LONG-TERM MEMORY

(Part of the Memory flow chart of the DOG-GAMES website)

"GOOD"
When a dog has a very rewarding experience (or a pleasant one that is repeated until it becomes very rewarding) it stores the sights, sounds, scents, tastes and textures of the environment in its long-term memory by making an environmental photo.

If its senses detect a similar "photo" in the future, it will recognise the Event as being rewarding and will repeat the behaviour in order to get another reward eg -

attention from humans or dogs *
the opportunity to rest and relax *
the companionship of its "pack" *
(* see Life Rewards)
the scents, tastes and textures of small but interesting treats
play with a toy
further work that it enjoys doing with the handler
Dogs also get a strong sense of achievement (ie. fulfilling their working instincts) for doing behaviours correctly and see this as a reward in itself, once they have completely mastered and understood what is expected of them.

This is why the use of motivators works so well when training a dog (or other animal) to learn a new behaviour - the dog stores the environmental photo in its long-term memory and it then feels compelled to repeat the behaviour it was taught in order to get its motivator again.

However, this does NOT mean that the motivator must always be used to keep the desired behaviour. Once the dog has a thorough understanding of what is expected and associates a command with its behaviour, the motivator can be given at random to make the dog keener to work to see what it is going to be given this time. There are different types and values of motivators that can be used to keep the dog eager and willing to do the behaviour.

Below is an example of the benefits of long-term memory if the dog assesses the Event as rewarding -

The very first time a dog goes to a new training venue
If the dog is allowed the time and opportunity to thoroughly explore the new environment on its very first visit (without the distraction of other dogs being present), its stress levels will fall enough for it to relax - it may even become a little bored after a while. Therefore, when the training eventually begins and it is given something to do for a reward it will perceive the training experience as being rewarding and unstressful. After the short training session the dog is allowed to walk calmly back to its car, without being distracted, so that it can latently learn about the Event that has just occurred.
Its brain will assess the whole experience and make an environmental photo of the sights, sounds, scents, tastes and the feel of the floor surfaces so that it can recognise the situation as being a very safe, calm and rewarding place to come and work with its handler.
On subsequent visits the dog will enter the same training area and very quickly relax and calm down (ie. the environmental photo triggers the dog to behave in the same way as it did on its first visit). It will be ready and eager to learn and be focused enough to concentrate on what it is being taught due to its low levels of adrenaline.
The dog will soon be able to cope with other dogs being in the venue at the same time (especially if they are relaxed and calm from their initial introduction to the training venue as well) and all the dogs will be able to make further "photos" to help them remember what they are being taught.

"BORING"
When a dog finds an experience boring, tedious or irrelevant to its day-to-day survival or safety, it either FORGETS the whole incident or stores the environmental photo in its long-term memory so that when its senses detect a similar "photo" it will recognise the Event as being boring and trivial. The dog will ignore the Event and "do it's own thing".

For instance, if the handler uses the dog's name for lots of different reasons eg -

"JOE!"

"JO JO!"

"JOEY!"

"JOE BOY!"

they are continually using the dog's name for no apparent reason as far as the dog is concerned.
its name is used to tell the dog off, with the handler saying the dog's name in a harsh and aggressive way.
they call the dog's name but hardly ever reward or acknowledge the dog when it comes to them.
(see Dictionary and Suggestions for Dog Commands & Signals for more on the subject of verbal commands and visual signals).

Eventually the dog will ignore the sound of its name as it seems to have very little relevance to the dog - in other words, it does not recognise it's name as a signal to look at the handler.

Lodgers often have a number of boring "photos" stored in their long-term memories and and this is why they become very withdrawn and introverted with the humans and dogs around them.

