Positive Reinforcement. Balanced. Compulsion. Force Free. Science Based. Clicker Training. Nothing In Life Is Free. Shock Jock. Behaviour Adjustment Training.
The list goes on and on and on and on and on….
Different types of training, different methods, protocols, ideas, etc etc. Type in “how to train a dog” in a search engine and you will generate thousands of different hits, many of them varying slightly and largely.
We haven’t even added in certifications and memberships.
And we also haven’t even added in education platforms…go ahead and Google “how to become a dog trainer”, the options are endless (and here’s a hint, MANY of them are useless…did you know that you don’t need any qualifications to open a “school”?).
What an overwhelming area for the novice dog owner to navigate, let alone if they have a dog with behaviour problems and need help NOW.
Never has the term “buyer beware” been most accurate then when it comes to the world of dog training. In a completely unregulated industry, saturated with people who truly do want to help dogs, the choices and options can easily cause mental overload. It seems every trainer has the “next best thing” when it comes to training ideas, and that they have discovered some awesome new magic solution to treating behaviour problems.
But here’s the thing…the honest truth…there is no “next big thing” when it comes to dog training. The world of training has become so overwhelming difficult to navigate due to every new trainer wanting to be the best of the best. In this world, it is difficult as a “science based” trainer to sit back and watch owners and new trainers get caught up in the whirlwind idea that some new gadget or training method is the sure fix to their dogs problems. It’s become overly complicated.
So let’s bring it back to basics for a while shall we?
There is one thing that all trainers should know and know well: Learning Theory. How dogs learn. Taking the time to fully and properly understand learning theory will take much longer then the results promoted from some new trend, but it is so worth it because you never have to waste your time spinning your wheels with client dogs ever again.
Back to Basics.
Every trainer should be fluent in learning theory. It matters.
So what is it?
Classical Conditioning:
A term coined by Pavlov, Classical Conditioning refers to deeply rooted uncontrollable emotional responses that one develops as associations to a stimuli (person, place, thing, etc). Learning by association.
A dog can develop either a positive or negative conditioned emotional response to anything in its environment.
An example of a positive conditioned emotional response (CER): Rustle your dogs food or treat bag and see his response. That is a +CER…makes the dog feel good, happy, excited.
An example of a negative CER: pull into the vets office and turn around to find your dog drooling or shaking, maybe tail down between his legs.
When you have a CER of any kind, it is important to know that the dog is not in control of his/her response. The response occurs without foresight and planning. It’s automatic based on repeated positive or negative outcomes to the trigger (the thing that creates the response).
Operant Conditioning:
A term coined by B.F Skinner, Operant Conditioning refers to learning by “consequence”. When X occurs, Y immediately proceeds it and determines the likelihood of X occurring again in the future.
It is in Operant Conditioning that you will find the term “positive reinforcement”. Positive Reinforcement belongs to what is called the QUADRANT of learning. There are 4, obviously haha, parts of the quadrant. Two of them result in an increase of behaviour, and two result in a decrease of behaviour.
- Positive Reinforcement
- Negative Reinforcement
- Positive Punishment
- Negative Punishment
Let’s pull them apart a bit more shall we?
Positive Reinforcement:
ADDING something GOOD in order to INCREASE a behaviour occurring. Example: The dog sits, the dog gets a cookie, the dog will sit more.
Pros: humane, scientifically proven most effective, easiest to understand, and quickest form of learning for the dog.
Cons: if not used properly you may reinforce the wrong thing, dog may put on a few pounds.
Positive Punishment (skipping # 2, negative reinforcement for now)
ADDING something BAD (Aversive) in order to DECREASE a behaviour occurring. Example: Dog jumps up, gets a shock, dog stops jumping.
Pros:
Cons: Overwhelming amount of studies providing evidence that P+ based methods hardly ever permanently solve the behaviour problem and in fact actually increase other anxiety based problems, it is incredibly difficult to implement “effective punishment” in the real world.
Negative Punishment:
REMOVING something GOOD in order to DECREASE a behaviour occurring. Example: Dog jumps, person turns back to remove attention, dog stops jumping.
Pros: considered second gentlest of the quadrants, can be used in a force free manner.
Cons: If selected for use inappropriately then it can create some emotional turmoil (dog doesn’t know what to do to get what they want, just what NOT to do). Example used above is a poor one admittedly as the act of jumping can be very self rewarding to a dog or it can be occurring out of anxiety, in which case turning your back will serve no purpose. Again I go back to if used inappropriately it can create stress. One can minimize this risk by following up immediately with R+
Negative Reinforcement:
I saved this for last as its the most difficult to understand.
REMOVING something BAD in order to INCREASE a behaviour occurring. How the heck does that happen? Example: pinching dogs back, they sit and pinch stops, they sit more often to avoid pinch.
Pros:
Cons: Many. R- works primarily off of avoidance. The dog learns to do (or not do) something in order to AVOID pain or discomfort. This can cause a significant amount of anxiety and stress in a dog…imagine never knowing if you are or are not avoiding something bad.
Here’s the reality of the parts of the quadrant: ALL OF THEM CAN WORK. Yes. This is true. When we are looking plainly at one single behaviour (lets say jumping up) and we train a dog to not jump, we can absolutely use any of the quadrants.
But ethics, morales, education, and more tells us which one we can and should use first and foremost. We also know, from decades of studies, that R+ is the only quadrant with no emotional turmoil or negative side effects – of course so long as the trainer is using it right. Once you master R+, you don’t need to bring in positive punishment or negative reinforcement, you truly have everything you need.
Lets take the dog who jumps up:
Positive Reinforcement: options include training an alternate behaviour such as “sit” when greeting people.
Positive Punishment: kneeing dog or shocking dog when they jump. You are also sending the message that greeting people can be dangerous – you can’t pick and choose what you want the dog to learn, they learn from what is presented in front of them despite what your intent is.
When do you use Operant Conditioning and when do you use Classical Conditioning? Well the truth is, often times in real life these two things intertwine. Even when you are training tricks with OC (operant), the saying goes “Pavlov is always on your shoulder” which is CC (classical). Dogs form associations to cues: “time for a walk” vs “time for a bath” (assuming they don’t like baths.
Sometimes you need to split them apart though. If a dog is experiencing a CER- (like fear) you can’t teach them to perform a behaviour with Operant Conditioning. You first need to use Classical Conditioning elements to alter the CER- into a CER+, then you can train.
Just as my child would not be able to learn algebra when sitting in the closet where he thinks the boogeyman lives, a dog cannot learn obedience cues when scared of his surroundings.
You first have to deal with the fear.
Going back to basics and learning them well is essential for any trainer. What I provided above is a very simple overview of both Operant and Classical Conditioning, but there is a tremendous amount of information more belonging to each area. There’s much that can interfere with learning, and many mistakes that can be made.
It’s not enough to just understand the surface. The trainer you select to work with must understand all the nuances and details belonging to each. This is how dogs learn (this is how people learn!) and it is imperative that trainers understand it. Sure those who come up with their own little tricks may hit it lucky every now and then, but if I throw enough darts blindfolded I’m sure to hit some high points on the dartboard every now and then also. Flukes are not reliable.
Carrie Castaldi ~ Owner Positive Paw Dog Training ~ http://www.positivepawdogtraining.com
Positive Paw Dog Training 