Pairs Perform Better Than Individuals

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funded a study that showed two perform better than one—even when participants felt the other person was a hindrance.

Can the study, published in the May 2006 issue of Psychological Science, helps us work better with herding, agility, or police dogs? Let’s look at what the study found:

Even when two people could not see or speak with each other, and did not have a previous history of working together, they quickly developed a pattern so that one assumed part of the task and the other assumed another part of the task.

Many participants felt their partners were a hindrance, even when the task was going smoothly.

Because participants could not speak with each other, they were prevented from criticizing each other.

When working with dogs do we remember that our dogs are better at performing many parts of the task than we are? Or, are we like participants in the NSF study, secretly believing our working partner is inefficient? Do we undermine our dog’s performance by communicating that we’re disappointed? Could we, like these participants, become more successful if we were forbidden to speak while working?

One of the challenges of working with dogs is that they often pick up our disappointment even if we don’t voice it. Since research suggests two perform better than one, would it be possible for us to trust in this knowledge and stop correcting our working, herding, or agility dogs? According to this research, the odds are we’d perform better.

This NSF research did not extend into the area of continued improvement, but we all know what makes our dogs perform better: love and rewards. We begin training dogs by rewarding them immediately after the performance of a desired behavior to reinforce the behavior. We should also be rewarding them when they are away from their work so that they are consistently reminded of how important they are to us. Among the best rewards are dried liver treats.

If you’re working with a dog and are convinced it’s not performing up to potential, focus on improving its ability to learn. Use Omega 3 fatty acids to nourish your dog’s brain. Research done by Hills and dog nutraceutical companies has shown that Omega 3 fatty acids improve trainability and learning in puppies and in adults.

By using the best products to support brain growth and trainability, and the healthiest treats, we increase the probability that our dogs will perform optimally.