How I Learned to Love My Dog By Observing His Behavior

The author describes the early days of living with Freddie, a dog who had just arrived a week prior. After a walk in the park with Freddie, the author returns home and sits on the couch with shoes still on. Freddie jumps beside them and places two paws on the author’s shoulder, wagging his tail and yawning. The author feels Freddie’s expectation but doesn’t know how to respond. They give Freddie a chewy treat, but he soon returns, nudging the author’s cheek with his wet nose. By 1 PM, the author has already walked Freddie, ensured he eliminated, fed him, and engaged in one play activity Freddie seemed to enjoy. The author realizes they don’t know how dogs typically spend their time or what Freddie needs beyond basic care. The author reflects on their own habits, noting they would usually spend Sunday absorbed in unproductive tasks like marking emails as unread, but today they are accountable to Freddie’s needs.

The author becomes aware of how little they understand about Freddie’s behavior, needs, and motivations. They recognize that Freddie’s actions—such as standing on their shoulder or nudging their cheek—are unclear to them. The author feels a sense of responsibility, realizing that Freddie’s experience of life depends on their own actions and understanding. This moment of realization leads the author to question what Freddie does during the day and why. To address this, the author starts a notebook titled Freddie Log to document Freddie’s activities and behaviors. In doing so, they notice they have canceled plans, left events early, skipped meals, appointments, and work tasks to accommodate Freddie. The author also realizes they spent nearly $500 on supplies like toys, food, treats, and items claiming to reduce separation anxiety, none of which worked. This spending was unplanned and charged to their credit card.

The author introduces On the Origin of Species (1859) by Charles Darwin, which includes a chapter on instinct, or the natural behaviors of animals, as part of the theory of evolution. Before Darwin, animal behavior was often studied through the lens of Carl Linnaeus’ taxonomy, which categorized species based on their divine creation rather than observable traits. Darwin’s work shifted the focus to natural processes subject to change, opening new possibilities for understanding animal behavior. Darwin argued that behaviors, like physical traits, could be explained through natural processes rather than being arbitrarily fixed. This idea laid the groundwork for the field of ethology, which emerged in early 20th-century Europe.

Ethology is a scientific field that studies animal behavior in its natural habitat, rather than in artificial settings like laboratories. Early ethologists, such as Konrad Lorenz and Niko Tinbergen, observed animals in their environments to create ethograms—detailed inventories of typical behaviors performed by an animal. These behaviors are broken down into classifications like standing, foraging, digging, or bathing, and measured by frequency and duration. Ethograms do not always lead to traditional scientific experiments or hypothesis testing; instead, pure observation and description are valued for their own sake. The author notes that ethology differs from earlier approaches that viewed animals as instruments of God, as well as from later studies that used animal behavior to understand humans.

Ethograms assign purpose to animal behaviors, revealing how an animal interacts with its environment and others. For example, a cat’s stalking and pouncing might be classified as hunting when performed in the presence of prey, but as play when done with another cat. Similarly, Niko Tinbergen studied the three-spined stickleback fish, whose zigzag swimming pattern is a courtship dance that leads a female to spawn. This behavior is categorized under reproductive behavior, and its meaning is understood within the context of the fish’s environment, such as water temperature, time of year, and nest conditions. Through ethograms, behaviors are connected to broader natural systems, giving them meaning and context.

The author reflects on the value of observing Freddie without a specific goal or agenda. They describe a moment when Freddie makes a low, plaintive sound, then stops to listen before repeating the sound. The author waits, holding the Freddie Log notebook, and realizes that nothing Freddie does is uninteresting. By observing Freddie openly, the author believes they can gain a deep understanding of him and develop a direct kind of love for him. This approach aligns with the ethological method of pure observation, where curiosity and attention to detail lead to understanding. The author suggests that through careful observation, behaviors can be explained and appreciated for their own sake, without needing to assign them to a higher purpose or mystery.