Effects of Self Control in Dog Training

I 've just read this article in Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...m?id=dog-tired

Any ideas on whether this should be taken into account in the way we train our dogs?

It sounds as if it would be worth keeping in mind. It also might be worth trying with the children,and the OH. I would like to arrange a situation myself to see if it worked with my dogs. Not that I really like the idea of giving a dog sugary drinks. Perhaps something would work as well and as quickly.
Have always been led to believe that you should train a dog on an empty stomach as being hungry is a good motivation. Perhaps I should try and give something before we start training and see if they respond better.

I was aware that dogs prone to hypoglycaemia shouldn't be trained or exercised without something to top up blood sugar levels, so I suppose it should not really be surprising that glucose shortages would affect a dog's ability to learn or to concentrate. But I had no idea that exercising self-control would deplete glucose levels to that extent.

I think there's a difference between "hungry" as in more motivated to work for a food treat, and "hungry" as in sooo starving that the dog can't concentrate on anything other than trying to get the food, by any means possible, including jumping all over you in order to get the treat!!

But with humans, I suppose to have the self-control to sit & study, or do homework, while all your mates are out playing, it would probably be easier if you have something to keep blood sugar levels up.

What has self control got to do with it? If a dog has been trained to perform an action, he isn`t excercising a choice when he performs it - he is exhibiting learned behaviour.
Yes, I`m sure it expends energy - but self control? Not sure about that!

So actually tit bit training over a period ought to keep the levels topped up.

I tend to feed breakfast to Etta then a handful at lunch time then tea but in between she can often get at least another big meal in bits and pieces. Maybe that works in her favour?

rune

I think that sounds like a good plan

I remember being taught about the effects of hypoglycaemia in that it can cause irritability & an inability to gloss over things, makes people/dogs ratty & bad-tempered. So a dog getting a lot of exercise (or in this case, a training session where it needs to concentrate & pay attention) would be more prone to perhaps aggression, if it's blood sugar levels were depleted. It's one of the reasons I always carry treats with me on long walks (along with sweets for us humans.)

There is a bit more science to this which I have not got time to respond to adequately at the moment, both on self control.

As for being learned behaviour, hmmm, therefore just because a dog/person etc has been TAUGHT something, does it mean that they ALWAY exhibit self control?

Hmmm, binge drinking, food stealing......... I could go on and on.

As for the food and the dog again there are some other issues here which are food RELATED but are more to do with electrolyte balance etc.

An interesting article

However they start off by saying depleted glucose reduces self control, and then change round to say using self control depletes glucose. Of course both can be true, and one can lead to the other, but which are they looking to prove?

Then surely trying, unsuccessfully to get into a potential treat is about persistence, not self control? If it reduced self control the result should have been that a second attempt at a 10 minute stay would be less successful, although of course boredom could then be playing a part.

The brain is the most glucose hungry organ in the body, and the one least able to use alternative energy sources, so it is not surprising that mental effort i.e. focusing on a sustained command (a 10 min stay) uses up glucose.

There is also the consideration that if you have already expended 10 mins in an unrewarded sit stay maybe your appetite for unrewarded behaviour has been reduced so you try less hard with the tug a jug than a dog who has been resting in a cage, or possibly building up enthusiasm for the tug a jug, if in sight but out of reach during that time?

Certainly ime one way to addressing recall and getting good off lead behaviour when there is a problem is to do some on lead training, to reduce over independence/self determination, before letting the dog off, followed by putting it back on lead for some more training, before that effect wears off so a dog who had just been under handler (not self) control for 10 min could well behave differently in the next task.

Thus imo the second part of the test, comparing artificial sweetener and sugar is much more interesting. However we would also need to know if the dogs found them equally palatable, if they drank the same volume of water per Kg bodyweight in each case, and so did the dogs in both groups consider themselves equally rewarded for the first (i.e. the sit stay) exercise?

Certainly following a command for 10 mins requires control and focus for the dog, but these dogs were instructed to stay, they didn't choose to stay, so is this real self control? I am with the learned behaviour camp.

We are not told if all the dogs did this on a single command, if they required repeated commands, or if they needed to be re positioned. All of which could physiologically and psychologically influence the dogs.

Food for thought for several reasons though. Lack of detail is a frequent frustration in interpreting such reports, including no mention of the sample size, or why the second experiment didn't use the same set, or types, of dogs as the first.