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- Maneka Gahdhi
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In spite of the reams of paper written on dog psychology, I notice the way people communicate with their own dogs is often counterproductive. Here are some points that might help out in better interaction with the canine.
1. Dog runs onto the road. Owner comes out of house, stops at doorstep and starts screaming at the dog. Dog ignores human. Reason : Dogs do not listen to unstable beings. When one dog wishes to tell something to another dog they do not start screaming and yelling.
2. Dog barks at human to ask for the food the human is eating. Human hands the dog a piece.
Problem: This is going to lead to the dog getting the message that he is boss. This is not respectful in the canine world. A lower member of the pack would never dream of barking at a pack leader while they were eating.
3. Dog sees another dog and starts to bark. Human tells dog, "No" and proceeds to pet their dog on the head giving affection. Problem: This is really like saying "Good dog for barking.". The fog has received mixed signals and until they are made clear he will continue his behaviour or increase it.
4. Dog is on a leash and pulls the leash tight to sniff where he pleases as the owner talks to another human.
What is Needed:This is bad leash manners. Asking the dog to wait patiently would provide the dog with a mental challenge, which all dogs need.
5. Owner corrects the dog by yelling the dogs name over and over again, but never actually addresses the dog with any type of body language. The dog does not know what it is the owner wants. Human proceeds to have a conversation in human words with the dog stating they are going to punish the dog.
Correction: One should only use a dog’s name for positive things so the dog associates his name with something good. Otherwise he will stop responding to his name.
6. Owner allows small dog to greet a human by putting their paws on a person’s leg. In the dog world this is not a respectful way to greet another being. There is no difference between that 5 pound Lhasa Apso and that 90 pound German Shepherd in regards to the meaning behind the behavior.
7. Owner corrects a dog long after the deed was done and the dog has moved onto other thoughts. Whatever the dog is doing at the moment you correct them is what the dog will think you are upset about.
8. Dogs only being corrected ‘some’ of the time. Bark bark... Allowed... Bark bark. Dogs name yelled. Bark bark.No follow through, no real communication, no consistency. When you are not consistent your dog will not listen to you as they will know that ‘sometimes’ they are allowed. Also, the dogs name should not be used in the correction.
9. Dogs walking slightly in front of the person holding the leash. Then the human expects the dog to ignore other dogs when they LET the dog lead. The signal to the dog is : you are my leader, but listen to what I say. That is confusing for a dog
10. Humans approaching a gate or doorway let the dog nose their way first. Dogs should be sent back a step and be watching for the humans cue that it’s their turn. Not pushing.
11. Human attempting to go first through an entrance way, telling the dog to wait but never following through. Dog paused, but still had their his nose in the doorway and was tense in posture, showing he did not give in to the idea. Dog should have stepped back and relaxed before the human allowed the dog to pass.
12. Owner picks up small dog. Dog wiggles, and or whines to get down and the owner obeys, reinforcing the dogs power over the human.
13. Dog barks at another dog. Human corrects dog by telling them "No". Dog turns their head to avoid eye contact with the human. Human turns the dogs head back to get the dog to look at them, thinking the dog should look at them when being reprimanded. When actually the dog turning away was the dog communicating to the human that they do not wish to challenge them. In the human world making eye contact when being spoken too is respect, however in the dog world staring straight into ones eyes can be taken as a gesture of a challenge.
14. Tiny dog is being carried by owner and barks and growls at another person. Owner laughs, grabs dogs snoot. Says "stop" in a neutral tone. The laugh by the owner and their tone were praise in the dog’s eyes. Dog barks and growls even more. Owner repeats the "correction" laughs and apologises to stranger. Later dog is seen pulling on the leash. All humans including the stranger laugh thinking the aggression coming from such a small dog is funny. This dog is going to become a biter.
15. Owner is sitting with tiny dog on lap. Tiny dog barks at someone passing by. Owner pulls the dog close to her body trying to get it to be quiet. Owner just gave the dog affection for barking.
