Doggy See, Doggy Do

Did you know, dogs copy behaviours exhibited by other dogs? Dogs learn from their canine peers very easily, meaning many people use their older dogs to help when training puppies/younger dogs. In fact, dogs can learn from other dogs even quicker than when a human teaches them.

3, 2, 1... TONGUES OUT!

As humans, we can regularly evaluate the actions of our fellow humans and decide whether or not to copy them, based on our knowledge of positive and negative choices. Our dogs, however, copy both positive AND negative behaviours from other dogs, meaning other dogs can both help to teach them the right things to do, and bad habits.

For example, Earl has taught Ethel to walk nicely on a lead. When I walk them at my side together, Ethel never pulls. She sticks by Earl's side and walks just as nicely as he does. Yes, I have taught her to walk nicely on the lead on her own, but when she was with Earl, she made this breakthrough. Also, Earl has taught Ethel to bark at the window at guests and intriguing passers by. This could be seen as both a positive and negative thing, but all the same, this is a behaviour she has learnt from Earl, another dog, alone.

Has your dog ever been taught a behaviour by another dog?

We're joining our hosts Snoopy's Dogblog, Alfie's Blog and My Brown Newfies in the Monday Mischief Blog Hop. We send many thanks their way, and you can join in below.