Beware of the Dog Blogger

Beware of Bloggers. Especially ones that talk about dog behavior.

And welcome to the (somewhat) Revised Edition.

Disclaimer!  I am not referring to Jana (@DawgBlogger on twitter) when I say "Beware of the Dog Blogger."

 Why? Because though I am talking about dog people who blog, she is more than exempt from what we'll talk about below. Check out DawgBusiness. It's a site about dog health, training, and more.

Unfortunately for me, I can't change how the world thinks about dogs, how the world thinks about dog-related information, or how the world thinks about information in general. (Yet again, 5 points to you if you caught the OCD compulsion.)

Because of this, I have a fairly simple question for you, dear reader:

Are you a skeptic?

If not, you may consider becoming one.

Think that's one heck of a strange statement?

Consider this: Just because an author I respect makes a conclusion that she finds to be factual doesn't mean that I accept it as such. I'm always thinking

• are there any alternative explanations? And if so, does the author state them - or at least state that there are, in fact, alternatives?
• is the author using the Principle of Parsimony? (Meaning is she using the simplest explanation available and not over-complicating things with something like anthropomorphism?)
• does she site sources from her colleagues or other reputable sources?

If the answer to any of those questions is "No," I may consider filing the presented information under, "It's a little fishy..."

Just as an example, a few dog trainers, behaviorists, and published - and widely popular - authors I know use a term called calming or cut-off signals and go on to say that these are part of a dog's agonistic language. 

Here's the trick: If we go by the scientific definition of communication, the exchange has to involve two parties: one party sending the message and another to receive it.

Yawning, according to these authors, would be classified as a cut-off signal - a way of telling another dog, "I am not a threat." However, if your dog - nervous and uncomfortable - yawns when she is alone can it honestly be classified as a communication? Remember, cut-off signals are communications that tell another being that the dog sending the message is not a threat.

I must make a note that in this article, I'm making light of a well-researched hypothesis that has a lot more merit than I am giving credit to. Turid Rugaas basically led the frontier in this research. By the way, check her out. Make a decision for yourself.
[And thank Hilary of FangShuiCanines for pointing out that I didn't give enough credit to the research behind the subject of calming signals.]

Just a thought.

...And that thought doesn't mean that they're wrong or that I'm wrong - it simply means that there's too much that we don't know.

So don't fall victim to that ever-annoying nominal fallacy - just because you name it doesn't mean you've explained it, and it certainly doesn't mean that you're right.

We do this all the time with labels.

Apply a label to a situation and you've got it covered - the whole mess is explained, we can all take a deep breath and go home knowing that...

...Absolutely nothing has been accomplished.

So, with that, beware of dog bloggers and dog professionals who claim to have the answers.

When it comes to the doggy-dog world, there's more that we don't know than that we do know.

And it's okay to say these next few words, 

"I DON'T KNOW."

Do you know why some dogs urine mark?

Do you know why some dogs walk in circles before lying down?

If you answered "Why YES, in fact, I do!" I would beg that you re-read this blog and reconsider your answer. Most of the "answers" to the above-mentioned questions are based on misinformation.

And, on top of that, no matter what information is out there, doesn't it always depend on the individual dog?

So, in conclusion:

• Take it with a grain of salt. No one will blame you.
• We know less about dogs than we give ourselves credit for knowing.
• Not knowing all of the answers is okay

And, most importantly,

• Don't put too much faith in the behavioral information you read online - or in books.