16. Another dog walks by a small dog who is on their owners lap. Owner covers the small dog’s eyes to try and stop the small dog from barking. The small dogs excitement escalates as dogs do not need their eyes to know another dog is near. They can feel it, smell it and hear it.
17. Small dog is on owner’s lap and barks as some kids run by. Human hugs dog to their body while smacking it’snose. Again: mixed signals of affection and smacks.
18. Little dog is in a heightened, excited, dominant state as it barks at people and other dogs passing by while sitting on owners lap. Owner gives dog hugs, kisses and scratches behind the ear as they tell little lap dog in human words to "be good, do you hear me?". Human words, ‘be good’ mean nothing to the dog. The affection tells dog you agree with how they are feeling at that moment. Good dog for being excited and dominant.
19. Dog wanders too far out of the house. Owner calls dog back. Dog lowers their head and walks back to owner. When dog gets to owner, owner smacks dog and says, "You are not allowed over there!" Owner just told dog it was bad for coming back to them.
20. People trying to win over an aggressive dog’s affection with words of praise and affection. When one sweet talks a dog who is in a defensive or aggressive mood it is like saying, good dog I agree with how you are feeling. Food should only be tossed to a dog for rewarding good behavior, not during bad behavior. Remember, however the dog is feeling or acting at the time of the reward is what you are telling the dog you agree with.
21. Owners going for a family walk with the kids and allowing the dog to walk in front of the stroller or a walking child. This is communicating to the dog that they are above human children in the pack order.
22. Dog frightened by firecracker. Owner immediately looks through window or opens door. Owner starts petting dog.
Problem: This reinforces dog’s fears that something is not normal. The correct action would be to ignore the crackers and behave normally with the dog. He will calm down.
23.Dog vomits in car. Owner stops and gives him biscuit.
Problem: All food snacks should be associated with good achievement. Now dog will behave weirdly in car as his activity has been praised.
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- Maneka Gandhi
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Millions of years ago, the first humans appeared. Their knowledge in the use of tools for hunting, clothing and building homes passed through the generations and today, humans are capable of doing the things that would be deemed impossible a thousand years ago. We became smart because our ancestors were able to adapt to their environment and developed the necessary skills for our survival. That is called intelligence. We eat other beings because we refuse to believe that they are intelligent.
What constitutes intelligence? How do humans learn? "Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information "Meaning, trial and error. The first time you burn yourself is the last time you will stick your hand in a fire.
How do animals learn? Are they mindless robots who are programmed at birth to behave in a certain manner or do they evolve themselves into smart beings in the same way that we do – through observation, being taught , fear, incentives, trial and error ?
Of course they learn the same way. Whether domestic or wild, from guinea pig to lion, they learn every day. Just as young children are helpless, when young birds leave the nest, they need time to learn to find food and avoid predators. Both species are more likely to starve or be killed till their learning increases.
Learning extends across all species. Even to the microscopic vinegar worm which feeds on bacteria. If it eats a disease-causing strain, it becomes ill. Worms are not born with an aversion to the dangerous bacteria. They learn, with time , to tell the difference and avoid becoming sick. Bacteria can alter behavior to help their survival. If a microbe senses a toxin, it swim away. If it senses a new food, it can switch genes on and off to alter its metabolism. E. coli, for instance, is amazingly good in adapting itself.
Insects are good at learning. Biologists at Mc Master University realized that the fruit fly learns how to associate certain odours with food and other odours with predators. They also discovered that young male flies learns by hit and miss to court females by reading their signs correctly.
Researchers presented the insects with a choice of orange or pineapple jelly to eat. Both smell delicious. But the flies that land on the orange jelly discover that it is spiked with bitter quinine. At egg laying time, researchers presented the flies with orange and pineapple jelly plates. The flies chose pineapple.
