It only took me a couple of classes to come to the realization that many psych professors - and psych majors - go into that field because they are themselves fairly messed up, and I concluded that they were looking for a cure for their own issues.
EAST LANSING, Mich. — It’s probably no surprise to their owners, but dogs, much like people, have distinct personalities (canine-alities?) that shift and change over time, according to a new study. Researchers at Michigan State University say dogs also have moods like humans, and their personality traits affect how they react to different situations. The study reveals that dog owners have immense influence over these traits, with such changes occurring as a response to an owner’s personality or mental state. For example, people who felt happiest about their relationship with their pet tended to have a dog that was more active and excitable.
They needed a study to figure that out? Amazing. Activity is great; excitability is okay as well - up to a point. Ideally, you want them to mind their manners, which is accomplished through a combination of reinforcements: positive reinforcement, which may include treats, praise, scritches, etc. This approach is known as capturing desired behavior, and I've actually done presentations on the subject internationally. Negative reinforcement, often erroneously referred to as "punishment", simply refers to halting the session - thus denying the animal any opportunity to earn a positive reinforcement. It's a "time-out". It gives the animal some extra time to internalize what went wrong in this case.
Not to get too far into the terminological weeds, but the basic concept of positive reinforcement is simply "that which increases the probability of occurrence of a desired behavior", while negative reinforcement is "that which decreases the probability of occurrence of undesired behavior". No physical force (punishment) is involved, as it's counterproductive to the conditioning process.
“We found correlations in three main areas: age and personality, in human-to-dog personality similarities and in the influence a dog’s personality has on the quality of its relationship with its owner,” says Chopik. “Older dogs are much harder to train; we found that the ‘sweet spot’ for teaching a dog obedience is around the age of six, when it outgrows its excitable puppy stage but before its too set in its ways.”
Baloney; as someone who has actually worked with a range of animals over a period of decades, a fair number of which have been canids, successful behavioral conditioning is best begun at an early age, after the animal has had a bit of time to acclimate to its new surroundings. That's when you begin.
In the case of domestic pups, it is true that they can "read" the owner's facial expressions - but equally importantly, they're highly sensitive to the owner's tone of voice; comfort and confidence are key. It's ridiculous, for example, to wait for the dog to reach the age of 6 to begin the process of behavioral conditioning; there would be no service animals for the disabled in such circumstances. You'd also spend your days cleaning up dog poop from the floors of your house.
Gradual but steady reinforcement of acceptable behavior can, and should, begin at a much earlier stage in the life of the animal. My rule of thumb has long been very straightforward: if you're not training the animal, then the animal is training you. It's imperative not to accede to the latter, as it will generate problems down the road.
She won't be missed.
Not gonna lie. Seems to me that karma caught up with her.
