What struck me as I was pondering these questions is that while (as some earlier contributors have noted), dogs and indeed other animals seem to 'learn' initially through behaviourist principles ('if I behave like this, I get this reward' etc), the results of those learnings turn into something very different. Rather than just displaying desirable behaviours, dogs learn to enact these in combinations, which in turn closely resemble human emotions, like 'anger' or 'love'. These emotions from dogs can look and feel very much like their human equivalents. And in terms of whether the dog can become a teacher ... humans (children and adults alike) can observe a dog displaying love/affection and learn to replicate the pattern. It's definitely an argument that many humans might acquire the ability to replicate an emotion better by observing it from a dog (who displays it flawlessly and largely unconditionally) than a human (who might display it subject to caveats). I guess this explains the growing popularity of canine and equine therapy too. So yes, I believe dogs can be learners and teachers and that it goes deeper than behaviourism. Fantastic thread, and I would love to know what motivated this question, Gordon!
Best,
Ian Johnson
Learning Development Tutor
University of Portsmouth
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