We've just adopted a 5 month old smooth collie puppy. The dog was
living in a kennel on a farm since birth and had few suburban home
skills. Training has been an exercise in positive reinforcement and
shaping. Big problem is getting the dog to climb steps so that we
can work our normal routine while keeping the dog with us. Clearly Trent
wanted to join us upstairs but had no clue how to maneuver. Today he
seemed interested in my chicken dinner, so I put a tiny bit on a step
beyond his ground floor reach. Previously he was struggling with paw
position, looking side to side, looking back, shaking and whimpering, but
when he saw/smelled that piece of chicken he quickly, almost effortlessly
climbed six steps to get it. Well there he was in the middle, food
gone, and all the previous hesitancy returned. My son watched him and called
for him to come up while I ran for more chicken. Unbelievable--once again
he swiftly and easily climbed five more steps to grab the chicken. With
only two more steps to go he again froze until I tossed the chicken
scented napkin to the landing--then bingo he reached the top.
Okay, I see the chicken as highly motivating, but something more was
going on here. Somehow awkwardness and fear dissolved in a
moment of purposive action. At the risk of engaging in personification
I'd say it was almost a doggy version of flow. Is there a better
comparative psych explanation? Do animals have behaviors that function
as coordinated units, sort of procedural repertoires that work best
as automatic responses, but suffer from "conscious" effort?
Just curious, I'm intrigued by this behavior. Yeah, I got my A in
Learning and Motivation, but I did a brain purge afterwards to make
room for Cognition ;-). Anyone out there study animal consciousness?
Pamela Joyce Shapiro | email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Temple University | voice mail: (215) 204-9595-
Cognitive Psychology | mailbox # 888-3214
