Dogs Decoded. How smart are dogs, and what makes them such ideal companions?

This was on last week. It was a major update to an episode on dog genetics done the prior year—very little common material. Some of the “bonding” experiments I found to be remarkable.

“Dogs Decoded” reveals the science behind the remarkable bond between humans and their dogs and investigates new discoveries in genetics that are illuminating the origin of dogs—with surprising implications for the evolution of human culture. Other research is proving what dog lovers have suspected all along: Dogs have an uncanny ability to read and respond to human emotions. Humans, in turn, respond to dogs with the same hormone responsible for bonding mothers to their babies. How did this incredible relationship between humans and dogs come to be? And how can dogs, so closely related to fearsome wild wolves, behave so differently?

How’d you get her to wait for the goodie?

I assume he only leaves it there if she’s waiting. If she tries to get it right away, he just lifts it off.

She’ll learn to be patient and wait for the command.

Think of Radley and the treat as part of the dog’s environment. As long as the environment is consistent, the dog can learn to use it to achieve goals by the process of trial and error.

It’s like opening a door by turning the handle and pulling (Or pushing, depending on the appearance of the door.) The motivation for learning how to open it is the desire to get though it. Successive attempts arrive at a successful solution, the memory of which is then accessed over and over again whenever another door is encountered. Since the successful solution is accessed far more often, the failed attempts are eventually forgotten and replaced with minute variations of the successful ones. Over time, your mastery of door opening increases.

In the case of the door, the environment is the door itself. In the case of Radley’s treat trick, the environment is Radley and the trick. The learning process is the same.

Eventually, Daisy will be adept enough at interacting with the environment to flip the treat up and catch it in mid air, resulting in additional rewards from Radley.

The system is win win for everybody.

She’s a good girl, and a smart one too. Hope you’re feeling better Daisy — and thanks for trying to help out! Good Girl!

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole ~ Roger Caras

Further evidence that a female will get things cleaned up when a male is too busy doing his ‘thing.’
;-)

Ok LEO stand point. The individuals both entered the Sergeant’s reactionary gap a distance LEO’s are trained to keep open. The individual was pushed out of the Sergeants reactionary gap by an open handed push something that is less then the tactic officers could have used. The individuals were likely then placed under arrest for disorerly conduct (I’d like to know what occured to cause the officers to arrive on scene. As for the camera opperators reaction to the individual being pulled. Officers must maintain control of suspects that have been detained/ arrested. To me the reactions are a sound use of force on an idividual who was posing a possible threat.

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=171262399568106&id=1278780293&notif_t=share_reply

Hmmm… I don’t think qualified immunity works here. What does the officer say? I had to assault him for what he was about to do which was nothing. Kid was smart not to react. This is actually a pure assault and battery by the officer, not mention false arrest.