Why All Dogs Are Good Dogs | Alexandra Horowitz | TED

Understanding Dog Misbehavior

In this section, the speaker explains that misbehavior in dogs is not actually misbehavior but rather communication and information gathering. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of understanding how dogs experience the world differently from humans.

Misbehavior as Communication

• Science tells us that dog misbehavior is not actually misbehavior but rather a form of communication.

• Dogs experience the world differently from humans, and their behavior reflects this difference.

• Barking at a guest or sniffing someone closely are examples of communication and information gathering, respectively.

Misbehavior as Information Gathering

• Dogs see the world through their noses, and up close, they are looking at you to find out about you.

• Chewing may be a way for dogs to help lower their stress hormone levels.

Misbehavior as Reflecting Life Stage

• Dogs between six months and two years old are not puppies but adolescents going through a phase driven by hormones.

• Their brains are being rewired during this phase, especially in areas that regulate emotions and making judgments.

Our Role in Dog Misbehavior

In this section, the speaker explains that what we read as dog misbehavior is really our own fault because we have not conveyed to the dog what matters to us in a way they can understand. The speaker emphasizes that dogs do not understand human social interaction or appropriate behavior without being taught.

Human Social Interaction Rules

• If a dog's behavior seems wrong to us, it highlights that we have not conveyed to the dog what matters to us in a way they can understand.

• Dogs do not understand human social interaction rules or appropriate behavior without being taught.

Pronouns and Object Identities

• Dogs don't have a clue about the pronouns we give to items.

• Dogs don't understand the identities we give to objects.

Guilty Look

• The guilty look is not a sign of guilt but rather a learned submissive display that dogs put on when we're angry so we don't punish them.

Poorly Designed Environment

• Often, seeming misbehavior is actually due to a poorly designed environment on our part.

Enrichment Devices

In this section, Alexandra Horowitz talks about how dogs interact with objects and how we can use this to understand their behavior.

Understanding Misbehavior

• Dogs may interact with objects in a way that humans find objectionable.

• It is up to us to understand what the dog is actually doing instead of labeling it as misbehavior.

• By understanding what the dog is doing, we can gain insight into their worldview or perspective.

Evolutionary History

• A dog's urge to chase quickly-moving things comes from their ancestry as hunting wolves.

• Jumping on people and licking faces in greeting also has roots in wolf behavior when returning to the pack after a hunt.

Olfactory Experience

• Dogs have hundreds of millions more olfactory receptor cells than humans, making them highly sensitive to smells.

• Taking dogs for "smell walks" allows them to exercise their noses and explore their environment.

Understanding Dog Behavior

In this section, Alexandra Horowitz discusses why it can be challenging for dog owners to understand their pet's behavior and how they can improve their relationship with them.

Cooperative Interactions

• Publicly visible dogs are usually cooperative with people, but this doesn't happen instantly.

• Dogs need time to learn human behavior and become flexible enough to go along with what their human family wants.

Genetic Makeup

• Dogs have the ability to become sensitive to human behavior and learn a lot about humans, but this is not part of their genetic makeup.

• It can be challenging for dogs to go from knowing dog behavior to understanding both dog and human behavior.

Conclusion

• Understanding a dog's misbehavior is an opportunity to learn about them and improve our relationship with them.

• By seeing things from a dog's perspective, we can bring ourselves one step closer to understanding "dogness."

Skills Parents Can Learn from Raising a Dog

Alexandra Horowitz discusses the skills parents can learn from raising a dog. She compares raising a puppy to having a baby and highlights the similarities between the two experiences.

Raising a Puppy vs. Having a Baby

• People often talk about raising a dog as preparation for having a baby, but Horowitz feels that having a baby prepared her for having a puppy.

• Both puppies and babies require long periods of no sleep at night while they learn to settle themselves.

• Dogs are completely dependent on humans for all their needs, including when they eat, go out to relieve themselves, exercise, socialize, and be quiet.

• Unlike children who eventually understand and appreciate language, even highly intelligent dogs do not understand human language.

Managing Multi-Dog Households

Horowitz provides tips on managing multi-dog households with dogs of different ages.

Treating Dogs as Individuals

• Each dog in the household is an individual with their own preferences and needs.

• Some activities can be done together cooperatively, but each dog should also have their own time with their bonded person or alone.

Understanding Dog Language

Horowitz discusses how much dogs understand human language and gestures.

