Cheese and Chicken

We've been working on the gestures for cheese and chicken. For some reason it's easier for me to teach two things at a time than it is just one--something about the way my mind works it just makes more sense to me and fortunately Ranger doesn't seem to have a problem with it. Something that I hadn't really thought about when we embarked on this enterprise is how many different kinds of cheese and chicken there are. I was startled when Ranger who had seemed to master cheese already was offering only food for the special cheese treats I bought him. Then I realized that Ranger had learned one thing, Cheetos, was cheese but he hadn't acquired a general category of "cheese-ness." The same is true for chicken. That word means chicken jerky, chicken nuggets, chicken treats, rotisserie chicken, etc. Since I don't know of any other way to teach Ranger categories than to expose him to lots of items in the category labeling them all the same, much the way he learned the noun book as described in a previous post, Ranger will be very well treated for awhile with lots of types of cheese and multiple incarnations of chicken. By exposing him to all these different incarnations of the same thing I hope he'll form his own categories for "cheese-ness" and "chicken-ness." Somehow I doubt he'll find experiencing a wide variety of his favorite treats much of a burden.

Still and all, it's fascinating to look at the mechanics of language acquisition. I never really thought about it when the children were learning to talk but children are expected to learn language as we know it so the fact that they did wasn't amazing. And that they could do it was something that they came preprogrammed with so the mechanics didn't especially interest me. Now, however, I'm engaged in teaching another species language use akin to my own something that isn't expected and if language acquisition is preprogrammed the programming isn't readily apparent so the whole experience is new and wondrous.

"What Are You Training With Your Dog?"

My son has both an advantage and disadvantage using Ranger for his 4-H dog project. The advantage is that Ranger already knows all the basics and makes the other dogs look untrained. The disadvantage is that 4-H training time can get pretty boring for both the son and Ranger. Last night was a no dogs meeting and among other things an adult leader went around the table and asked each child what they were training with their dog. Most answers were working on stays, working with distractions, etc., my son when asked calmly informed the leader that we're teaching Ranger to sign and to carry a bucket. A blank look from the leader who clearly had no idea what was meant by teaching the dog to sign then praise for working with the dog and moving on to the next kid. I'm rather sorry she didn't ask for clarification. She's rather old school in her assessment of canine cognition assuming that dog's aren't all that intelligent so it would have been interesting to see her reaction when he explained that we are teaching Ranger a number of gestured symbols (signs) that correspond to human words so that Ranger can tell us what he wants and needs. I hadn't really thought about it but we're doing a very good thing not only for Ranger but also for the children. They're growing up in a household where it is accepted as a given that animals can communicate with us. I like thinking how much richer their lives will be for starting with that expectation.

And yes Ranger has some small plastic buckets with rope handles that my son is teaching him to carry by the handle. So far Ranger will pick up the bucket but he's still working on learning to hold it until released the step necessary prior to learning to walk with it in his teeth. I can imagine Ranger delivering items to the children for them to put away. Ranger, take bucket (load bucket with earbuds that were left on the couch) find (child name here).

I Wonder What it Means to Him

Ranger has some treat dispensing puzzles that he seems to really enjoy. The other day out of curiosity when we were playing with a puzzle I signed What Is That? indicating the puzzle. Ranger signed Food quickly followed by making the sign for Toy. I can easily see that as an intentional combination of signs he knows to say that what I wanted him to identify was a toy that gave him food. For me FoodToy would be a reasonable categorization of the puzzle but does it really mean the same thing to him? Perhaps he meant it not as a compound word but as identification of two different things the puzzle itself was a Toy but inside the toy was Food and he didn't know which one I wanted him to identify. Or maybe he didn't know how to answer the question so signed both Food and Toy hoping one would be right.

I truly believe other species like dogs have something like language as I know it but how much that language corresponds to the language I use and understand that's the real question. And this is where it is so nice not to have to hold myself to scientific standards, because I'm doing this strictly for us (myself and my canine) I'm free to assume that his language use corresponds to mine and Food Toy meant FoodToy. I am sufficiently concerned with scientific accuracy that I feel obliged to recognize that my assumptions may not be correct.

Water

Ranger now recognizes the human sign for water but he hasn't made any effort to make the K9 sign. It's interesting how quickly he caught on that brushing my left hand against my cheek twice meant water. Our philosophy in teaching sign language has been to use the signs in everyday context. When hiking and running on the beach he gets thirsty. I'll sign water and then produce the water bottle. At first he would sit politely once he saw the bottle. Now he sits politely as soon as I sign water. Next step is to teach him to make the sign for water.

One of the Books "Ranger Recommends"

Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog
by Ted Kerasote 

Adopting a dog was, for me, rather like having a baby; I stared lovingly at this new being in my life and wondered “now what.” And just as I did with my children I began to read everything I could find that would help me answer that question. I’ve taken away something that has improved the life of my dog from nearly every book I’ve read but some have been especially valuable. Those are the books that “Ranger Recommends” a tribute to my dog Ranger’s appreciation of how much better I’ve become as a dog parent thanks to these books. Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote is one of the first books I read about living with a dog and it had a profound impact on the types of questions that I asked myself.  It is a very well done book that mixes factual scientific information with personal observation. I did not always agree with Kerasote’s conclusions or choices but I valued the thought-provoking perspectives provided.

