Dog Days Of Ataxia

here is a link to the audio version, in case you would rather listen to this blog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSl7xpKB5TI

    Pavlov's dog? Who among us hasn't heard of the famous experiments from the 1890's by a renowned psychologist named Ivan Pavlov who worked with dogs and came up with his brilliant Pavlovian theory? Mr. Pavlov used a bell as a neutral stimulus and every time he rang the bell he would give the dog a treat. Until the dog began to associate the ringing of a bell with the treat and the reward was no longer necessary for the dog to respond to the sound. Pavlov and his studies of classical conditioning have become famous.They were the first systematic study and showed us the fundamental laws of learning and conditioning.

    Now I am not a brilliant psychologist, and this is not the 1890's, but the 2014's. However, I have trained my dog in what I would like to present to you as the grand Honey Nut Cheerio experiment, which I am sure will go down in history as bringing some crucial insight into the psyche of the dog.

    My theory was that in my dog's mind food would trump everything, including sleep. First, allow me to set the stage for you, so you have a better understanding.   Our little male dog Ollie had been sleeping with my daughter, but ever since she went away to college, he has been sleeping in our bed. Melissa and I always get up at five in the morning or shortly after that.  We get our coffee and then return to our room where we sit and try to wake up until she has to get ready for work which is about 6 am. I let Ollie stay in bed under the covers until that time, and then I get him up and take him outside. I have a recliner in my room that I sit in and as soon as he comes back inside, he runs into the room and jumps up on the chair and curls up and sleeps until 9 am. Nothing disturbs him, and if he thinks there is a chance that you are going to move him, he will give you a look as you pass by.

    Nothing will get him up except for the sound of food hitting the kitchen floor. Every morning I pour myself a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios and even though I am careful I usually end up spilling some on the floor,(that little reference right there was how I justified putting the word Ataxia in the title for this blog). He quickly learned that I do this and he is always listening for it. This morning, however, I was able to fill my bowl without spilling any of the Cheerios successfully, and so he did not bother himself to move off the chair,(the food has to hit the floor which indicates that it is now primarily free food and up for grabs).


    So this is where my experiment came in. I decided to flick a Cheerio onto the floor and see what happened. Sure enough, he came tearing around the corner within about two seconds and was able to zero right in on the fallen object like he had actually witnessed it hit the floor and knew exactly where the little treasure lay. After "spilling" several more Cheerios,( I felt he had made an effort to come so I had to give him a few more), he returned to the chair and went back to sleep. Not only was this an important scientific experiment, but it also served to provide the morning entertainment. Sometimes, it's just about the little things.