Dogs' Understanding of Human Language

• Dogs understand some words and can learn many words like Chaser the border collie who learned over 1,000 words.

• However, dogs do not understand human language and we should not pretend that they do.

Dogs' Understanding of Gestures

• Dogs can understand some gestures like pointing, but it depends on the individual dog.

• Buttons that dogs can press to communicate in human language may improve communication, but it is unclear if dogs really understand what the buttons mean.

Communication with Dogs

In this section, the speaker discusses how dogs communicate and the limitations of using button apparatuses to understand their communication.

Understanding Dog Communication

• Dogs communicate through various actions such as barking, bringing a leash, or looking at the door.

• Button apparatuses may not represent what dogs are thinking or extend their communication ability.

• The best that button apparatuses can do is potentially make it easier for humans to understand what the dog is interested in but already showing in some other way.

Canine Linguistic Abilities

• Dogs understand a lot of what humans are talking about but not in the linguistic way that enables us to have conversations like we do on Zoom.

• Denying dogs linguistic abilities does not mean denying them interest in or ability to communicate. They are highly skilled communicators.

Training Dogs

In this section, the speaker talks about training dogs and socialization.

Early Training

• Socialization of puppies should start from four to nine weeks old by exposing them to different types of situations they might encounter later in life. This will help them become acclimated and react calmly with interest and curiosity when encountering new things later on.

• Exposing puppies to lots of different sounds, people, and things during socialization period helps prevent fearfulness and anxiety towards those things later on in life.

Electronic Collars

• Electronic collars should never be used as they teach dogs that they will be randomly punished without being able to associate it with their behavior.

• Dogs may learn to avoid certain areas or become fearful of things that coincidentally happened when they were zapped by the collar.

Can You Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?

In this section, the speaker discusses whether or not old dogs can learn new tricks and what development looks like after the first year.

Development After the First Year

• Most dogs are still in adolescence until about two years old.

• Dogs will continue to be disobedient, impulsive, and clingy during their second year of life.

• Socialization opportunities still exist during their second year of life.

• Learning happens at a slower pace but can happen up until the end of their life.

Understanding Misbehavior in Dogs

In this section, the speaker discusses how misbehavior in dogs is often misunderstood and how it can lead to dogs being returned to shelters.

Misunderstanding Misbehavior

• There's a lot that's challenging about asking an animal to come and live cooperatively with you in your home.

• Adolescence is when most dogs are relinquished to shelters.

• The authors of "Wildhood" say that often adolescence is a death sentence for dogs because if they misbehave and are given up by their owners, they might wind up being euthanized through no fault of their own.

Can Dogs See Color?

In this section, the speaker discusses whether dogs can perceive color and how their vision differs from humans.

Dogs' Color Vision

• For a long time, it was assumed that dogs could not see in colors based on poor science.

• Dogs have two-color vision compared to humans' three-color vision.

• They cannot distinguish reds, oranges, and yellows clearly but can see colors.

• Dogs have other visual abilities such as seeing motion much more quickly than humans and seeing well in low light and at night.

Why Do Dogs Smell Our Breath?

In this section, the speaker explains why dogs smell our breath and what information they can gather from it.

Information in Exhaled Breath

• There are studies using exhaled breath to determine if someone has lung cancer or not.

• Doctors used to use smell as a diagnostic material until the early 20th century.

• Dogs can detect changes in our breath that may indicate a health issue or something different than before.

Why Do Some Dogs Eat Their Own Poop?

In this section, the speaker discusses why some dogs eat their own poop and what it might indicate about their diet or behavior.

Reasons for Eating Feces

• Sometimes dogs will eat feces because of a nutrient deficiency in their diet.

• Dogs may eat feces to remove evidence of their own odor or to leave information for other dogs.

• There are many possibilities, and it's best to check with a vet if there might be something missing in the dog's diet that they're trying to make up for themselves.

The transcript is relatively short, so there are only three sections. Each section has three bullet points or less, making them easy to read and understand.

What Dogs See, Smell, and Know Understanding the World Through Their Nose

In this section, Alexandra Horowitz talks about how dogs perceive the world through their sense of smell and how allowing them to explore that world can make them happier.

The Parallel Perceptual World of Smell

• Dogs exist in a parallel perceptual world of smell.

• Allowing dogs to live in that world more by sniffing things they want to sniff or intentionally going out for smell walks can make them happier.

• Taking your dog for a smell walk is recommended.

Conclusion

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