Dogs Trust is the largest dog welfare charity in the country rehomes around 12,000
dogs per year. We have dedicated Trainers and Behaviourists who help to provide quality
of life and any rehabilitation required for these dogs. This is a vital part of our work as
we never put a healthy dog to sleep.
All trainers and behaviourists have a very thorough understanding of canine ethology
(the natural and normal behaviour of dogs). Ethology has a far-reaching effect on how we
understand our pet dogs and covers a wide range of subjects. I would like to discuss one
aspect here.
Cognitive Dissonance
Leon Festinger (a human psychologist) came up with the theory of Cognitive
Dissonance in 1957. So this not a new theory where we are concerned but it is only in
the last decade or so that animal behaviourists have begun to see its importance within
other species.
There is no simple name for Cognitive Dissonance – it is what it is…
Cognition is to do with thinking, dissonance means a disagreement.
So Cognitive Dissonance is when we are given new information, asked to perform a
behaviour, or are subjected to behaviour that doesn’t fit in with our current understanding
of the world. It is considered to be a very important theory because it causes a great deal
of emotional conflict (and hence a great deal of stress).
Perhaps if I give you some examples you will see what the psychologists were getting
excited about...
Imagine a young aristocrat, he’s used to having maids and a valet to clear up after him
and make do. Then he pops off to college. Due to a mistake at the accommodation office
he ends up sharing a dorm with some ‘proper’ students. He becomes extremely confused
when the bed isn’t made, the pizza boxes don’t (magically) disappear and the dishes
don’t wash themselves.
My own personal bugbear is hugs! I don’t do hugs! The reason for this is immaterial – I
just don’t do hugs! I feel embarrassed and uncomfortable and I begin to resent people
who insist on giving me hugs. Though, I must admit, everybody who knows me well
knows not to hug me – they are aware of my own personal ethology.
When we consider the lifestyles that we give our pet dogs then we begin to realize that
there are huge amounts of Cognitive Dissonance present.
Understanding the ethology of the domestic dog is where we need to start.
What would a dog do if he were wandering through the woods and a wet leaf blew onto
his face and got stuck there? He would, of course, rub at the leaf with his paw, or rub his
head long the ground to try to remove it. It shouldn’t then come as a surprise that he does
the same when we put a muzzle or head collar on him.
If a dog were to trap his foot or a toe then he would pull and struggle to free it. So it
shouldn’t come as a surprise that when we grab his paw to clip his nails that he tries to
pull away.
Dogs are a social species who want and need company. So it should come as no
surprise that they develop behaviour issues or anxieties if left alone for prolonged
periods.
Natural behaviour dictates that dogs would roam around their ‘territory’ for a large part
of the day. So it should come as no surprise that dogs who do not receive sufficient daily
exercise begin to develop stress-related behaviours.
However, as well as general ethology, personal preferences must also be considered. If
we consider the popular trend of dressing up our pets then Cognitive Dissonance occurs
for most dogs who do not feel comfortable being completely restricted by a pink tutu or
fleecy jacket. However many small, short-coated dogs (jack russells, whippets and
chihuahuas spring to mind) will choose to sleep under a blanket or duvet when given the
option. These individuals will have no dissonance when they have an anorak or tweed
jacket put on them.
As far as me and hugging is concerned the personal preference that will make all the
difference is if Johnny Depp were the one to attempt to hug me. Absolutely no
dissonance – in fact I would be first in the queue for a Depp hug, and probably keep
joining the queue for more hugging action (at least until the security men realized what I
was doing and forcibly ejected me!).
Understanding and recognizing ethology and personal preferences means that we can
be aware of when Cognitive Dissonanace is likely to occur and deal with the situation
appropriately to minimize emotional conflict for the dog.
Perhaps the most important aspect here is that we truly recognize the dog’s ethology.
Many misconceptions abound where dogs and their natural behaviours are concerned.
We all know that dogs are hunters, don’t we? Actually dogs are more opportunistic
feeders and are as likely to raid a bin than try to catch a rabbit at ‘dinner’ time.
We need to be aware how important natural behaviours and individual choices are to
our dogs. If a dog is fearful of a person then he has several choices. He may choose to
hide away, he may run away or he may show fearful body language and appeasement
behaviours to let us know he is afraid and get us to keep our distance. Knowing and
understanding this means that we can implement an appropriate program for each of
these dogs. The hider should be given a ‘safe haven’ to escape to, the runner should be
shown a method of avoiding the scarey person (without having to resort to running off)
and the appeaser should always be successful in telling us to keep a distance in a subtle
way. If we treat any of these dogs inappropriately then there is a good chance we will
encourage the dog to be aggressive.
The next question is ‘how do we deal with dissonant concepts?’
If we are subjected to Cognitive Dissonance then we have three options.
- Endure the emotional conflict
- Stop the dissonance
- Get rid of the dissonance
Let’s go back to my hugs…
If I’m approached by a serial hugger I immediately begin to cringe and can be
witnessed to hold my arms firmly at my sides with a resigned look of dread on my face –
I am suffering the emotional conflict.
I may (if I’m prepared for it) hold up a hand and say something along the lines of “NO
HUGS!” or, if I’m feeling more subtle, tell them I have a cold and they’ll catch it if they
get too close – I am preventing the hug and therefore stopping the dissonance.
Anyone who feels brave enough may try to desensitize me to hugs. They may begin by
just touching my hand or arm, then (over several ‘hug sessions’) progress to a hand on
the shoulder and then an arm round the shoulder before moving in for a full-blown hug.
…and head collars for dogs...
Some dogs will become severely inhibited when wearing a head collar, refusing to walk
or wandering around with their head down and tail tucked – they are suffering the
emotional conflict.
Some dogs will paw and claw at the head collar in an attempt to remove it – they are
attempting to stop the dissonance.
Then we have the owner who implements a habituation program to get their dog used to
wearing the head collar gradually – they get rid of the dissonance.
We desensitize if there is already a history of emotional conflict. If there has not yet
been any emotional conflict then we implement a habituation program to prevent the
emotional conflict happening in the first place.
So what does this mean for our dogs?
If we understand and recognize the ethology of the domestic dog, as well as knowing
each individual’s preferences then we know when Cognitive Dissonance is likely to occur
and we can implement a habituation program to prevent the emotional conflict occurring.
This has got to be beneficial to the welfare of the dogs in our lives.
Lynn Barber
Head of Canine Behaviour and Training