As highly social animals, dogs have evolved with an ability to mimic behaviors of their fellow canines. Learning from other dogs is a natural part of their social interaction and plays a crucial role in their development and understanding of the world around them. 

Here are some ways in which dogs can change their behavior as a direct result from proximity to other dogs:

Imitation

Research shows that due to their social nature, dogs are hardwired to exhibit allelomimetic behavior (the mimicry of other dogs). When the behavior then produces a consequence (a reward or a punishment), the mimicking dog learns from the experience. A puppy, for example, may copy an older dog sitting at a door, and then benefit from this mimicked behavior when a human opens the door (assuming the open door is a desired consequence). While the puppy did not intentionally sit as a way to make the door open, their mimicked behavior provided a desirable consequence, which in turn reinforced the behavior.

Behavioral Feedback

Dogs actively communicate with one another through body language, vocalizations, and other signals, all of which produce a variety of consequences for other dogs in their environment (who are also offering communication of their own!). By observing and engaging with socially savvy dogs, younger or more inexperienced communicators can learn how to understand and respond to different cues and social signals. If a puppy’s behavior is too rough during play, for example, another dog may respond by ending the play session or having a corrective response. This, in turn, teaches a puppy how to play in a socially appropriate way so that they can maintain playmates. Note that this is not a service humans can provide puppies, despite what many dark corners of the internet would have you believe.

Social Facilitation

Dogs can engage in a known behavior purely because “everyone is doing it.” While they may not know the antecedent to the behavior, nor the consequence, they will nevertheless follow the behavior of a group of other dogs. A dog may, for example, reverse direction and run the other way if they see other dogs doing the same thing. This is evolutionarily advantageous—it usually pays off when you do what others are doing. The social pressure from the group can shape a dog’s responses and choices.

Social Learning

Do dogs learn from observation without participation? Can they observe another dog perform a behavior, observe the given consequence, and make an intentional decision to either repeat the behavior for a desirable consequence or avoid the behavior for a punishing consequence? The science is still out on this one, with research studies that show dogs do engage in social learning and other studies that show they do not. Whomp whomp. 

Would you like to take a REALLY nerdy dive into the various research studies, how they compare, the conclusions drawn from each, and what it means that the studies have found opposing results? Watch Can dogs learn from each other? - Dog Science Explained, from Hutser the Husky on YouTube. She does an amazing job of summarizing the research in this area, and links all of the academic studies in the video notes.

FYI, personally speaking and solely anecdotally, I believe that dogs can and do socially learn from one another. They are such a social species, and their brains are so similar to ours, that it almost seems, like………duh. I’m interested to follow the research as it progresses.

Understanding social pressure in dogs can be very beneficial in training, as it allows trainers and pup parents to create effective strategies to increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors. DANW trainers use social pressure all the time when we take groups of dogs on hikes, host dogs in our homes for overnight boarding, or have dogs visit for our Day Camp program. As someone who hosts Board & Learns, here are just a few examples of how I leverage social pressure to train the dogs in my care:

Group Recalls

If I call “puppieeeeees,” all of the dogs who are familiar with this cue will come running to me. They know that doing so will earn them big rewards. And—thanks to imitation and social facilitation— puppies who do not know the cue will tag along after the more experienced dogs and benefit from a delicious food reinforcer.

Appropriate Play Skills

So, so, so, so much learning happens through play. Appropriate play in dogs involves interactive and engaging behavior that is friendly, non-aggressive, pain-free, and respects the boundaries of all participants. A well-matched playmate facilitates learning in bite inhibition, social etiquette, taking turns/role reversal, consent and engagement, taking breaks, and how to read another dog’s body language. 

Because puppies are awkward and can go above threshold very quickly, the younger the pair, the more I am involved in the management and training of a play session. If I have my dog JoJo as a puppy’s playmate, or another adult dog with solid communication skills, I will take more of a back seat so that the elder dog can enforce boundaries in a simple, harmless, and no-nonsense way. And, while dogs can learn from humans, they do their very best learning from other dogs.

Desensitization and Counterconditioning

Social pressure can be very helpful for dogs that have phobias involving common locations, situations, surfaces, and sensations. Sometimes, the motivation to follow a dog friend, continue a game, solicit engagement, or respond to engagement can outweigh the fear. A great example of this is Acer Mae the Cattle Dog mix, who is very fearful of hard and reflective surfaces like tile and hardwood floors. When she is playing with another dog in my house, however, she finds their triggers more tolerable. This is because Acer loves playing with other dogs and experiences more reinforcement from playing with her friends than aversion to following them over the hardwood floors. In this way, she gets self-led, gentle, and gradual exposure to her triggers (desensitization) along with a constructive shift in her emotional state (counter-conditioning).

Settle

Dogs are very susceptible to the energy of a space or a situation. If I have JoJo engage in calming behaviors that she already knows (deep breaths, relaxed downs, soft eyes, etc)—and/or I have another dog at my house who has these skills in their toolkit—it will be much easier for a newcomer to feel calm and focused, which will then increase the chance of them developing better emotional regulation skills.

Social pressure in dogs can also lead to dogs making choices that humans find undesirable, so it’s important to manage a dog’s environment to ensure the right kind of learning is taking place. A dog is far more likely to bark when another dog barks, for example, even if they are not aware of the underlying reason. Other fun social-pressure-goes-wrong items include:

• Learning that the one who jumps on people the most gets the most human attention.
• Learning that the way to get food off of the counter is by regularly checking for food on the counter.
• Learning that following a rabbit off of a hiking trail is a great idea.
• Learning they should hide when it’s bath time.
• Learning that playing keep-away with things like electronic equipment is super fun.
• Learning that other puppies are too rough and might hurt them.

If your dog is a singleton in your family (as most dogs are), do your best to give them access to safe and fear-free interactions with dogs that are known to be appropriate communicators. This could mean: attending puppy or teen socials, where dogs of a similar age get to play while under the management and supervision of a trainer; arranging playdates with other members of your puppy’s socialization or basic skills class (to ensure everyone is on the same page); inviting friends’ dogs over to play if the experience would be fun and beneficial for both dogs; or sending your dog on off-leash services with a qualified trainer (we know this awesome company who has lots of options!). 

Lesson Activity

Recommended Media for Leveraging Social Pressure

• Read: Dogs Learn by Modeling the Behavior of Other Dogs, Stanley Coren, Psychology Today
• Read: Young Dogs Learn from Older Well-Behaved Dogs, Pat Miller, Whole Dog Journal
• Read: Training ‘Do As I Do’, Jennifer Cattet, PetTutor
• Watch: Social Conformity Video, Candid Camera, YouTube
  Haven’t seen this? You simply must. Click now. It’s amazing.
• Watch: Patient dog teaches young puppy how to use the pet door, newsflare YouTube
• Watch: Good Dogs Practice - positive and negative peer pressure on display, joelsdogbehavior, YouTube
  Note: this is not a channel I follow! I have not vetted the trainer’s methods, but I think this particular video is worth watching.
• Nerd Out by Listening/Watching: Can dogs learn from each other? - Dog Science Explained, Hutser the Husky, YouTube