Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words
my grandmother used to say that if you
drag a dog in your home someday you’re
going to be very sad
I don’t live forever Jasha was a member
of the family and when he died it it
threw me more than I realized
and I said to myself all night I never
have another dog time passed and
fortunately my wife sally was smarter
she knew me and knows me better than I
know myself so Sally told me one day
just before Christmas you’re going to
have a new dog and that made me happy
this is where it all started we had
chase her for several weeks before we
even gave her her name anything that
moves she wants to chase we could not
have named her better the daily routine
is primarily play play is the major
major reinforcer for Chase is learning
too often dog owners use food only as a
reinforcer for behaviors we have found
that play is infinitely greater than
food it’s not as distracting and dogs
don’t dissociate on play play has to
depend upon the dog’s basic innate
endowment as far as instincts are
concerned her primary instinct is to
herd these instincts are so endowed with
in different species that the expression
of these you’ll tremendous joy to the
dog and really really powerfully
reinforce the behaviors that they follow
I have been tremendously surprised by
chasers intelligence she knows the names
of over a thousand objects chase knows
powderpuff good girl chase knows frisbee
know sweetie good go
chase take peanuts good girl good girl
okay out to powderpuff take frisbee do
it go do it do it do it go good good
girl
it’s anomalies that causes scientists to
change their metaphor but to change
their paradigm especially now in the
light of what chaser has learned
learning the names of over a thousand
objects learning by means of exclusion
these kind of findings definitely show
that lower animals especially dogs not
machines with
they have emotions they have mental
processes this book is different because
it actually confirms what dog lovers
have always known dogs are smarter than
we think
you
you
