The Mythical Dog: prideful, spiteful, and stubborn

DogGuy.net

Humans and dogs are both very special animals. We enjoy a symbiotic relationship of mutualism which has allowed each of our species to propagate and thrive in ways our nearest relatives cannot approach. Because humans and dogs enjoy such a uniquely inter-personal relationship, and because we have bred dogs, or allowed certain individual dogs to breed, for so long, dogs can interpret our body language and facial expressions to a degree no other animal can. Humans can also interpret dog behavior in very useful ways, but we also often misinterpret dog behavior, and mis-assign it human qualities. While both species share some cognitive and emotional propensities (we both behave based on histories of reinforcement, and we both experience love), it is a mistake to think that just because dogs can make some choices, that all of their behaviors are based on choice. We also tend to think that because dogs can experience some of the emotions we can, that they experience all the emotions we do. These tendencies can be frustrating, and even harmful, for dog and human, alike. Among the most insidious, and inaccurate, of these behavioral mis-assignments, is the label, “stubborn”.

Humans are uniquely able to act in ways which are not really in our own best interest. Dogs experience, and respond to, basic emotions like love, fear, joy, and anger; it is doubtful dogs feel more complex emotions like pride, guilt, or shame. While it is not yet possible to prove they do not feel these things, many studies have been done exploring these possibilities, and there is no evidence that dogs feel these complex, or culturally-based, emotions. Whether dogs can or cannot feel these emotions, what we know for sure is that they never act in a way they perceive to be less rewarding than other behavioral options. We humans are uniquely able to make choices that harm us or our loved ones, even when we can understand rationally that these choices are relatively harmful, or less likely to bring rewarding outcomes. We make these poor choices out of pride, spite, and stubbornness. Whether or not they can feel pride or spite, dogs will not make choices based on these traits. Furthermore, when humans claim a dog is behaving stubbornly, it is actually because the humans do not understand what motivates a dog’s behavior. Stubbornness is a quality uniquely human.

A hungry dog will accept food, as long as they feel safe enough to do so. Humans probably will, but may not, due to pride regarding the acceptance of charity – and they may even make this choice on behalf of their offspring; we do this out of pride. While it is unclear, (though doubtful) whether dogs can feel the emotion we call pride, they definitely don’t refuse to do things, or insist on doing things, because of pride. When they have a choice, they will always choose behavior with the strongest history of reinforcement. Some argue that is not a choice, but semantics are not the topic of this post. Dogs do not behave pridefully. Click here for full article.


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