On a camping trip along the San Juan River Ted Kerasote meets a Lab mix living wild. The two develop a relationship and the dog named Merle accompanied Kerasote to his home. Kerasote and Merle established an enviable life together.  Where Kerasote lived dogs were allowed to roam free, as a writer his schedule was flexible, he'd made a lifestyle choice available where he lived to eat only what he'd hunted himself. He and Merle had an idyllic life together, hiking, skiing, hunting and when Kerasote was writing Merle was free to roam the town and surrounding countryside and/or to visit the other free roaming dogs in town. Having read about this idyllic life my question became how could I create a similarly idyllic life for my suburban dog.

Merle was free to come and go as he pleased and to make his own choices. Merle and Kerasote formed a partnership rather than a relationship based on dominance or assigned roles. There was mutual respect and love. Beautifully written and deeply moving dog lovers will appreciate this glimpse of how dogs and people are meant to work together and compliment one another's skills and abilities.

Years have passed since I first read this book and when I look at the relationship we have established with our dog Ranger I realize that I took away quite a bit from the idyllic relationship between Merle and his person. Ranger is a suburban dog and won't be roaming free establishing his own friendships and visitation schedule but he's living a pretty idyllic life for a suburban dog. We've partnered with Ranger to provide him with a minimum of three enriching activities per day. These include walks, car rides, dog park visits, play dates and training time. In return Ranger has shown us changes in our neighborhood that we'd never paid attention to before and taught us how to observe dogs. He's learned to fit himself into our lifestyle and we've found ways to accommodate his needs. He's made friends in the neighborhood and we respect that, even if we're in a hurry we still allow a few minutes for him to say hello to his friends. Even in a suburban setting it's still possible to form a partnership. I find that encouraging.

A Valentine for Ranger

On Patricia McConnell's blog Other End of the Leash she's written a valentine for her dog and asked those who follow her blog for their valentines to their dogs. Here, in expanded form is mine to Ranger. 


I love you Ranger.
I love how you communicate so effectively even though you don’t speak any human language
I love how readily you have embraced the ideas that humans have sounds that attach to actions and objects and how you are learning that humans can understand gestures you use to tell them what you want.
I love your willingness to accept “human weirdness” such as regular baths and sometimes being allowed on the furniture and sometimes not. You don’t understand why things aren’t always consistent but simply accept that “humans are weird.”
I love how beautiful you are; it makes me laugh that you recognize beautiful as one of your names because you’ve heard it so often.
I love all the people you’ve brought into my life. I hadn’t realized how lonely I was before you.
I love how much you love people. It gives me hope for my species; if someone as wonderful as you are thinks we’re marvelous then maybe we aren’t as bad as I’ve sometimes thought.
I love that we can go together to libraries and nursing homes and other places where you can share your love of people to brighten days and encourage. It made my heart swell near to bursting the day we visited the nursing home and you sat near a woman who was in her own world. She sat there with her head thrown back and slack mouth hanging open. Then the attendant placed her hand on your back and slowly her mouth transformed into a smile. It is amazing to me that somehow you could reach her in whatever internal landscape she was lost and bring her a bit of joy. 
I love how smart you are. You make me stretch and re-evaluate my assumptions about what you can and can’t do or understand. In trying to do right by you I’ve learned so much and as a result we’ve been able to do some good for other dogs. I love that we're able to make a difference in the lives of both our species.
I love how much you have brought into the lives of my children and how when a cat or child is yelling about something you run toward it to see if you can help. Your respect for the elder cat delights me. He’s old and grumpy and much much smaller than you but you still give up your bed for him or cede him the couch.
I love that you listen to me, at least when it really matters. I have never been so proud as the day you stopped your joyful run toward a group of small children when I asked you to. You were a great ambassador for your species that day and rather than being frightened by a large dog running at them the children were delighted with their new big fluffy playmate.
I love how you are noble and dignified http://www.flickr.com/photos/33350160@N02/3759243814/in/set-72157621312676230/ and how you are a demented nut http://www.flickr.com/photos/33350160@N02/5426796560/. I love your great big feet http://www.flickr.com/photos/33350160@N02/5426798028/in/photostream/ and your happy smilehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/33350160@N02/5226913659/in/set-72157625357059325/
But most of all I love how we are two parts that make a whole. Together we are more than either of us alone; you are my other self my entry into a world not my own and I am yours. You are my Ranger, my love, my canine companion, my other self. 

Signing Food and learning cheese

Ranger has been seen at the dog park walking up to people with treats in their pockets, sitting politely and signing food. He certainly understands there is a sign he can make indicating he wants a treat. Fortunately for him he has me to interpret as most people have no idea that he is communicating with gestures. Most of his targets do recognize that he's begging. And most of them when I explain what he's doing respond by giving him treats.

I've begun teaching him the sign for cheese. I had a few Cheetos left in a bowl and he was hanging out and I'm too tired to exercise with him (remind me that I'm not 25 anymore and really do need to get my eight hours) so I took advantage of the circumstances. I haven't shaped his signs before but for cheese (left paw lift wrist bent) I'd push on the back of his wrist to get the proper bend. It didn't take long before he was understanding that to get the Cheeto he had to lift his paw and bend the wrist. He's a pretty smart dog.