Why did he do that?

There are, however, some patterns not easily explicable in the natural context.

There was a case reported to a veterinary ethologist of a Jack Russell Terrier that used to stamp out fires. How did the dog come to do this? The owner used to allocate a corner section of the garden area for the purpose of burning harmless combustible materials. The pet had been exposed to his owner’s pyromaniac behaviour for quite a few years, when the dog suddenly developed the compulsion to charge at the fire and stomp all over the burning material until he had satisfactorily extinguished the flames.

The Jack Russell pursued this passion with incredible focus and energy, panting heavily in the process. The latter could have been a combination of the environmental heat and anxiety. Initially, the owner suspected it was a once-off bizarre response but the dog continued to exhibit this behaviour whenever an accessible fire was lit. In fear of causing pedal burns to his dog, the owner had to seriously alter his method of discarding those materials and took even further precautions whenever he prepared or used a braai in the garden. What thought process triggered this behaviour?

There was a Standard Poodle that acquired an unexplainable eating behaviour. Every time the dog’s pellets were placed in its metal bowl, he would eat only one half of the full portion. This may sound normal for any dog not entirely in favour of the food flavour and texture. The difference in this situation was that he would only ingest the chunks on one side of the bowl leaving a clear space on the one side and a full level of pellets on the other side with a perfect dividing line. It was always the left side of the bowl which was eaten as the dog was standing over it.

Can a dog determine left or right? On questioning the poodle’s owner, it was suspected this may have been a conditioned secondary response to having had to share a food bowl with another pup from its litter during its impressionable imprinting period or another canine companion in adulthood. However, this dog had never shared its dish with any other dog! Could the reflection in the metal bowl have been a disturbing deterrent?

> More examples in next week’s column.

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