it is possible that dogs are also being conditioned to respond to additional unintentional human cues.
Because the current study did not include videotape of handler/dog team performance, there is no way to identify which conclusion would be appropriate. Observer coding of dog behavior was not likely to improve the reliability of the data acquired because the double-blind study design had the potential for the observers to be subject to the same biases as the handlers. In fact, it is possible that the observers were subject to greater biases than the handlers, since they were able to observe every dog twice. Therefore, observer coding would have been subject to the same possible explanations as the handlers, and further subject to question according to level of observer experience with working dogs. Future studies should directly explore underlying factors responsible for the false alerts as this will improve development of effective remedies to optimize performance.
it is possible that even highly trained dogs might respond to subtle, unintentional handler cues
When considering alternative explanations for the incorrect responses, it is further possible that some alerts resulted from target scent contamination during initial setup of conditions
Have either of you two LIEberTARDians ever hunted upland game with setters or pointing dogs?