How dogs learn
**Warning: this blog gets a bit geeky**
Our dogs make choices all the time.
What is your dog doing right now? Sleeping? Barking? Chasing the cat?
Whatever they are doing, they have made a choice to do that. It's our responsibility as dog owners to communicate when our dogs have done something we like. It also stands that if we don't like something they are doing, that we also communicate that to them. BUT (I like big butts…I cannot lie) there is a kind and fair way to do this, and there is an unkind and unfair way to do this.
In this blog I am going to explain why I train dogs (and their humans!) the way I do and how, with a little bit of understanding, you can help your dog make good choices.
If you are one of my lovely clients, you will know that I often answer the question “How do I stop my dog from doing that?” with “What do you want him to do instead?”
So, your dog jumps up on people? What do you want him to do instead?
Your dog barks at the neighbourhood cat out of the window? What do you want him to do instead?
If you know what the desired alternative behaviour is - hey presto - you have something to train! Boom!
Know what that alternative behaviour is and ready to train it? Lets go!
How dogs learn
If you want to train something new, you first of all need to know (in a very basic sense) how dogs learn. So let's keep it as simple as possible. Dogs learn in two ways:
Glossary:
Conditioning = Learning
Behaviour = action
1) Classical conditioning (heard of Pavlov?…this is what he discovered). Classical conditioning is what happens when an animal learns associations among things.
2) Instrumental learning or operant conditioning which is when an animal learns that its behaviour has consequences (which could be either positive or negative).
Operant conditioning involves reinforcement (increasing likelihood of a behaviour in the future) and punishment (decreasing likelihood of a behaviour in the future). When a behaviour is followed by a consequence, it influences the frequency of its repetition.
Still with me?
So, if a behaviour is followed by good ‘consequences’ it is probably going to be repeated. Conversely, a behaviour that is followed by bad ‘consequence’ is probably less likely to occur again.
(Geeky note: It is called operant because the behaviour “operates” on the animal’s environment/outcome. And if you're interested it was discovered by a dude called Skinner). This is what this blog will concentrate on.
This principle of learning is what professionals (like me!) use to train dogs.
I use positive reinforcement. What is positive reinforcement?
First of all, let's look at what reinforcement is.
When I train dogs, (my own or clients) I use reinforcement when I provide consequences that increase or maintain a behaviour. Read that again!
For example, I ask Rebel to perform a behaviour like a sit.
He then sits.
I give him a piece of cheese (reinforcer) as a consequence of him performing that behaviour. Cheese is a positive reinforcer for Rebel (he LOVES cheese!)
I have therefore reinforced that behaviour. That behaviour is now strengthened or more likely to occur again.
So if that's what reinforcement is - where does the positive and negative bit come from?
A positive reinforcer is something that, when presented following a behaviour, makes it more likely that type of behaviour will occur in the future (Burch and Bailey, 1999). A negative reinforcer involves taking something away to make that behaviour more likely in future.
What are the best rewards for dogs?
The most important thing to remember about positive reinforcement is that it must seem positive (good!) to your dog. Generally speaking, the top 3 reinforcers are as follows:
Food
Praise
Toys
But this is individual to your unique dog. Have some fun with your dog learning what they like (spoiler alert…it's usually cheese and fresh meat!!)
So, how can you use this information to train your own dog?
Let's go back to your earlier training goal. You have a dog that jumps up when visitors come over and instead of that, you want them to keep all 4 paws on the floor. What are you going to do? You are going to reinforce your dog using a positive reinforcer (food/praise/toys) when they have all 4 on the floor. TA-DAH!! I do offer a 3 x session package on Not Jumping Up
Why I don't recommend punishing your dog. Ever.
The significance of establishing trust and a strong connection with your dog should not be underestimated.
If you have a great relationship with your dog you are less-likely to have a number of training issues. Let's look at recall.
You are at the park and you call your off-lead dog and ask them to come back to you. The last time you called them you praised/played/fed them when they came back. Do you think they are more likely to come back this time? Sure!
Let's flip this on its head. You call your off-lead dog to come back to you, but the last time they came back they were scolded/shouted at/reprimanded. Are they likely to come back? Doubtful. Why should they?
This is one of the (many) issues with punishment.
What is Punishment?
Punishment decreases the likelihood that that behaviour will occur again.
Scientific research has unequivocally demonstrated that relying on outdated concepts such as "the pack leader," "dominance," and other aversive dog training methods is not only detrimental to your relationship with your dog, but can also result in enduring psychological harm to your dog. Science has said this. Bob down the road may argue this and think you should hurt your dog to teach it a lesson, but Bob is unlikely to have studied animal behaviour.
The other issue with aversive (punishment-based) training is that instead of effectively addressing the root causes of their issues, these methods merely suppress undesired behaviours without teaching your dog the desired alternative behaviours.
Let's not dwell here too long but there are trainers out there who commonly use fear and intimidation as a way of influencing behaviour by adding something unpleasant to remove or decrease a “bad” behaviour. (Side note: there is no bad behaviour, there is only dog behaviour! Dogs bark, dogs dig, dogs chew…you get the point)
For those of you who know my credentials, you will know I did my training with the APDT whose motto is: Kind, Fair, Effective dog training.
Punishment is not kind and it's not fair. Is it effective? Well, yes it can be but there are some stringent rules that need to be followed if you are going to use it:
You need to get the right intensity straight away (but how do you know what this is? If you decide to tap your dog on the nose for doing something “bad”- how hard do you tap? Did that work? If not, next time will you do it harder? At what point do you think you have used enough force?)
You need the perfect timing each and every time (if we can't do this with a clicker/marker word, how on earth can we do this with a punisher?)
You have to ensure the punisher is not associated with anything or anyone else other than the behaviour (again, how do we achieve this?) Heard of e-collars? If you have given your dog an electric shock for barking and at the precise moment they are shocked, they see you, they are likely to associate this pain with you. How will your relationship with your dog be now?
If any one of these 3 elements are not perfect, the fall out can be massive. The science says so. So, what's the point in using punishment?
Instead, why not have fun getting to know what your dog likes and telling them when they have got something right?
I rest my case.
Let's wrap this up..
Achieving meaningful behaviour modification demands a dedicated investment of time, compassion, and patience but the results speak for themselves. I use the most up to date, science based training methods that have your dog’s welfare at heart. If you want to work with me, why not drop me an email on sarah@barkerandhounddogtraining.com
(Top Tip to finish….Have the mantra “What gets rewarded gets repeated” in your head and you may see some surprisingly quick and positive changes with your dog)
Sarah-Jane x
