – would you let a wolf sleep on your bed?
Food is the most important resource for both wolves and dogs. Unless our pet dog is trained from an early age, he/she may become aggressive when guarding this most valuable resource, in spite of it being readily available; it is a hard-wired reaction. Wolves, in the wild, hunt in packs bringing down large ungulates and smaller prey. They have no alternative. Conversely, feral dogs appear to live in packs of unrelated animals but will scavenge as loners, very often from humans. This is unsurprising as, almost certainly, this is how dogs became domesticated in the first place.
Wolves love to play and this is undoubtedly also true of dogs. Wolves will eventually mature whereas our companion dog will retain puppy like qualities well into adulthood and appear to never grow up! Perhaps, subconsciously (even consciously) we have bred for neoteny. Our pet loves human contact and at the same time is territorial, defending his/her property along with the family. This is a known trait in wolves which, like the dog, will alert vocally rather than risk injury or death by conflict. Body language and communication of the two species is almost identical and, as luck would have it, is easily interpreted by humans as some facial expressions are alarmingly similar to ours. We all know the appeasing gesture and ‘cow’ like eyes (or is this our imagination?), play bow and tail wagging, assuming a tail is present. It is possible that dogs, if not properly socialised at the optimum age – from birth up to approximately 14 – 16 weeks – will not develop these communication skills and will struggle for the rest of their lives.
Like wolves, dogs have a strong prey drive and this, if not satisfied, may cause problems when out walking by chasing other dogs, cars, joggers, cyclists, squirrels or cats. It should not be our intention to placate this but to redirect it in other ways; for example canine sports involving balls, herding, scent work and many others. If this need is not met then the dog will, almost certainly, become psychologically frustrated, potentially leading to behavioural issues such as aggression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), repetition syndrome, hypertension, depression, separation anxiety and others.
In conclusion, a study of wolf behaviour will inevitably help us understand dogs, but only up to a point. Comparative zoology helps scientists understand a particular behaviour by comparing it with another, but similar, species. This method has helped disentangle the plethora of evolutionary questions but has science unwittingly over complicated matters and done a disservice to the domesticated dog? Only a few decades ago wolves were portrayed as vicious animals intent on dominating the pack at all costs. Studies were done on captive animals rather than animals in the wild, thus showing false results. As a result it is possible that the average owner, to this day, misunderstands their pet. Whilst the domesticated dog prefers to live as a group member (indeed it would not survive outside a group) and is without doubt descended from the wolf, this does not mean it thinks or behaves like a wolf, nor is it intent on dominating its owner. To understand dogs we must surely study dogs rather than wolves!
When is a sheepdog not a sheepdog?
Yes, I agree this is a nonsensical statement but even the International Sheep Dog Society (ISDS) do not have a definition. The nearest I could find on their website is: ‘an ISDS Border Collie has no breed standard’. By implication, therefore, we assume a sheepdog and a Border Collie are the same thing to the exclusion of all other breeds! Hypothetically, if I had a Kelpie under two years of age I could NOT register this dog with the ISDS as a sheepdog. My Kelpie could, however, compete in anything up to Open level without the need for registration. Upon attaining the age of two years my dog may seek ‘Registration on Merit’ either via ‘competition success’ or a ‘working test’ in order to compete at National or International level. BUT (and I quote) “only if it looks like a Border Collie”. Does a Kelpie or an Aussie (and all the other herding breeds – the list is endless) look like a BC? It’s all subjective. The aficionados of these breeds would, I’m sure, agree to disagree!
ITVs ‘Flockstars’
This is an old Blog I have brought to the top for interest:- Did anyone watch “Flockstars” televised by ITV last Thursday evening? It begs the question ‘do sheep have rights?’ Man has nurtured the chasing instinct of Border Collies and other dogs over millennia in order to herd. I wonder if the sheep are able to distinguish between being chased and being herded? Farmers will herd sheep over huge areas out of necessity but to subject sheep to unnecessary stress in a television studio is, in my view, not warranted. All in the name of entertainment! I’m sure the dogs, so called ‘stars’ and the audience are hugely enjoying themselves but at what price? The sheep at various points have endeavored to escape by jumping the barriers. I notice the BBC have not hosted this show, presumably for similar reasons that they do not host Crufts – that’s another infringement on animals rights!!
Devon Wolves Living in Perfect Harmony!
In deepest Devon at the Wildwood Escot Estate live a pack of six wolves; four intact males and two neutered females. They live in perfect harmony without any animosity, aggression or an apparent alpha. They recently arrived from a zoo in Denmark via Sweden and are the subject of collaborative observation.
In the 1950s/60s, Davis Mech, PhD conducted studies on a pack of captive wolves in Ellesmere Island, in modern day Nunavut (previously part of the Northwest Territories), Canada. This concentrated primarily on observing the interactions of pack members with each other and with pups around a den. He observed a hierarchy relying on domination and the aggression of an alpha, usually a male. The conclusion was that ALL wolves, and indeed dogs, acted this way. What he failed to allow for was that the pack consisted of unrelated animals living in a false environment. This has resulted in a myth that persists today with some dog trainers emulating this ‘pack theory’, using domination to obtain results. (Wolves and dogs are of the same species – however, a dog is NOT a wolf and should not be treated as such). It is now understood that a wolf pack consists of a group of typically five to seven related animals sometimes adopting orphaned pups and even accepting outsiders. Whilst a hierarchy exists, the pack does not usually resort to violence and the alpha pair only occasionally show aggression, for example to keep a juvenile in its place! Violence may erupt in the event of an attempted pack take over, either internally or from an outsider. Competing packs will keep a respectable distance apart with the use of howling (wolves seldom bark).
So how do the Escot wolves live in peace? One theory is that they do not have to compete for resources or females and all are still young. In time, of course, this may change, so we watch with a great deal of interest and anticipation!
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