When I moved to my new home a couple months ago, I also got two dogs, as the dogs came with the property. They were wonderful dogs, except that they would chase cars constantly, and seriously almost get run over every time. They would weave in front of and beside the car like crazy. I would scream out of the window "YOU STUPID FUCKING DOG I COULD'VE KILLED YOU GO BACK HOME!!. I would honk the horn to scare him, or stop the car, get out and walk him home, but I couldn't break his habit. One day Russell and Peanut got separated, and peanut was found 4 miles from home, dead on a road. Russell was sad as crap, but it seems he never knew why his friend was gone, only that he was lonely. I should note here that I live in a large family, enough to keep Russell busy, but they were no replacement for Peanut. The chasing only got worse, as he would do things he wouldn't do with his friend there. One day, I get home and hear that Russell's been hit with a car-but he's alive, and with very minor injuries. That couldn't have gone any better. He walked with a limp for more than a week, but has fully recovered. He finally stopped chasing cars, and is still as playful as ever. He can still play fetch (that's right, he's remotely trainable). My point is, animals have odd mentalities, in which instincts and learned behaviour are involved at different scales for specific animals. For many dogs and for many situations, dogs need to be taught through direct personal experience, unfortunate risks and all, and have to 'touch the stove'.

Okay, I guess my real point here is that you're wrong about animals doing the same stupid thing over and over again. They don't and they (mostly) learn like us. We'd chase cars too if not for communicated knowledge that something bad could happen, and some people still do!