Following on the example that we used for a "Good" long-term memory, below is an example of what happens if the dog assesses the Event as boring or irrelevant -

The very first time a dog goes to a new training venue
The dog is intrigued by the presence of all the humans and dogs at the venue. It tries to do calming signals to greet the other dogs but they seem unable or unwilling to respond (probably because they are restricted by their leads, or are too stressed to notice the dog's body language).
All the humans seem to be talking and listening to one another most of the time, which the dog has learnt since puppyhood to be a "Boring" environmental photo as humans never interact with their dogs while talking to one another.
The dog finds the whole situation unrewarding and even though its handler occasionally rises from their seat to do an exercise with the dog, it decides it is far easier just to "switch off" and wait until it is time to go home.
The dog stores all the environmental information of the situation as a "photo" and retains it in its long-term memory. On subsequent visits to the training venue the dog will compare what it detects from its senses with the "photo" is has in its memory and will automatically loose interest - it is now programmed to see dog training as boring.

"BAD"

When a dog has a very unpleasant experience (or an unpleasant one that is repeated until the dog associates it as being a very unpleasant), it stores the sights, sounds, scents, tastes and textures of the environment in its long-term memory by making an environmental photo.

When it recognises the same "photo" in the same or similar circumstances the dog will display various calming signals both to its owner and to the dogs around it in order to avoid conflict. It will also feel a very strong desire to avoid and escape the situation it finds itself in. If the dog has no escape route available (ie the handler does not recognise the dog's body language and calming signals, and prevents the dog moving to a more manageable distance from the "threat") it will resort to more drastic measures to resolve the situation -

SNARLINGGROWLINGBARKINGLUNGING
SNAPPINGNIPPING and eventually BITING

either at the perceived "threat" or the closest thing to its mouth (often the handler).

If a dog is prevented from using any of these steps of the ladder (particularly the lower ones such as snarling, growling or barking) the dog has no option but to go further up the ladder to make the threat go away. This is why aversion techniques that prevent dogs from barking (such as squirting them with water, or collars that squirt citronella) can result in the dog resorting to more unacceptable behaviour (lunging, snapping & biting) to try to avoid the perceived threat.

The only humane and lasting answer to overcome these behaviours that have been triggered by its long-term memory is to manage the dog's lifestyle and environment, and gradually introduce the dog to situations that it can cope with (carefully monitoring its body language and signals), giving the dog new positive associations of the environmental photo by offering it rewards that it enjoys.

Once again, using the same example that we used previously, below is an example of the drawbacks of long-term memory if the dog assesses the Event as threatening or unpleasant, combined with positive long-term memories that reinforce unwanted behaviour -

The very first time a dog goes to a new training venue
The dog enters the venue and finds a number of other dogs already there. It feels overwhelmed by the close proximity of these dogs and can see, smell and hear their stress as they try to cope with the situation that they also cannot escape from.
The dog becomes anxious and makes bigger and stronger calming signals to its handler and the other dogs to try to resolve the situation. This does not work and the dog still feels trapped in a situation that it cannot cope with.
So the dog becomes defensive and starts to bark a territorial warning to the other dogs in the hope of keeping them at a safe distance. The barking attracts the handler's attention (remember that even this sort of attention is a high value REWARD to the dog) so that he either handles, speaks or looks at the dog in an attempt to stop the dog barking. The dog perceives the act of barking as a rewarding behaviour while also being a useful tool to deter other dogs coming too close to it and its handler.
Eventually the dog is taken out of the situation at the end of the lesson (this is yet another reward to the dog for barking as it has now escaped the whole stressful situation).
The environmental photo that the dog will retain in its long-term memory will be the sights, scents, and sounds at the venue, the tastes of the food that was given to it as a reward while being trained, and texture of the surface it walked on. These will trigger the dog into feeling stressed, trapped and anxious whenever it enters the training venue. These stressful symptoms will prevent the dog retaining anything it learns in its long-term memory and it will find the whole training experience very unpleasant. The dog will also repeat the rewarding behaviour it learnt in the first visit - barking - as this results in the handler's (and others at the venue) attention and eventually escape back to the car.
Another drawback from this first experience of training is that the dog may generalise some of the senses that triggered the "photo". It may feel stressed -
- when doing the exercise elsewhere
- when given the same reward it was given at the venue
- when hearing or seeing the other dogs in the class elsewhere (or dogs similar to them)
- when it smells the stress pheromones similar to those it detected on that first occasion.

DOG-GAMES WEBSITE - HOME PAGE