Ring a bell, get a treat: an experiment with a baby and a Shiba Inu

boing
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Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/02/11/ring-a-bell-get-a-treat-an-e.html

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Probably a good instinct for a dog to wait for the alpha to finish with something before doing it themselves.

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Ha! I wondered how long it would be before BoingBoing stumbled across Haru.

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How Pavlovian… literally.

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The dog is NOT ringing the bell. It is just touching it. I would be curious if the dog could distinguish between ringing and just touching it as a trigger for food.

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This would have gone differently if Haru was a pit bull.

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Dogs and Humans. We were made for each other. :heart::dog:

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In what way?

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Not really good science here. For the baby, just the sound itself, and natural curiosity, is enough to cause him to ring the bell.

Maybe replace the bell with something far less interesting to the baby. And maybe reverse the circumstances (using a bit older toddler). Person gets treat when dog rings bell, and vice versa. See if they start collaborating.

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I mean, I’ll ring a bell for a long time just for the fun of ringing it. You don’t even have to feed me cheese.

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Certainly! My last (long-dead, sadly) pit would’ve licked the kid at least once or twice.

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Yes! Perhaps replace the bell with an electric shock! See who wants the cheese more; the baby or the dog.

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For science’s sake, I think they should have made it so it took some effort to ring the bell, to even the playing field a bit. I mean, Abram was really leaning on that bell.

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Bigger Bell, More Cheese!!!

image

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The dog could definitely figure that out but in the video she’s being rewarded for touching, not ringing. Also the reward is a bit inconsistent so no wonder she’s a little confused. Very good with the baby though.

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When this kid is in (the equivalent of) high school and the bell rings at the end of every class, he’s going to wonder why he has these sudden hunger pains.

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Experimental dog
Salivating dog
Good dog
Waiting for the dinner bell to do the bell thing (waiting for the dinner bell)
Dinner bell dinner bell ring

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Haru is a Good Dog.

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