Rats learn very fast. Not just how to find their way out of mazes and to pull levers to reward themselves. If you release metal-caged laboratory bred mice into the wild , they soon learn how to dig, find food, mates and safe hiding places for a group. In a study at the University of Georgia researchers were astonished to discover that rats display evidence of metacognition: they know what they know and what they don’t know. Metacognition, supposedly a human ability only, is exemplified by students who have answered exam questions. They have a pretty good sense of what their grade is likely to be. In the Georgia study, rats were asked to show their ability to distinguish between a sound tone lasting from 2 to 8 seconds, by pressing one or another lever. If the rat guessed correctly, it was rewarded with a large meal; if it judged incorrectly, it got nothing. For each trial, the rat could, after hearing the tone, opt to either take the test and press the short or long lever, or poke its nose through a side of the chamber designated the, "I don’t know" option, at which point it would get a tiny snack. As the test got more complicated , the rats made clear they knew their limits. When they knew the tone they expressed confidence in their judgment by indicating they wanted to take the lever test and earn their full-course dinner. But as the tones became mixed the rats began opting for the third option which gave them tiny morsels instead of pressing potentially wrong levers.
The popular belief that fish have a memory span of 3 seconds is just to make you feel better when you eat them. Scientists have discovered that fish are adept learners, with distinct personalities that change as they pick up information about the world. The study by the University of Liverpool, found that individual trout display very different personalities — some are bold and inquisitive; others are shy and passive. These traits, however, change in response to particular experiences, as the fish learn how best to cope with their environment. Bolder fish are much more likely to approach and eat unfamiliar forms of prey and tend to eat more which may make them more vulnerable to anglers. Shy trout, by contrast, will leave strange-looking food alone protecting themselves from the risk of being caught. Each adjusts its behaviour according to what they see from others’ experiences, becoming shyer or bolder.
Like us animals learn how to learn—that is, once they have mastered a particular task, they can more quickly learn future tasks that have the same design but rely on different stimuli. Like us they apply accumulated knowledge to new situations. The classic example is the chimpanzee in a room with a few sticks and boxes in one corner and a banana hanging from the ceiling. The chimpanzee climbs on top of the boxes and reaches for the banana with a stick. Crows, dolphins, elephants, and parrots are creative problem-solvers as well.
If intelligence is not the ability to do tricks by rote but grasp ideas and experiences and apply them to one’s own survival, then all animals are intelligent. Your goldfish swims to the surface looking for food when you move near its tank. Young creatures who live by the sea need to learn how to fish so seals, sea lions and polar bears will learn from their parents how to dive into the water and come up with a fish. A mother deer teaches her fawn to fear man by herself demonstrating such fear at the sight or scent of man.
Intelligence is the ability to reason, to solve a new problem by using previous experiences. The most famous kind of trial and error method is the maze.
Mazes are based on the idea that an animal that is placed in an entrance must find the exit. As it proceeds, it finds a series of branches. The animal must make a choice at each branch or fork. If it chooses the wrong one, it comes to a dead end. Then it must go back to take the other path. The reward at the end is food . Experiments have shown that ants can master very complicated mazes, as well as frogs, turtles, rats, cockroaches and crabs. Another way to study trial and error is to place an animal in a box. Food is placed outside and the animal can reach the food only by unlocking a door. Then the animal must open the same door to get back into the box. The problem is figuring out a lock to open a door. Raccoons can open really complicated locks. Monkeys can also open locks. Both figure out the mechanism much faster than humans.
Where does this ability to learn and modify behavior come from ? One of the answers could lie in the 1992 discovery of the mirror neuron. A mirror neuron is a brain cell, a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. The same neurons are fired, for instance, when I eat and when I see another eating. Mirror neurons enable us to recognize and understand what another is doing. Some scientists consider this to be one of the most important recent discoveries in neuroscience. First supposed to be only in the human brain, they have now been found in primates – and will probably turn up in every single tested animal or insect.
There will always be people who see animals as only slightly more flexible than machines- but that again, is a reflection of their own intelligence.
