CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS A FREE-THINKING DOG?
What is a free-thinking dog? In short, it is a dog that can think for himself. This is a dog that will invent games on his own or solve novel problems, doing things and making connections between events and objects that he was never explicitly taught. You may have already met or even owned a free-thinking dog. These dogs are often fun dogs to spend time with, providing lots of laughs with their antics, and tending to be more confident, cool, and collected in the face of new or difficult situations.
Whether or not you’ve met a free-thinking dog, it is important to remember that all dogs do think—there is no question about that. Although it is true that some breeds are bred specifically to think on their own, and that certain individual dogs will be more inclined to think freely than others, the ability of a dog to think freely (or not) is, more often than not, more dependent on the dog’s training than on his breed. That is, free thinking is something that can be actively taught—or not—in training. This means that, by using the correct methods, a dog can become more able to think and act reliably and independently. This is a necessary skill for the working dog, who will often find himself faced with novel problems and situations that cannot be specifically trained.
Not all training methods encourage free thinking in the dog. Specifically, methods that require exact responses from the dog and correct every deviation from the desired behavior tend to discourage free thought. When a dog is not encouraged to think freely, the dog becomes hesitant to do anything other than what he is told to do. The dog will not think on his own or make decisions, even if he is given a command that puts him in an uncomfortable or even dangerous situation. For example—and I have seen this happen—if an owner commands his dog to “Down-stay” in the direct sun, the dog down-stays, no questions asked, even if he’s uncomfortable, and even if there is shade a few feet away. Those are the rules. Again, while some dogs may behave this way because of their individual personality—they are not inclined to think for themselves—this is most often a learned behavior.
A free-thinking dog in the same situation might make a slightly different choice. He will still follow the command, but might play with the rules. For instance, he might get up, move to the shade, and then do his down-stay. This kind of playing with rules differs from both the stiff following of rules described above and from breaking the rules, or simply not obeying. A dog that is breaking the rules will simply not do what he was asked to do, perhaps because he doesn’t have the self-control to obey the command. A free-thinking dog, on the other hand, will obey the command in a way that is both comfortable and safe for him.
THE FREE-THINKING DOG AT WORK
When a dog struggles to think freely, he may not be successful in a working context. Take this example: we once had a handler and her very nice, champion obedience dog come to our unit. The handler wanted to train her dog in SAR. This dog seemed to have all the qualifications of a good SAR dog. She was friendly, pleasant, good with people, very intelligent, and physically fit. However, in order to win the highest level of obedience competition, she was taught to do what she was told, when she was told, and precisely in the way she was taught. Her training did not allow her to deviate from her routines.
We started with one of the most basic SAR training exercises, in which the handler hides from the dog, who is then meant to find her. The dog typically gets very excited and wants to find the handler, his owner. This dog showed real promise: she got very excited, had a good nose, and was able to run right to the handler. She really got into this “find the person” game, so much so that she momentarily forgot her obedience training and was able to simply play.
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