Observational learning of an acquired maternal behaviour pattern by working dog pups: an alternative training method?

Abstract German shepherd pups from untrained bitches and bitches trained in the location of narcotics were either separated from their mothers at 6 weeks (standard raised) or at 3 months of age (extended maternal care). Pups with extended maternal care which were allowed to observe their trained mothers locating and retrieving a sachet of odour-producing narcotic between the ages of 6 and 12 weeks performed the same task significantly better than non-exposed pups when tested at the age of 6 months, without further reinforcement during the interim period. This difference in performance was independent of the duration of maternal care or maternal origin of the pups and was attributed to differences in early experience acquired through observational learning.

[1]  T. Zentall,et al.  Social learning : psychological and biological perspectives , 1988 .

[2]  Thomas R. Zentall,et al.  Imitation and social facilitation in the pigeon , 1976 .

[3]  J. P. Scott,et al.  Critical periods in the organization of systems. , 2004, Developmental psychobiology.

[4]  P. Chesler Maternal Influence in Learning by Observation in Kittens , 1969, Science.

[5]  R. Tuttle PROGRESS IN PRIMATOLOGY , 1968 .

[6]  C. K. Tayler,et al.  Imitative Behaviour By Indian Ocean Bottlenose Dolphins (t uRsiops Aduncus) in Captivity , 1973 .

[7]  P. Klopfer,et al.  Parental Care in Mammals , 1981, Springer US.

[8]  Bennett G. Galef Information centres of norway rats: sites for information exchange and information parasitism , 1991, Animal Behaviour.

[9]  B. Galef,et al.  A historical perspective on recent studies of social learning about foods by Norway rats. , 1990, Canadian journal of psychology.

[10]  B. Galef Functions of social learning about food: a causal analysis of effects of diet novelty on preference transmission , 1993, Animal Behaviour.

[11]  B. Galef Social interaction modifies learned aversions, sodium appetite, and both palatability and handling-time induced dietary preference in rats (Rattus norvegicus). , 1986, Journal of comparative psychology.

[12]  G. Davey,et al.  Animal Learning and Conditioning , 1981 .

[13]  P. Klopfer Observational Learning in Birds: the Establishment of Behavioral Modes , 1961 .

[14]  T R Zentall,et al.  Observational Learning and Social Facilitation in the Rat , 1972, Science.

[15]  O. Rasa,et al.  The effect of early separation from the mother on pups in bonding to humans and pup health. , 1993, Journal of the South African Veterinary Association.