Theorieseminar mit Ray Coppinger

Samstag, 3. März 2012 um 09:30 - Sonntag, 4. März 2012 um 16:00

Ort
Umgebung Golmbach (Adresse wird rechtzeitig bekant gegeben)

Chakanyuka - Clickertraining and More
Weitere Informationen

Samstag: Origin, Natural History and the Behavior of Domestic Dogs
Sonntag: The Ethology of Dogs


Preise:

1 Tag (Samstag oder Sonntag) € 260.- pro Person

beide Tage € 350.- pro Person



Anmeldung erforderlich
Anmeldungsformulare bei:
Martina Schoppe, tina.schoppe@arcor.de, 05532-994263, http://www.chakanyuka.de

Zielgruppe:
Hundetrainer, Hundepsychologen, interessierte Hundehalter, etc.



Samstag: Origin, Natural History and the Behavior of Domestic Dogs

Dogs exist in amazing numbers around the world. Most of them are classified by the World Health Organization as Neighborhood Dogs. These are dogs that are loosely attached to people and are in continuous contact with the greater population of dogs. That means that most of the dogs in the world form a continuous population that feeds, reproduces and maintains their own lifestyles reasonably independently of people.

Exploring the behavior of these village dogs gives us not only the dynamics of how dogs earn a living, but also suggests how they evolved and adapted to civilization. We will compare the dogs of the Mexico City Dump, the townships of South Africa, with the dogs on islands in East Africa. It should also provide an insight into dog behavior.


Sonntag: The Ethology of Dogs

Ethology

There are many ways to study dog behavior. Ethology, sometimes called behavioral ecology and sometimes behavior genetics, is a biological approach to measuring behavior. Most of the people interested in dogs are interested in modifying their behavior. Behaviorism is one method that is popular now. Known as ‘click and treat,’ the technique is used to teach tricks or a particular behavior.

In contrast, people who train pointers or sheepdogs or other hunting and working dogs rely on an innate characteristic. The exploration of these breed-typical behaviors is a job for ethologists.


Dog Cognition

Have you ever wondered when a border collie herds sheep, for example, if it is conscious of what it is doing? If the behavior of herding is genetic, then there is little need for the dog to be conscious. And how do the dogs compare with other animals in characteristics such as self-awareness and intentional behavior ? Can they form images of missing objects? When one tells a dog to fetch its ball, does it form a mental image of that ball and can it generalize to other balls, or does it just learn the one and then searches for a familiar smell? Do dogs have emotions? Are they like people's emotions? Most scientists think dogs express fear and alarm but don’t see how they can feel guilt or love. For scientists, it is important to be able to measure quantity and quality of a behavior in order to demonstrate its effect. There is a chance that a model could be constructed that demonstrates a rich array of emotions in animals like dogs.

A new field is rapidly developing within the study of Animal Behavior. As geneticists and neurobiologists dig deeper into what makes animals behave the way they do, genes and the neural architecture are revealing the importance of the environment during all stages of development. This new field is called Evolutionary Development, affectionately known in academic departments as EvoDevo.

The familiar nature/nurture discussions are no longer relevant. Science has gone beyond such questions. For those of us studying or working with dogs, this new field offers exciting possibilities and a new way of understanding behavior. Applying the information being gathered from Evolutionary Development studies hasn't quite hit the dog world yet - but it is coming quickly. During this two-day seminar Ray will introduce this new field of EvoDevo as it pertains to dog behavior, and weave it into the larger story of what dogs are and why they do what they do.


Biography – Raymond Coppinger
Raymond Coppinger majored in literature and philosophy as an undergraduate at Boston University. His Ph.D. thesis in biology (at the University of Massachusetts) is on the effect of experience and novelty on avian feeding behavior. He joined the founding faculty at Hampshire College in 1969, where he is professor of biology. He teaches and does research on animal behavior, especially the behavior of canines. Dr. Coppinger is one of the world's foremost experts on dogs.


Ray's first professional studies of dogs occurred on the runners of a dog sled. During a twelve- year mushing career, he progressed from a five-dog to a sixteen-dog team, won many races on the northeast (USA) circuits, and developed a new strain of fast, responsive sled dogs. Several of these were sold to drivers bound for the Alaskan championship races. His research projects with sled dogs include responses of racing dogs to the stress of heat retention, and the amount of energy required to pull a sled and driver.


In 1976, Ray and his wife Lorna founded the Livestock Guarding Dog Project at Hampshire College. This long-term investigation into the behavior of a new kind of dog for farmers and ranchers in the United States has resulted in greater understanding about early developmental behavior of dogs, and how early experience (or lack of it) can affect their adult behavior.


Recently, Ray has turned his attention to assistance dogs. His first-hand knowledge of harnesses for dogs, the mechanics and physiology of pulling, and the relationship between experience, training and behavior give him a unique insight into the lives of the dogs which are being asked to enhance the lives of people with special needs. Ray (and his colleagues and students) have published over fifty papers on his dog research. His favorite publication, however, is the book Fishing Dogs, a humorous and iconoclastic look at dogs, fishermen and professors. His latest book, co-authored with Lorna Coppinger, is DOGS: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behavior, and Evolution (Scribner, NY, 2001; Univ. Chicago Press, 2002). His lecture trips around the world to talk about dogs are always supplemented by a day or two searching local waters for the perfect fish.

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