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Human mothers may turn around when someone else’s child shouts Mummy, but Northern fur seals never make that mistake. When mother goes out to find food she has to find her child in a sea of hundreds of seals, so both mother and pup depend on their uncanny powers of vocal recognition to find one another. Both will call out and answer, responding selectively to one another until they are reunited.
Elephant mothers are hands on mothers that give unconditional and touchy feely love to their children but they also make sure they are disciplined and fed well. If danger threatens, they put their children under them or surround the babies. Always ready to give an affectionate caress, a gentle nudge in the right direction, or a bath to help their babies beat the heat, doting moms maintain constant touch with their young ones, never allowing them to stray too far from their side. Mothers stay in touch with their adult kids and enjoy a close relationship with their daughters.
Cows love their babies immediately. The first minutes after birth are spent developing a bond that will last a lifetime. Throughout life, mother and child maintain social contact and enjoy each other's companionship. Their attachment and affection for each other is so deep that if they are forced apart, they both suffer severe stress, and mothers have been known to escape their enclosures and travel for miles looking for their babies
Dolphins learn how to become mothers by babysitting the babies of other dolphins. Then when they have their own, they are experienced and practical mothers. For instance even while swimming, dolphin mothers and their babies synchronize their breathing for the first few weeks after the babies' birth. Dolphin mothers may nurse their young for up to 10 years.
Nurturing begins in the nest for mother hens, who turn their eggs as many as five times an hour. They also cluck softly to their unborn chicks, who chirp back to them and to one another from within their shells! Once chicks hatch, mothers use their wings to shield their babies from predators and have been known to refuse to leave their nests during a fire if they have newly hatched babies.
Dog mothers on the street choose the most uncomfortable places to give birth but they also know that these are the safest for their children: pipes and sewers and near a house with a gentle human inhabitant. Mothers will starve but will not move far from their puppies for a few days and then she will make short forays to find food. If someone harms a pup, she will attack knowing that she courts trouble. Often she will defend them with her life.
Mother birds distract predators by running away from the nest and daring them to catcher as she pretends to be wounded. Most mothers in the colony will surround a would -be predator of in a shrieking, angry flurry of beaks and feathers.
The alligator mother makes a warm nest for her eggs and when the babies are ready to emerge she digs them out and carries them to the water. Woe betide anyone coming near her children, she turns into the faster runner imaginable and chases off the intruder.
The cheetah is one the most hardworking mothers. She spends all day producing milk to feed the babies. After 6 weeks she hunts to bring them back food. Then she teaches them how to hunt for two years . Its only when her children have learned to hunt that she starts a new family.
The orangutan mom builds a new home for her baby every single night. Between building and finding food there is not a lot of time for cultural pursuits or even finding boyfriends.
Octopus mothers go from egg to mother in a year and then have to look after hundreds of eggs .She finds a secure place where she can lay eggs of her own away from predators. She washes sand off and aerates the eggs with her tentacles everyday which means, she has no time to eat. It will be 40 days for her children to leave home, so she get really hungry. But she would rather eat her own arms than leave the eggs unprotected.
Probably one of the most endearing and loving qualities of a mother’s instinct is that it often transcends their own children or even species. A dog takes on orphaned kittens or a cow that allows an orphaned calf to drink her milk.
The ultimate mother is the animal in the zoo. Most of them kill their babies, specially big cats. They have no intention of letting their young coming into a world as bleak as this. That for me is the ultimate sacrifice because animals like humans love their children. As heart breaking as it is to watch, it is proof that a mothers instinct exists for all creatures on Earth.
What makes all mothers unafraid when it comes to protecting their children? Scientific research published in Behavioral Neuroscience says that new mothers have reduced levels of a peptide, or small piece of protein, released in the brain that normally activates fear and anxiety. I have been a new mother for thirty years now. After next month I am sure my peptides will increase.
Maneka Gandhi
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