See it big, keep it simple
"Whenever there is a simple error that most laymen fall for, there is always a slightly more sophisticated version of the same problem that experts fall for" - Amos Tversky
It's been a while since my "Rocket Surgery" post and recent events have wanted me to revisit the subject of simplicity.
There is some fantastic research going on with dogs right now. In addition to the recent genetic research that may lead to medical help for some people, there has been some exciting research in canine cognition. Books like "Inside of A Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know" by Alexandra Horowitz, "How Dogs Think : Understanding the Canine Mind" by Stanley Coren and "For the Love of a Dog" by Patricia McConnell have taken us inside the minds and emotional lives of dogs, or at least as far as we're going to get without the aid of some completely unimaginable advances in science.
Meanwhile, the unlocking of genomes has given us some new and exciting perspectives on how behavior is related to evolution — the entire "nature vs. nuture" debate has taken on an entirely new dimension with the better understanding of what nature brings to the table.
I'm fascinated by this stuff. I spend a considerable amount of time and effort looking into this research and gathering new information. It is truly fascinating material (at least in my opinion) and I think that becoming familiar with this material will improve my training and behavior modification skills in the long run.
On the other hand, there is a lot of not necessarily scientific (I'm being nice) information being passed around.
Of course there's the Cesar Millan and his ridiculous pack leader and "energy" talk, which spawns twaddle like this. If you don't have the stomach to finish it, it contains all of the usual junk, such as how being nice to your dog when she is afraid makes her more afraid, and even takes it a step further, explaining how comforting a sick dog can cause problems. For the icing on the cake, separation anxiety is caused "If your dog is instinctually seeing you as their follower and you leave them, it causes so much mental anguish that a dog often takes it out on your house or themselves." Kinda scary how a site that does well in search results can contain something so egregiously inaccurate and arguably dangerous. (O.K. I'm not being nice. Sometimes you need to call it like it is — sometimes the Google can steer you wrong, folks.)
The references to mysterious energy don't stop with Cesar either. There are those that will tell you how energy can be harnessed to tell your dog how to behave, and even cite research to explain it and how current behavioral science is failing in some heretofore unnoticed contest. Of course, the research has nothing to do with this mysterious energy, and is even some of the same work I referred to above, but if you can't understand this stuff it's because your mind is closed or maybe you don't understand Really Big Words.
But how much of this do you need to worry about from day to day? Will answering the question of self-domestication vs. adoption help you stop an exuberant goldendoodle from jumping on Grandma? Should you add an EMF detector or an air ion counter to your toolbag? Does getting your dog to come when called by triggering a chase rather than using liverwurst constitute better training, or is the point just to keep your dog from getting hit by the UPS truck?
My father used to listen to a motivational speaker named Charlie "Tremendous" Jones. He had a acronym: SIBKIS. See It Big, Keep It Simple. He said that people have a tendency to see things as small and complicated, when it's better to see them as well, big and simple. It's late for resolutions, but that's how I'm going to try to approach 2010. (And I think it'll be easier than a diet.)
Training with positive reinforcement is very simple. But that's a strength. It can't solve every problem, but with it I can communicate with a dog through one of the most basic, natural, and simple ways there is. I can use it to improve or even save his life.
And that's Big.
