Canine Cognition, Learning, and Emotions

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering canine cognition, social learning mechanisms, training methodologies, the 7 primary emotional systems, and play styles.

Indication

A cognitive form of social learning where a dog copies another dog's behaviour exactly in order to obtain a reward.

Emulation

A cognitive form of social learning where a dog performs a similar behaviour to another dog for a reward, rather than replicating it exactly.

Social Facilitation

A form of social learning that does not require cognition, characterized by an animal simply following along when another animal performs an action.

Affordance Learning

Learning about properties of the environment through secondhand observation that operates without cognition and does not require another animal to be present.

Stimulus or Locale Enhancement

A non-cognitive learning effect where an animal is drawn to a specific location or object because another animal is interacting with that item.

Mirroring

The canine behavioral tendency to match the energy and emotional intensity displayed by the handler during training.

Modelling (Hand Placing)

An outdated training technique involving physically manipulating or hand-placing a dog into a target position such as sit, down, or stand.

Spatial Pressure

The deliberate movement or positioning of a handler's body into a dog's space to serve as a cue or set physical boundaries.

Errorless Learning

A training methodology that arranges antecedents and uses prompts so the correct choice is the only accessible option, preventing the dog from making mistakes.

Dr. Brian Hare

A prominent researcher who studies canine cognition, specifically investigating how dogs process information and understand human social cues.

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of human characteristics, motivations, or behaviors to an animal or object.

Seeking / Desire System

One of the four basic positive emotional systems present at birth that motivates canines to find resources necessary for survival.

Frustration System

An innate negative emotional system in canines that is activated when the animal does not receive a reinforcement it was expecting.

Fear / Anxiety System

An innate negative emotional system present at birth that protects the animal from external threats and includes the neurological processing of pain.

Panic / Grief System

An innate negative emotional system triggered by separation from a primary attachment figure, resulting in panic or intense vocal crying.

Social Play System

A positive emotional system that develops as a puppy matures and attains the appropriate physical and sensory capabilities.

Lust System

A positive emotional system activated as dogs mature and begin seeking out sexual partners.

Care System

A positive emotional system activated in late pregnancy and triggered by hormone shifts to drive parental care and nurturing behavior.

Canine Emotional Development Ceiling

The developmental boundary where canine emotional maturity halts, corresponding roughly to a human child aged 2 to 2.5 years and lacking complex emotions such as guilt, pride, shame, and contempt.

Meta-Signals

Communication cues (such as play bows, goofy grins, and bouncy movements) that inform a partner that rough behaviors are playful rather than aggressive.

Play Laugh

A distinctive canine meta-signal characterized by a pronounced, forced, breathy exhalation used to confirm playful intent.

Role Reversal

A hallmark of healthy canine play where participants alternate positions, such as taking turns being the chaser versus the chased.

Cut-Off Signals

Subtle appeasement or stress indicators (such as lip licking, yawning, whale eye, or turning away) used by a dog to de-escalate play or request a break.

Predatory Drift

A dangerous phenomenon, coined by Ian Dunbar and first published by Jean Donaldson, wherein a large dog's social play abruptly shifts into predatory behavior toward a smaller dog.