During pre-lesson questions, in initial emails or at the first training something interesting happens. Families either tell me that they think their dog is smart/”a fast learner” or they tell me their dog is dumb/stubborn.
I don’t get very many in-between responses.
Can Dogs Be Smart?
With (human!) kids – there’s evidence that their effort should be reinforced rather than just telling the kids they are “smart.” This makes sense from a behavior standpoint – making choices/participating in tasks that lead to learning the material/getting projects done/etc can be reinforced. Studying. Taking the time to edit. Getting additional help. Behaviors that are reinforced increase in frequency, intensity, or duration. “Being smart” isn’t a behavior and can’t be reinforced.
But what does this have to do with dogs? I don’t know. I’ll say that I rarely can make comments about how smart a dog is. Families will occasionally prompt me to say so…and I can’t do it! It doesn’t feel right! When families tell me their dog is smart, I will usually comment about how much the dog loves his rewards or how well the family is setting the dog up for success or how much the dog loves being with people (all behaviors we can reward and measure!).
Can Dogs Be…Not Smart?
Like a fish pond. But dogs.
When families insist that their dog is not smart, I usually will make comments about how hard it is for us to measure intelligence in people. There are different ways people can be “smart.” So that makes it really hard to find ways to measure “intelligence” in another species. Different dogs have been selected for different purposes which gives us a range of abilities. A stereotypical retriever being “smart” and working well with people is different than a stereotypical beagle being “smart” and persistent as he finds a rabbit that took an unexpected turn.
Another thing I’ll tell families is that I’ve had at least one dog with significant brain damage who was still able to learn. About 10 years ago I had a schnauzer in class who had an MRI that determined he was either missing part of a section of his brain or it was obviously damaged. He was still able to learn. He even passed the Canine Good Citizen test! Sometimes he would get stuck going in circles – but training helped him be a better pet and improved his quality of life.
But Some Dogs are Easier to Train?
Some dogs are definitely easier to train. Here are a few things I think matter:
- How much he loves his rewards: The more a dog loves his rewards, the easier the training will be. Some dogs aren’t crazy about reward due to poor physical health or anxiety. Sometimes we just haven’t found what a dog likes or found a way to use what he likes.
- Cause and effect: There’s a point where most dogs learn that they can “make” the owner reward him/her. Until a dog learns that he can create those reward opportunities, training is sometimes slower or harder. Right now there’s a really awesome hound in class – she started in the spring as a dog too nervous to leave her bed for most of class, but she ate treats so she stayed. Now she’s a different dog (in good ways!) – she knows she can make tiny bites of turkey appear by sitting, laying down, rolling on her side, nose touching, approaching strangers. She interacts with her world rather than just watching things happen.
- The dog is in good health: Poor physical health can make training harder. The Rottie puppy in class 8 years ago that would only sit with a food lure and never without? Finally the owner did check with her vet. The puppy had very severe hip dysplasia. Sitting hurt. But treats were so fun the puppy would sit with the immediate motivation. Structure can make some activities easier or harder. Dogs with heath challenges can (and should!) learn skills.
- Mistakes rarely occur: This article on management gets sent to most families I work with. We can do all the training in the world but if there’s a lot of “unauthorized” reinforcement coming for mistakes…we won’t make progress.
- Learning style of the humans: When the training is going well, the person will feel optimistic and eager to do more. When more practice happens, the dog does even better. This puts us into a really great cycle. I do my best to present information in different ways to accommodate for different learning styles.
Your Dog is Great!
I do try to tell every family how great their dog is and the ways their dog is great. When families come in with challenges, it can be hard to appreciate the good qualities of a dog. Appreciating those good qualities can give a good starting point or help balance out the stress of addressing problem behaviors. Every dog can learn – behavior change can happen. And intelligence doesn’t necessarily have to be part of the conversation.