Lily the Sheltie

This dog has very effectively learned how to adapt what she's been taught or learned on her own to get her way. For instance, as a puppy she went to classes and was taught how to "touch" with her nose, a skill needed to get her to re-focus on a task at hand when she's on an agility course. She very quickly learned to use this behavior to get our attention when we're eating. To this day, there's not a meal I sit down to when Lily's not performing her touch routine in the desparate hope of getting a bite or two of my food for herself.

Another trick she's learned to so is to howl like a wolf in the wild when one of her human companions are not in the immediate area to tend to her. She's also taught the other members of the pack (Lyric & Declan, our two Shelties as well as Douglas, our Collie) to join in the howl-a-thon along with her, making anyone within hearing distance think there's a herd of wild dogs baying at the moon or something! This specific behavior can be considered a classic in operant conditioning in that Lily's howling antics are reinforced by us giving her what she wants: our presence by rushing back to where she is to see what the heck is the matter.

If you read/analyze thius real carefully, you might even come to the conclusion that our dog(s) have trained US to respond to THEIR needs. Now, I really wonder if we're the only pet owners who face this dilemma?

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