Born To Be Collie Kennel

Dog performance

in Garay János Secondary School
Ethological experiments - 25. February, 2004 - Szekszárd

My essay was based on the experiments performed by Vilmos Csányi (ELTE, Department of Ethology). I examined several aspects, the dog's abilty to solve problems, the ability to study rules, asking for help, mimicry, signalling.

The first experiment:

We placed three stools, and somebody held the dog (it's Brooklyn in the picture) while I showed her some food and I put it behind one of the stools right before her eyes. The dog's task was to get there and find the food.

Winny helping herself to the food here:

After they learned this rule, we moved on to the interesting part. I stood before the dog, I put the food into my pocket, but I walked around the stools, and I ordered to serach for food again. We couldn't fool them, each dog came to me and "told" me "You are the fool, the food is in your pocket"! Like Brooklyn does in the picture:

In the next experiment the dog had to face she couldn't solve. We examined if she asks our help after realizing it. We built a tower from the stools, and we put food in the top one. We observed what would the dog do. It's Winny in the picture. She tried to obtain the food by jumping on the stools, but she couldn't reach it. After that she asked for help perceptibly by exe contact and as she ran to the stools and back to me. On the picture she get her well deserved reward for make me aware that she needs help:

In the next experiment we placed two stools upside-down. Somebody held the dog. On this picture you can see Fleur.

I stood between the two stools and I put the food is one of them right before the dog's eyes. I signed her with my arms in which stool I had put the food. Then Winny was released and she found the snack. After that Winny's eyes were covered, so she couldn't see in which stool I would put the snack, she had to rely on my signs. She soon found out this game, and she get the food on every occasion. After that I signed only with my finger, then I signed in a less perceptible way (I turned my chest, my head, then I only looked at stool), but the dog was able to realize them. That was successful, the dog relied in my signals absolutely.
The funniest thing was, that I fooled my dog, I pointed at the empty stool. With this I could prove that my dog learned the lesson in no time! Of course the dog went to the stool which I pointed at, but she serached for the food in vain, she couldn't find anything in it..... Winny on the picture:

Fleur got bored at the end:

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