1 . Parenting techniques may have long lasting consequences for behavior—even when it comes to dogs.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania studied the early development, parenting and the following performance of 98 puppies who underwent guide dog training. Dogs who received more independence and less support from their mothers were more likely to be successful in becoming a guide dog. The study was published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Mom-pup interactions were used to define how highly involved the puppy’s mothers were. Puppies raised with highly involved mothers were more likely to be released—or dropped out from the guide dog program—compared to those with less attentive mothers.
“Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing,” said lead study researcher Emily Bray. Although the study couldn’t definitely point to what was driving this effect, “one possibility is that the dogs that are having overbearing(专横的)mothers are never given the chance to deal with small challenges on their own, and is harmful to their later behavior and outcome in their problem solving. Another possibility is that the puppies for whom the mothers are always around are also the most anxious or stressed,” she explained.
“What I was happy about was that there is a study being done about early life experiences in dogs,” another researcher Dolores Hole said. “If the mom is trying to protect her pups against small challenges, then they will not be suited for the big challenges.”
The study included three breeds(品种):German shepherds, Labrador retrievers and Golden retrievers. The puppies were followed from the first weeks of life for several years. Interestingly, Labrador retrievers tended to wash out from the program, while Golden retrievers tended to succeed.
As for whether the findings can be applied to human babies of so-called “helicopter parents,” Bray was hesitant.
“I think people can draw parallels(相似之处), but I think you also have to be careful because they are different species,” she said.
She added, “The nice thing about dogs is that they are a lot less complicated than humans.”
1. What makes successful guide dogs according to the study?| A．Less attentive owners. | B．More practical training. |
| C．Less supportive mothers. | D．More tense environment. |
| A．The necessity of mom-pup interactions. |
| B．Some characteristics of good guide dogs. |
| C．The significance of high parental involvement. |
| D．Potential causes of some puppies’ poor performance. |
| A．They choose to stay. | B．They fail to be qualified. |
| C．They rise to challenges. | D．They are easy to notice. |
| A．Parenting techniques can apply to guide dogs |
| B．Guide dogs are less complicated than humans |
| C．Researchers help raise public awareness of blind people |
| D．A study is done about early life experiences of human babies |
