Dog–Human Play, but Not Resting Post-Learning Improve Re-Training Performance up to One Year after Initial Task Acquisition in Labrador Retriever Dogs: A Follow-On Study

Affenzeller, Nadja

doi:10.3390/ani10071235

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Like humans dogs' memory improves when they are given socially significant active play a er training and they made less errors and required fewer trials (Affenzeller, Palme & Zulch 2017;Affenzeller 2020). These findings are supported by the way Drug Detector Dogs are trained (Adams & Johnson 1994a).…”

Section: Dogsʹ Learning and Memorymentioning

confidence: 72%

Detector dog training shows companion-dogs rapidly remember the what and where of instinctively significant scents

Adams¹

2022

Pet Behav Sci

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Companion dogs with no previous experience were trained in a drug detector dog adapted method to recognise the scents of ‘prey’ animals and allowed to sleep in their natural habitat, at home with their owners. After each of two consecutive nights sleep they were evaluated on the next days. We tested their declarative memory (knowing that) and also procedural memory (knowing how), by using chase-and-fetch training and testing routines, which involved walking and running around as well as sniffing. All dogs were able to remember what their trained-for scents were and most dogs were also able to remember where their trained-for scents were against distractors. There were indications that scent memory could be reinforced and can be further learned that day. After training, when dogs were denied their day time and evening sleeps and instead provided with stimulating activities, surprisingly they still showed no ‘first-night-effect’ (of disrupted sleep and subsequent memory reduction) and successfully found their trained-for scents, which was attributed either to their robust short sleep-wake cycles, them being highly motivated and being in their natural habitat. Our evidence showed that after training (using their dominant sense of smell) our dogs showed all the aspects of sleep including both NREM and REM and demonstrated their declarative and especially their procedural memories on subsequent days. There was no significant difference in the number of sleep sessions per hour, the time asleep, the sleep session length, the percentage of time in REM or REM latency between normal day and night sleep compared with denied day/evening and normal night sleep. These findings provide a further indication of dogs’ sense of self when applying the same criteria for humans. There was a sign that REM sleep in old dogs is not reduced when they are monitored at home. We believe that it is possible for companion dog owners whose dogs’ enthusiastically fetch, to readily train their own dogs by this method

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Section: Dogsʹ Learning and Memorymentioning

confidence: 72%

Detector dog training shows companion-dogs rapidly remember the what and where of instinctively significant scents

Adams¹

2022

Pet Behav Sci

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“…Recently, researchers have begun exploring the contextual factors that affect dogs' ability to remember learned tasks. Preliminary research suggests that engaging a dog in activities that likely induce “pleasant arousal,” such as walking and play, directly after learning a new task has positive effects on their memory for that task when tested again 24 h ( 202 ), 1 week ( 203 ), or even up to 1 year ( 204 ) later. In contrast, having them immediately engage in learning of an unrelated task results in cognitive interference, thereby disrupting memory consolidation ( 203 ).…”

Section: Working Dog Training: Combining Research and Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Working Dog Training for the Twenty-First Century

et al. 2021

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Dogs are trained for a variety of working roles including assistance, protection, and detection work. Many canine working roles, in their modern iterations, were developed at the turn of the 20th century and training practices have since largely been passed down from trainer to trainer. In parallel, research in psychology has advanced our understanding of animal behavior, and specifically canine learning and cognition, over the last 20 years; however, this field has had little focus or practical impact on working dog training. The aims of this narrative review are to (1) orient the reader to key advances in animal behavior that we view as having important implications for working dog training, (2) highlight where such information is already implemented, and (3) indicate areas for future collaborative research bridging the gap between research and practice. Through a selective review of research on canine learning and behavior and training of working dogs, we hope to combine advances from scientists and practitioners to lead to better, more targeted, and functional research for working dogs.

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