Play study
I took the dogs to participate in a rather entertaining play study down at OSU this week. We had to go 2 days; one day they were fasted, one day they were fed. So a lot of driving, all the way down to Corvallis two days in a row, but it was For Science. I'm not actually 100% sure what they were studying, though the friend that was helping me the 2nd day was talking to the researcher, and said it was a follow up to something a student had done in a previous experiment.
I needed help, because I had to take all 3 dogs in at once, and it was kind of a circus. The room wasn't terribly dogproof, I thought Mercy was going to break a laptop. Then I took the dogs in, one at a time, into the adjoining empty room where the experiment was held.
First, I had to play with the dog for a couple minutes with a toy (it was a squeaky tennis ball on a rope). After playing with me, the "play assistant" took the toy and played with the dog for a couple minutes. He was very limited in how he played with the dogs, which made them think he was bad at playing, so they were unsure about playing with him. Basically, he wouldn't throw or tug, just encourage the dog to take the toy, and then praise it.
All 3 of mine responded very differently to this. Pirate (who went first) pretty much took the toy into the corner and squeaked it. Occasionally he'd go over and try to smooch the assistant, but he wasn't bringing the toy, since the guy clearly didn't know what to do with it anyway. Mercy, whose toy drive tends to be weak when she's confused pretty much refused to try, and ended up lying behind me. She did go smooch the guy a little, but eventually decided the pressure was too much. Tess tried to get the guy to take the toy. She tried to get me to take the toy. She tossed the toy around a little by herself. She was actually pretty intent on getting the guy to play properly, and on the 2nd day, she looked to me like she was trying to teach him how. If the dog wouldn't pick up the toy, the assistant would pick it up, or wiggle it on the ground by its rope, and so Tess was setting it next to him, and waiting for him to interact with the toy before she'd take it. She looked like when you're using operant conditioning, and you're wanting your dog to take that one. more. step. to get the behavior. "C'mon, you can do it, commit to the toy!"
The 2nd part of the experiment, after the play, was the problem solving. That was a plastic bowl, with a rope through the lid, and a piece of sausage in the bowl. I was supposed to show the dog the sausage, snap the lid on, put it on the floor, and stand back.
I think I didn't get the lid all the way snapped down for Pirate the first day, he had it off in a few seconds. I did better with Mercy. She tried, then she pushed it next to me, then she hid behind me, then she got frustrated and stood in the middle of the room, staring at the door, apparently waiting for better service. Tess did exactly what I expected, which is what she's always done with food puzzle toys. First, flip it over. Since the sausage didn't fall out, then she started biting at it. She broke the bowl, but her snout didn't fit in the hole, so she tore pieces off of it until she could get the snack. Then she tore it up some more.
On the 2nd day, it turned out it didn't matter if I got the lid on tight, Pirate removed it anyway. It did take him a bit longer when it was snapped down all the way, but he clearly knew exactly how it should happen, he just didn't have opposable thumbs. Mercy tried a little longer to get it open, and didn't bother pushing it at me, she just gave up. Tess didn't waste time flipping the bowl over, since that wasn't effective, she just bit the lid in half, and got her snack in about a second. Then she tore up the bowl anyway. The assistant started picking up the bowl pieces, so she went and stared at him to see if he'd give her more sausage.
I thought it was pretty interesting to see how different they all were, despite being so closely related and raised in the same environment! Though I do think some of Mercy's lack of effort is because she is still really a puppy. Yes, she's 18 months, and technically an adult, but her behavior is still very puppyish, so I think she expects more help from her family.
I'll be interested to see the results when the study is over.
(picture of Mercy for decorative purposes)
I needed help, because I had to take all 3 dogs in at once, and it was kind of a circus. The room wasn't terribly dogproof, I thought Mercy was going to break a laptop. Then I took the dogs in, one at a time, into the adjoining empty room where the experiment was held.
First, I had to play with the dog for a couple minutes with a toy (it was a squeaky tennis ball on a rope). After playing with me, the "play assistant" took the toy and played with the dog for a couple minutes. He was very limited in how he played with the dogs, which made them think he was bad at playing, so they were unsure about playing with him. Basically, he wouldn't throw or tug, just encourage the dog to take the toy, and then praise it.
All 3 of mine responded very differently to this. Pirate (who went first) pretty much took the toy into the corner and squeaked it. Occasionally he'd go over and try to smooch the assistant, but he wasn't bringing the toy, since the guy clearly didn't know what to do with it anyway. Mercy, whose toy drive tends to be weak when she's confused pretty much refused to try, and ended up lying behind me. She did go smooch the guy a little, but eventually decided the pressure was too much. Tess tried to get the guy to take the toy. She tried to get me to take the toy. She tossed the toy around a little by herself. She was actually pretty intent on getting the guy to play properly, and on the 2nd day, she looked to me like she was trying to teach him how. If the dog wouldn't pick up the toy, the assistant would pick it up, or wiggle it on the ground by its rope, and so Tess was setting it next to him, and waiting for him to interact with the toy before she'd take it. She looked like when you're using operant conditioning, and you're wanting your dog to take that one. more. step. to get the behavior. "C'mon, you can do it, commit to the toy!"
The 2nd part of the experiment, after the play, was the problem solving. That was a plastic bowl, with a rope through the lid, and a piece of sausage in the bowl. I was supposed to show the dog the sausage, snap the lid on, put it on the floor, and stand back.
I think I didn't get the lid all the way snapped down for Pirate the first day, he had it off in a few seconds. I did better with Mercy. She tried, then she pushed it next to me, then she hid behind me, then she got frustrated and stood in the middle of the room, staring at the door, apparently waiting for better service. Tess did exactly what I expected, which is what she's always done with food puzzle toys. First, flip it over. Since the sausage didn't fall out, then she started biting at it. She broke the bowl, but her snout didn't fit in the hole, so she tore pieces off of it until she could get the snack. Then she tore it up some more.
On the 2nd day, it turned out it didn't matter if I got the lid on tight, Pirate removed it anyway. It did take him a bit longer when it was snapped down all the way, but he clearly knew exactly how it should happen, he just didn't have opposable thumbs. Mercy tried a little longer to get it open, and didn't bother pushing it at me, she just gave up. Tess didn't waste time flipping the bowl over, since that wasn't effective, she just bit the lid in half, and got her snack in about a second. Then she tore up the bowl anyway. The assistant started picking up the bowl pieces, so she went and stared at him to see if he'd give her more sausage.
I thought it was pretty interesting to see how different they all were, despite being so closely related and raised in the same environment! Though I do think some of Mercy's lack of effort is because she is still really a puppy. Yes, she's 18 months, and technically an adult, but her behavior is still very puppyish, so I think she expects more help from her family.
I'll be interested to see the results when the study is over.
(picture of Mercy for decorative purposes)