Have you ever faked a ball throw? Or maybe you put a toy just out of reach to see what your dog would do? Have a read below and see what you think...
Forms of teasing:
pretending to throw a ball
Offering a treat / toy and then taking it away
Putting a toy / treat just out of reach
Encouraging a dog to chase something they can’t get, such as leaves when on a lead, or a squirrel when they're behind a fence.
Pestering, such as blowing in their face or continuously poking.
These things, especially when done over and over again, can cause;
Stress
Anxiety
A lack of trust
Frustrated
And a generally unhappy dog.
Two recent studies have tested (and proven) this.
In one study, scientists tested if dogs could recognise the intentions of people withholding a treat. There were three conditions;
UNWILLING / TEASING: The human acted like he was giving the treat, but then pulled it away.
UNABLE: The human started to give the treat, but then ‘accidentally’ dropped it.
UNABLE: The human started to give the treat, but then was physically blocked by a barrier.
In all three conditions, the outcome was the same (the treat fell to the floor). The only difference was the human’s intentions: whether they were unwilling (teasing) or unable to give the treat.
The results showed that;
Dogs waited for longer before retrieving the treat, if they were teased, compared to the other two conditions.
Dogs were more likely to sit or lie down and not move if they were teased, compared to the other two conditions.
Dogs were more likely to stop wagging their tail if they were teased, compared to the other two conditions.
Though this doesn’t show stress or frustration, it DOES show that dogs understand when they are being teased.
The second study’s aim was to determine whether the dogs would develop a preference for a person who did not tease them, over someone who did.
The study was relatively similar, only that the humans repeated the test. Some humans were repetitively unwilling to give the treat (teasing), and others were repetitively unable to give the treat (acting clumsy).
Results this time showed that;
Dogs were more likely to (a) remain close to the human and wait for the treat, (b) make eye contact with the human, and (c) not sit down or lie down with the ‘clumsy’ humans over the ‘teasing’ humans.
Dogs were more likely to wag their tail to the right (in a separate study, proven to be associated with friendlier behaviours) in the clumsy condition over the teasing conditions.
Both of these sets of results show that dogs DO have a preference for humans who don’t tease.
Moral of the story: Don't tease your dog!
For more tips on dog training, make sure to check out my freebies page: Freebies! | Mucky Pups (muckypups-dogtraining.com)
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