Incidental Learning in Dogs – Oh My Dog!

Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?

You’re heading out to a restaurant to meet some friends. You’re on the phone with your mom talking over the plans and you accidentally say, “We’re going to grab dinner.”

At the word “dinner,” your dog leaps to her feet and runs into the kitchen to await her bowl.

Or, you’re getting ready to leave the house. You say to your partner, “Did you put gas in the c-a-r?” Because you know if you say “car,” your dog will be off like a rocket, ready for a ride.

Or, maybe, your dog knows “vet” means, well, the vet. So, you have to carefully talk around it while preparing for an appointment so your pup doesn’t run off and hide. “We need to get his poop sample for the puppy doctor.”

Or, really, any other words associated with something your dog wants (or does not want): treat, walk, cat, and so on.

In each of these instances, you’re seeing the results of incidental learning at work!

Social learning, latent learning, incidental learning, canine learning theory: What does it all mean?

Let’s do a quick definition breakdown.

First of all, latent learning, incidental learning, and implicit learning all mean pretty much the same thing. Generally, incidental and implicit learning describe human learning, while latent learning describes animal learning. Why? I don’t know. But they all refer to the same process of acquiring knowledge incidentally.

A helpful definition (bolded sections are my emphasis):

Incidental learning is unintentional or unplanned learning that results from other activities. …

Incidental learning occurs in many ways, including the following: through observation, repetition, social interaction, and problem solving; from implicit meanings in the classroom or workplace policies or expectations; by watching or talking to colleagues or experts about tasks; and from being forced to accept or adapt to situations. Incidental learning is situated, contextual, and social.

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED446234#:~:text=Incidental%20learning%20occurs%20in%20many,forced%20to%20accept%20or%20adapt

Your dog (and your kid, spouse, coworker…) is learning all the time without intending to learn. So, unlike studying or memorizing or sitting in a classroom purposefully acquiring information, incidental learning happens without intention.

I learned a bunch of interesting US history from watching Hamilton. I didn’t watch it to learn. I wanted it to be entertained and learned facts incidentally.

While playing board games, a kid learns basic addition as he moves his piece according to what he rolls on two dice. He isn’t meaning to learn that a 2 roll plus a 3 roll equals moving 5 squares. Same with kids who learn how to read a map while playing a video game. The learning is incidental to the fun.

How do dogs learn incidentally?

A few examples from the dogs who have been in my life:

Through repetition, Emmett learned that when he got a bath in the morning, he was going to work as a therapy dog.

Through problem solving, Cooper learned he could pop open his crate himself. He shoved the pan out from underneath first because it forced the back hinges open and he could wiggle out.

Through social interaction, Penny learned she can get pets immediately if she bops you with her nose.

I’d love to know what you’ve observed your dog learning incidentally. What does your dog know that you didn’t intentionally teach?

Is this type of learning good or bad?

It is what it is. I’ve seen so many posts about “how do I get my dog to stop xyz” or “to do abc.” Well, when we (or our dogs) acquire information incidentally, it’s pretty anchored in and can only be changed intentionally.

For Penny’s example, the nose bopping is super annoying. She does it whenever she wants attention, and it can be disruptive. For instance, she spends a good chunk of the morning shoving my arm off my mouse and keyboard seeking attention when I’m trying to start my work day. Not ideal. But, also, not something I’m going to work hard on to correct because she eventually takes a toy and goes to the couch.

For dogs who learn words (car, dinner, cooking, walk), humans can use it to our advantage to encourage the behavior we want. And, when we don’t want the behavior, we’re equipped to come up with lots of synonyms and codes to not spark the response.

How is incidental learning different from classical or operant conditioning?

Classical conditioning informs the most basic dog training methods. The famous example, of course, demonstrated dogs learned that a bell signified food was on the way. Over time, this research led to clicker training: a behavior earns a click and the click means a reward is on the way!

This can happen incidentally. For instance, if each time you lift the leash off its hook by the door, it makes a little jingle sound, your dog will likely learn through repetition that hearing the jingle means he’s going for a walk.

However, classical conditioning is often intentional, not incidental.

Operant conditioning focuses on the consequence of a behavior. Modern, science-based trainers use positive reinforcement these days (using treats or praise to encourage a specific behavior). Sometimes the consequence is incidental (usually referred to as a natural consequence) like when a dog jumps up on the kitchen counters while you’re at work and indulges in the bag of bagels left out.

How does a dog with a disability learn this way?

This gets to the heart of why I started researching this.

So much incidental learning happens with a daily routine (observation and repetition) and then becomes habituated. For instance, if it’s near-ish to 5 PM, as soon as I open the silverware drawer, Ripley assumes I’m about to feed them, so she runs to the kitchen. Penny, without any hearing, has not yet made any association with meal times.

When we talk about car, vet, treat, and so on, she’s not picking anything up incidentally.

Does she need to? No. Of course not.

Would it be helpful? Absolutely. For her and for me.

She is learning incidentally from observation, social interaction, and problem solving, and less so through repetition–at least that I’ve observed–but her behavior isn’t showing me that she’s acquired a whole lot of information incidentally yet.

Luckily, when Astrid was a baby and enrolled in our state’s early intervention program, one of our therapists spoke extensively about how vital incidental learning is to kids. She suggested we sign or narrate everything so Astrid could pick up on the things she couldn’t via her ears. I’m theorizing / wondering that consistently signing with Penny might help her acquire information incidentally, too. So, I’m going to give it a whirl.

Let me know if you’re interested in a deeper, more specific exploration of incidental learning in dogs with disabilities like deaf, blind, deafblind, and so on.

5 ways to promote incidental learning in your dog:

You can capitalize on the incidental learning process if you have something specific in mind you want your dog to learn that you don’t know how to or don’t want to train.

1. Teach your dog directly but in an incidental way. Let’s say you want your dog to “check in” with you when you’re out on a hike. Whether you haven’t yet started training or hit a snag, try an incidental route. Allow your dog to sniff and explore, but pay extremely close attention and reward your dog for any check in without asking for it. Eventually, those check ins will become automatic.
2. Put your dog in situations where incidental learning can occur. This means you need to be intentional with your behavior, the words you use, and how you dole out rewards. Of course, that doesn’t mean all day long, but rather only around those tasks or skills you want your dog to learn.
3. Follow your dog’s interests. Got a dog who loves to play ball but who barks her face off at the doorbell? Use it! Toss her a ball when the doorbell rings. Perhaps, over time, she’ll run to grab her ball when she hears the bell.
4. Ensure attention. If you want your dog to learn something from watching you, first make sure your dog is paying attention to you! This can be as simple as calling his or her name or as even just waiting to do something until your pup looks over at you naturally.
5. Sprinkle in learning with fun. If you’re playing tug, work on an automatic sit or heel or whatever behavior you want to put on autopilot. In between play bouts, encourage the behavior. Your dog is focused on the fun while acquiring new skills.

What has your dog learned unintentionally? Has this post sparked any ideas for how to capitalize on incidental learning? share in the comments!

BTW, if you enjoyed this post, I’m thrilled! And you’ll probably enjoy my forthcoming book, For the Love of Dog, from Regalo Press in February 2025. It’s chock full of the latest research in canine cognition combined with stories of my dogs to bring that research to life.

To stay up-to-date on the latest with my publication news, please join the mailing list or follow along on Instagram. I’d love to connect with you more!

Photo by Amy Starr on Unsplash

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