I often joke that men are reliable, sows can climb trees, and many seemingly impossible things become possible in the end. Just like Murphy's law says, anything that can happen will definitely happen, and everything is possible. !So it is not impossible for a dog to be able to count, and it is completely trainable.

Recently, two counting puppies appeared outside the Forbidden City in Shenyang. There is a small mechanism made of wooden boards in front of the two puppies. When the dogs step on the wooden board, the copper cymbals tied to the other end of the wooden board will ring. The number they calculate is how many times they tap. In fact, dogs don’t really do arithmetic, they just form memories after repeated training and stimulation.

The reason why most dogs who can count can only do relatively simple arithmetic is not because dogs really know how to calculate, but because these simple calculations are relatively easier to train, and dogs are more capable. easy to remember. The reason why dogs can calculate simple calculations is because after long-term stimulation, dogs have a certain memory of these numbers, and with correct training, they can achieve the purpose of calculation. So if we use the right method, we can also train dogs that can calculate.

1. Commands and gestures

The training command is "call". In the hand gesture command, the dog handler extends the fingers of his left hand to command the dog to bark. During the performance, he uses his left hand to secretly command the dog. The trick to training is to let the trained dog bark according to the number of fingers stretched out on the handler's left hand. For example, if you stretch out 1 finger, the dog barks 1 time; if you stretch out 2 fingers, the dog barks 2 times; if you stretch out 5 fingers, the dog barks 2 times. , the dog barked 5 times. The dog handler writes on the blackboard with his right hand, so the hand gesture command to direct the dog to bark can only be issued with his left hand.

2. Training process and methods

During training, use your right hand to write some numbers or calculations on the blackboard, use the five fingers of your left hand to command the dog, use the dog's visual function to recognize the different gesture commands of the dog trainer, and bark according to the different gesture commands of the dog trainer. .

1. The beginning of training. The dog trainer issues the "bark" command, and at the same time uses his left hand to issue a gesture command of extending his thumb and curling the other four fingers, and commands the dog to bark once. When the dog barks, immediately give him meat and other routine rewards to solidify the dog's conditioned reflex of barking according to the owner's gestures. Train 4 to 6 times a day, 10 minutes each time, train continuously for 2 to 3 days, and then proceed to the next step of training after consolidation.

2. The dog trainer issues the "bark" command, stretches out the thumb and index finger of his left hand to instruct the dog to bark, and commands the dog to bark 2 times in a row. When the dog barks, immediately give the dog meat and other routine rewards to consolidate the dog's conditioned reflex of barking twice in succession according to the handler's gestures. Then carry out consolidation training according to the above method.

3. During training, the owner holds out three fingers and commands the dog to bark three times. The dog barked three times in a row and immediately gave routine rewards such as meat, which consolidated the dog's conditioned reflex of visually recognizing the owner's barking with different gestures. Then carry out consolidation training according to step 1, so that the dog can bark accurately according to the different gestures extended by the owner.

4. During training, the dog trainer uses his left hand to open the little finger, index finger, middle finger, and ring finger but curl the thumb, and commands the trained dog to bark 4 times in a row. If the dog does it, immediately give the dog meat and other routine rewards to consolidate the dog's conditioned reflex of barking based on visual observation of the owner's different gestures. Consolidation training 1 is carried out. If wrong barking occurs, it should be corrected through training.

5. Final training. The dog handler stretches out his open-fingered palm and commands the dog to bark five times. If the dog does it, immediately give him a routine reward such as meat.

6. Review and consolidate training. The first is that the dog trainer constantly changes the gestures of extending different fingers to instruct the puppy to bark accurately; the second is that at this training stage, the verbal command is gradually cancelled, and gradually the dog is commanded to bark completely according to the owner's gestures of extending different numbers of fingers. , prepare for performance training.

This approach may be somewhat suspected of cheating, and the calculation range is relatively small, but the results are faster. If you rely solely on stimulation training to force your dog to remember arithmetic within 20, it may take a certain amount of time. But in the final analysis, the ability of dogs to count is not a real calculation, but a habit usually developed by long-term training, or a conditioned reflex.