Is My Dog Mad at Me?

A friend remarked to
us recently that every time she goes out of town and leaves her dog, Mason, with
Sarah, a close friend, Mason always defecates overnight in one particular spot
in Sarah's house. Mason will occasionally do this at home, but not on a regular
basis, and the dog is quite familiar with both Sarah and her home.

Our friend could not
figure out any possible reason why Mason would be doing this, and therefore
concluded that it had to be because Mason was mad at her for leaving him.

We've been
discussing what's behind this common tendency to jump on anthropomorphic
explanations as the very first or most likely reason for a pet's behavior.
Perhaps it's because most pet owners believe they are the simplest explanation
for their pets' behaviors. As behaviorists, we view them as just the opposite –
as the most complex. Let's take a look at why.

If Mason was
defecating in the house because he was mad about being left behind, his thought
processes must have gone something like this: "Left behind again huh? I am so
mad at my mom for doing this to me! What can I do to let her know how upset I
am? I know how much she thinks of Sarah, and I bet she would just DIE if I
messed in her house. After all, my poop is pretty nasty smelling so I'm sure
Sarah will NOT enjoy cleaning it up. Wait until Sarah tells my mom what I've
done. That'll teach my mom that leaving me behind has consequences and she
better not do it ever again!"

Now, we hope that
sounds as ridiculous to you as it did to us when we wrote it! It should
illustrate why attributing spite and revengeful motivations to animals are in
actuality complicated explanations rather than simple ones.

What might be some
simpler explanations for Mason's behavior? Mason's schedule might be different
in Sarah's home, causing his patterns of elimination to shift. Sarah might not
be in the habit of giving Mason a last potty break right before bed or perhaps
Sarah is giving him more treats than he usually gets at home. Mason might be
afraid to go outside at Sarah's place because of even one experience with a
startling noise (anything from construction equipment to thunder). Mason might
be a bit anxious away from mom, even though Sarah is familiar to him. Perhaps
Mason doesn't like the texture of what is available for elimination in the yard.
He may have only had access to a graveled dog run rather than the grass he may
be accustomed to.

These are all more
straightforward explanations than invoking the higher thought processes required
for spite to be the motivation for Mason's defecation. A well established
principle in the study of animal behavior is that of parsimony. Also known as
Occum's Razor, it mandates choosing the simplest explanation for a behavior that
accounts for the facts, even if more complicated options are available.