The CBS feature showed dogs being tested for their intelligence. Unfortunately, every dog in the study was being motivated with treats. The mother dog doesn't use treats to train her puppies, when then, did the concept of bribing dogs to determine their intelligence or ability to follow directives (commands) come into fashion?
It was distressing for me to see the trainers in the presentation using treats as a reward system for getting a dog to respond to a command. The treat - not the trainer (mother dog) became the stimulus.
The presentation also failed to address the fact that men and women acquire, interact and then train their dogs differently. How could this not have an impact on determining a dog's intelligence?
I have been training dogs for more than 18-years and have never had to resort to using treats to motivate a dog to perform a task. Instead, I depend on a dog's natural instinct (allelomimic behaviors)to mimic my behaviors, much like a mother dog expects her puppies to follow her lead.
I am also aware that men and women, who sign-on to a training program with their dogs, have different behavioral characteristics: as well as, goals and expectations. Why weren't these factors taken into considered during the CBS presentation? Whether it was a journalistic oversight or ignorance, the results remain the same - misinformation regarding canine intelligence.
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