Nobel Prize day

 

My mad scientist look

December 10.  It’s Nobel Prize Day.  So far, no dogs have won a Nobel Prize.  Something wrong there – as we are CLEARLY more intelligent than humans. 

A guy named Pavlov won a Nobel Prize.  He actually won it for research he did about the digestive system – and not for his work on conditioning – which most people seem to think about when they hear his name.  You must know his research – Pavlov’s dogs associated a buzzer sound with food – so whenever a buzzer would sound, whether there was food or not – the dogs would salivate.  His work emphasized the role of conditioned reflexes in behavior and learning. 

We DEFINITELY show examples of conditioned reflexes in our house.  Just the sounds of the treat jar opening causes us to race to the kitchen.  And of course, Paxton, the drool machine produces a puddle on the floor.

Pavlov’s ideas about classical conditioning can actually be applied to dog

clicker training.  Dogs hear the clicker and they know a reward will be coming.  Apparently you can even clicker train a chicken.  Click a chick.  But PLEASE understand - I am NOT comparing canine intelligence to chicken intelligence. 

We don’t use a clicker for training in our house.  My human is not coordinated enough to click and treat.   So she just says “yes” when we do something brilliant.  Like when I was playing the Casino game again the other night.  Admittedly when she first took it out I WAS a bit “over the top” trying to rip open every drawer to get the treats.  Good thing that board game is sturdy!  But I DID calm down after a few minutes.  Then she tried it with Frodo – his first time with the game.  He actually figured it out QUITE quickly.  But if my human plays for too long – he just walks away barking.  He’s not a board game kind of dog.  And Paxton, he just gets to play find the bunny.  That’s his speed.

In terms of other Nobel Prize winners– most of the dogs involved in other  awards were basically the subjects of medical experiments.  And I’m not about to go down THAT road.

So dogs HAVE been involved in Nobel Prize winning work in the past.  But I still think it’s time one of us canines actually GOT the prize.  Now what category should I try for…medicine, physics, literature, chemistry, economics….  I think Peace would be my choice.  Because really – if you have that – and people work TOGETHER– isn’t it easier to obtain the others?   Just a thought.  From a dog.

 ©  Linda Wozniak