Learning About Dogs - Teaching Dogs Article:

The Science of Behaviour: So What is Behaviour? A Series of Articles from Dr Helen Zulch

Teaching Dogs Vol 4 Iss 4&5

Before we can delve in depth into the field of behaviour, we need to consider what we mean when we use the term. This article will briefly define this and introduce a few background concepts which will hopefully set the scene for those to follow.

The simplest explanation of the term "behaviour" - without involving highly technical definitions - is probably the following; behaviour is what an animal does. Usually these actions are a response to the environment - whether that environment is external to the animal or internal, in other words part of the animal's physiology. Remember too that behaviour results from a need and requires a motivation - again these needs and motivations may be internal or external.

Motivations for Behaviour

Let's consider a couple of examples:

If the concentration of glucose in a dog's blood drops sufficiently, it will stimulate an area of the brain which will cause the dog to feel hungry. This will then give rise to food seeking behaviour - for most pet dogs this means finding a susceptible human and putting on the "I haven't been fed for a week" expression. Thus the motivation for the behaviour is seated in the internal environment. In the example cited it is also a true need, not simply a want.

Alternatively, imagine that it's only an hour since breakfast, but a human family member has arrived home after shopping and placed the parcels on the kitchen floor as she rushed to answer the ringing telephone. From the parcels wonderful aromas of rump steak and sausages emanate. Guess how much meat is in the packet and how much in the Labrador's stomach 15 minutes later when human re-enters the kitchen! This time no-one can claim that the motivation originated in a physiological need!

It is important to remember that a number of motivations may be playing a role at one time, and some of them may compete with one another - thus explaining why different sets of circumstances will elicit different behaviours in the presence of the same triggering stimulus. Again using our food theft example - should a human be in the kitchen, Labrador will not be trying to steal the meat as from previous experience this has unpleasant consequences for said Labrador! Thus the motivation to avoid unpleasantness outweighs the motivation to steal.

Nature vs Nurture

Any behaviour exhibited by an animal will have both innate and acquired components. The innate components are determined by the genetic inheritance of the individual as it is expressed in the individual's anatomy, physiology and inherent aspects such as temperament. The acquired component results from the animal's experiences of life to date.

Again some examples, starting with the very obvious. Species anatomy will determine behavioural responses - a cat will easily pursue a small furry creature up a tree as its structure, particularly pertaining to retractable claws, enables it to do so. On the other hand, a dog will be left barking at the foot of the trunk!

Breed structure and behavioural predispositions will also determine likely outcomes - a Dachshund is likely to burrow under the same fence that a Siberian Husky will jump. Faced with a flock of sheep, a Border Collie is likely to exhibit herding behaviour, most other breeds will simply chase and some may actively hunt.

When we consider the aspects of behaviour that are acquired, we need to remember that experiences from birth will influence the individual's behaviour later in life - exposure to careful handling in the first weeks of life, for example, has been shown to correlate with improved ability to successfully handle stress as an adult. We are all aware of the critical importance of the correct exposures during the socialization period of our dogs, and what problems may be experienced later in life by dogs that have been confined to a sterile environment for the first formative months of their lives. What we must never forget is that every waking minute of every day an animal is learning - through (amongst other described means of behaviour acquisition) classical and operant conditioning, habituation, sensitisation, mimicry, and of course the application of reasoning and the use of cognitive processes.

When people ask what is more important, genetics or experience, I find it impossible to answer, as to me the two are inextricably interlinked. The illustration I like to use to describe this is that of a woven tapestry. Think of the warp threads as being the genetic predisposition of the animal - they lay the structure for the tapestry. The weft threads are the experiences that occur throughout the animal's life. The weft is continuously laid down to form the design over the base - no thread can be removed, each new "row" of the pattern builds on what has gone before. So, the final picture of what the animal will do in any given circumstance, in other words, the animal's behaviour, is determined by this intricate, interwoven design.

Behaviour's Antecedents

Another important concept to remember when considering a behaviour as it is seen at a given moment, is that that behaviour doesn't simply "happen" out of the blue. When discussing behaviour one will see reference to proximal, distal and triggering events. Distal events (predisposing causes) are those in the distant past, and may include genetic influences such as breed predispositions, individual genetic potential, the individuals' current age and status and the individuals' experiential histories. Proximal events are things which have occurred in the recent past, I tend to think of these as underlying causes, for example the owner's interventions on behalf of different dogs at different times, the health status of the individuals etc. The triggering event will be the stimulus that finally causes a specific behaviour to be manifest at that specific time, for example a dog finding himself forced into close proximity to another dog he usually tries to avoid or a dog competing for a valuable resource such as a bone.

All animals have a threshold above which a specific behaviour will be elicited and this threshold may be reached through the exposure to one stimulus of sufficient intensity, or the additive effect of many stimuli. For example a highly fearful dog may bite if startled, even if there is no other predisposing circumstance. Or take this fictitious example; you have a very laid-back dog in the kitchen before his single daily meal. He has a painful ear from an underlying infection and the next door neighbour's children, whom he doesn't really know, have been playing excitedly around his garden all afternoon. The new pup comes bouncing up to him where he's patiently waiting and he reacts in an aggressive manner. His threshold for aggression has been reached through additive means.

Should this owner then intervene on the pup's behalf with physical punishment aimed at the older dog he may possibly confirm in the adult dog's mind that the youngster is indeed an evil threat to his peace and reduce his threshold for aggression towards the pup in the future.

Note: Addition of factors that give rise to behaviour can occur over time, or can be varied but all occurring at the same time.

It is also important to remember that the outcome of the behaviour (it's consequences) will feed back into the cycle of the dog's experience and influence the likelihood of the same behaviour recurring in the future - successful encounters are more likely to be repeated than unsuccessful, and again using the aggression example, some of this feedback is at the physiological level.

A Few More Points

It is important to bear a few points in mind as one considers behaviour:

· Behaviour will alter throughout an animal's life. For example some behaviours which fulfilled one function in the young animal will alter to fulfil a different function later in life. Consider the mouth nuzzling behaviour of dogs as an example. Young pups nuzzle the mouth of their mother to stimulate her to regurgitate food for them (uncommonly seen in domestic dogs, but seen in most wild canidae). Young adult dogs and some older dogs with extremely appeasing attitudes will nuzzle the mouth of older dogs or dogs of higher status as an active appeasement gesture. Thus the same behaviour has evolved to become a ritualised communication mechanism.

· We can refer to the developmental calendar of a species which will describe the most significant alterations in the life stages of that species, including those aspects which will influence behaviour such as puberty and social maturity.

· Climate and housing will influence behaviour profoundly - pigs are not in fact dirty animals, but they need to mud bath to cool off as they cannot sweat (except through the snout). When we confine pigs to small pens without mud, firstly they cannot separate their sleeping, eating and toilet areas as they would if given the choice, and secondly, if they are not provided with other means of cooling off, they have no choice but to roll in excreta to fulfill this vital function.

· Illness will change behaviour - again this is not simply a result of not feeling well, but has specific physiological explanations.

Hopefully this brief introduction to a few key concepts will set the scene for the articles which are to follow.