The Biosensor or Super Dog Program

Jones

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I was reminded of this program when I was listening to the Mind Matters talk 'How Universities are Destroying Young Minds with Pathological Thinking - Why College Students are like Mean Toddlers'

The Biosensor or Super Dog Program was developed based on studies Scott & Fuller at the Bar Harbour, Main where studies funded by the Rockefeller foundation were conducted into psychology/behaviour. This is interesting because the PTB know how to create confidence and resilience, but they seem to make policies based on the opposite! Even though dogs were used as the experimental subjects at Bar Harbour, the studies were conducted to understand human behaviour.

Basically the Biosensor/Super Dog Program adds minor and novel stressors, that would not ordinarily be encountered in it's environment, to a baby puppies early environment rather than protecting them from all stressors for the purpose of neurological stimulation.

Starting at 3 days of age, puppies are removed from the litter and exposed to a stressor for no more than 3 - 5 seconds, then replaced back with the litter. This introduces the puppy to the idea that it can feel stressed, but more importantly, it can recover from stress.

There are 5 stimulation exercises in this early program : 3 - 16 days
  1. Tactile stimulation - holding the pup in one hand, the handler gently stimulates (tickles) the pup between the toes on any one foot using a Q-tip. It is not necessary to see that the pup is feeling the tickle. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.
  2. Head held erect - using both hands, the pup is held perpendicular to the ground, (straight up), so that its head is directly above its tail. This is an upwards position. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.
  3. Head pointed down - holding the pup firmly with both hands the head is reversed and is pointed downward so that it is pointing towards the ground. Time of stimulation 3 - 5 seconds.
  4. Supine position - hold the pup so that its back is resting in the palm of both hands with its muzzle facing the ceiling. The pup while on its back is allowed to sleep. Time of stimulation 3-5 seconds.
  5. Thermal stimulation—use a damp towel that has been cooled in a refrigerator for at least five minutes. Place the pup on the towel, feet down. Do not restrain it from moving. Time of stimulation 3-5 seconds.
The program continues after 16 days of age with socialisation and environmental enrichment.

The puppies that were exposed to the Biosensor/Super Dog Program in comparison to those that were not showed the following characteristics:

- More confident/relaxed
- More likely to explore and show curiosity to novel stimuli
- Had stronger adrenal glands
- Had higher stress thresholds
- Had stronger cardiovascular systems
- Had stronger immune systems.
- Recovered faster from stressful events.

During the course of these studies it was found that 35% percent of stress behaviour or reaction could be attributed to genetic temperament and 65% to environmental/learning/management practices during the development of the dog. This program was adopted for the foundational training/conditioning of military dogs.

Here's an article that goes into more detail about the Biosensor/Superdog program:

Even though the exercise is to stimulate the puppy, there's a warning against overstimulating them because it's counterproductive for the pup to learn that it can't cope with stress. In the video below, the lady stops the stimulation when the puppy gets too distressed. She starts the stimulation exercises around 5:15 and note that she immediately puts the pup back with the dam so that it can calm.

 
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