71 – Deceptive Dogs

This may shock you, but people lie. I hate it when someone lies to me. Why would someone fabricate a story? Usually in order to get what she/he wants if it's felt it cannot be obtained by being honest. Dogs never lie, do they? Ask any dog owner. Once she stops laughing, the response will be “Of course they do!” It seems dogs can be quite deceptive.

One person tells the tale of her two dogs, a polite terrier who would never steal food from the Irish Wolfhound puppy. The terrier would, however, wait for the Wolfhound to take a bite of dinner then nip him on the rear. Of course, the Wolfhound would turn around to respond and drop the food from his mouth, which the terrier would then graciously accept as a “gift.” There are stories of dogs who will hide toys from other dogs and of those who will feign disinterest in food or a toy until the other dog abandons it.

Dogs will try these psych games on humans. Some dogs will not show injuries in order to keep participating in a loved activity. Others will fake a limp for attention. Dogs will lie about the need to go outside in order to get their owners up and playing with them. There are dogs who will, after eating, work very hard to convince one owner that the other has not yet fed them.

Do dogs actually lie? Can they be devious? Are they manipulators? If so, is it possible they really did urinate on your rug (or worse, your brother-in-law) because they wanted to make a point? Trainers will, of course, say “no, dogs don't engage in spiteful behavior.” I must admit, I am slowly beginning to question that.

For dogs to lie or to be spiteful, there are two requirements: a moral code and theory of mind. Neither of these is an easy topic to cover and both are topics that make for good research at outstanding universities. Currently, such research is underway.

Moral codes are difficult because they are so diverse and dependent on culture. Still, if an animal is ethical, there are certain qualities that should be observable. Mark Bekoff, Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado – Boulder, is well-known and well-respected for his research regarding animal behavior. His book, Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals, co-authored by Jessica Pierce, points to canine play behaviors which suggest a moral code: dogs handicap themselves when playing with dogs who are smaller; they like fair play and dislike cheaters; they defend loved ones and grieve at their loss; they “apologize” when they are wrong.

It's often thought that dogs only engage in behaviors which will benefit themselves. I think of the video which went viral some years ago. It showed a dog helping another dog which had been injured on the interstate

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5OEKA47xFI&feature=related). It's difficult to find an explanation that defines how this behavior was only of benefit to the rescuing dog. Perhaps dogs do not share an identical moral code to ours, but is it possible that we do share some common ethics?

Theory of mind – no, not a presumption that dogs have brains. We know they do, though there are days when certain dogs we love make us question that. Simply put, theory of mind means one can understand that others have thoughts separate from his own. This is far more controversial and difficult to prove. Can dogs read our minds? Probably not, but Dr. Alexandra Horowitz, author of Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, writes that when dogs play, they seem to understand that “not only must you communicate to the faces of other dogs—but you must also attend to an invisible feature of them—a feature that between humans we call “attention”--in order to

communicate, and thus play together.”

So, does Gizmo know that chewing your favorite pair of shoes when you leave him behind is wrong (you share a moral code) and also that you will be mad at him for doing so (he knows that you will think he is evil)? That might be stretching it a bit. It's the kind of logic that makes trainers cringe because the outcome will usually mean Gizmo will be punished, sometimes harshly. The punishment may take place long after the deed has been committed, far too late for the dog to connect the two.

It wasn't that long ago that scientists believed animals could neither feel pain nor have emotions. As Jeffrey Masson writes in his book Dogs Never Lie About Love, “Many scientists regard even the notion that animals feel pain as the grossest sort of anthropomorphic error and referring to deep emotions in animals as a grave mistake, even a sin.” Advancements in science have begun to show us animals do feel both pain and emotion. In the meantime, as long as we don't use our suspicions of ulterior motives as an excuse to take out our anger on Rover, what harm is caused by viewing his behavior as an attempt to manipulate us or to express his thoughts? Dogs may or may not attempt to deceive us to get what they want, but I agree with the book title: Dogs never lie about love.