Sometimes we are watching someone train a dog and we cannot avoid saying something like: “they are dog whisperers”. I have been called that a few times (yeah, really) and it surely has nothing to do with whispering words of wisdom in the dog’s ear. As much as I would like to think that I have some superpower that allows me to transfer my thoughts and wishes to my dogs, all I’m doing is using behavioral and learning principles to communicate with them. Dog training is a science-based profession much like psychology, and we use principles that can be applied to all animals, humans included.
In fact, anyone can do the same if they are given the tools! Let’s delve into some cool stuff.
Habituation versus Sensitization
Do you know what is going on with those parents who are ignoring the child’s tantrum while you are trying to have a quiet dinner at your favorite restaurant?
From the parents’ point of view, they have heard varied forms of tantrums that they got used to it so they are tuning out the noise and focusing on something else. The scientific term for this mechanism is Habituation.
What about you who are becoming very annoyed with the noise and request another table so you can get away and have a quiet dinner?
You may start thinking that when you see parents with kids at a restaurant it means tantrums so you either turn around and walk away from the restaurant or you specifically request a table in the opposite corner of the room to avoid the family with kids.
Two things are at work here: you are generalizing that kids mean tantrums (which may as well not be the case) and you cannot get used to the sound and instead have an intense reaction to it. The scientific term for this mechanism is Sensitization.
Sensitization is the opposite of Habituation.
We encounter these two mechanisms in many situations and dogs do use them as well.
Have you ever wondered why some dogs are ok with storms and others panic?
Some, even though they were startled when they first experienced a storm became used to them and sleep right through it.
They habituated to the storms.
Others, when they are startled and felt that the storm is a threat they go on to develop a fear of them. Instead of habituating they sensitized to them. The unfortunate part of these mechanisms is that we cannot predict or know which dogs will develop fear.
What we can do though is consider that events that are very intense and scary to a dog have a higher probability to cause sensitization when exposure happens repeatedly.
Even though we cannot protect our dogs from all the scary things in the world we can help them navigate the world by being proactive and addressing any triggers before they become severe. The common approach is to pair the negative event (ex: storm sounds) with something the dog very much enjoys, such as high-value treats and a systematic training plan that will help him or her get exposed to the negative event in less intense ways. We use this method to treat many fears and phobias, including separation anxiety-related behaviors.
Classical Conditioning
Classical conditioning is a learning process discovered by Ivan Pavlov. In this process, a stimulus that does not produce a response is associated with one that does. The result is that the first stimulus will end up producing a response as well.
For example, in dog training, many of us use a clicker as a marker for behaviors. The clicker by itself is a neutral stimulus because a dog does not react to it. Food on the other hand does produce salivation when a dog sees it. When we associate the clicker with the food, the clicker alone will end up producing salivation.
Classical conditioning works by forming an association between two stimuli, resulting in a learned response.
There are several parts to the process: before the conditioning, during the conditioning, and after the conditioning.
Before conditioning:
- There is a naturally occurring stimulus that elicits a response, for example salivating when seeing food. The food here is the unconditioned stimulus (US) and the salivation is the unconditioned response (UR). They are unconditioned because they are not dependent on any learning.
During conditioning:
- A neutral stimulus (NS), in the example above, the clicker, is introduced.
- The pairing of the clicker with the food will form an association between the two.
- The clicker is no longer a neutral stimulus but instead is conditioned by the food presentation. It will become a conditioned stimulus (CS).
After conditioning:
- The salivation which was an unconditioned response (UR) will now become conditioned by the presentation of the clicker.
- The conditioned stimulus alone (CS – clicker) will trigger a conditioned response (CR – salivation)
There are a few phenomena to keep in mind in classical conditioning
- Acquisition: the process of developing and strengthening a CR through the repeated pairing of the NS with the US (pairing the food with the clicker repeated times)
- Extinction: the CR (salivation) is weakened or eliminated when the CS (clicker) is repeatedly presented in the absence of the US (food)
- Spontaneous recovery: when a learned response suddenly reemerges after a period of extinction
- Disinhibition: sudden recovery of a CR during an extinction period when a new stimulus is introduced
- Generalization: the tendency for a CR to occur in the presence of a stimulus that is similar to the CS
- Discrimination: the tendency for a response to be elicited by one stimulus but not another.
Even though this process seems very simple and does not explain all behaviors it is still relevant in modern psychology and used in cognitive behavioral therapy and dog training.
Operant Conditioning
Operant conditioning is a type of learning in which the future probability of a behavior is affected by its consequences. Simple put humans and other animals learn to behave in ways to avoid punishment and obtain rewards. Unlike classical conditioning where we learn by association, here we make a choice based on the consequence of our behavior.
There are two types of consequences: they either increase or decrease the frequency of the behavior. The consequences that increase future behavior are called reinforcers. The consequences that decrease future behavior are called punishers.
Within these two types of consequences, we have subtypes: positive and negative.
So, in the end, we have positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment.
To make it easier to remember, the word positive means we are adding something, and the word negative means we are removing something (It does not mean good or bad only addition or removal).
In psychology, when we talk about operant conditioning, we tend to know what it means but when we move to the dog training world the definitions become murkier and it is sometimes difficult to define which one is which. It is not uncommon for trainers to have difficulty explaining these especially if they are new to the training world.
A stimulus is anything that can trigger a physical or behavioral change.
So now let’s put it all together:
– Negative Reinforcement is the removal of a stimulus (usually aversive) after a response that will lead to an increase in the future response or strength of the behavior.
Example: Applying a shock collar until a dog does the desired behavior. If you are teaching sit, the shock is turned off as soon as the dog does a sit.
– Positive Reinforcement is the presentation of a stimulus (usually pleasant) after a response that will lead to an increase in the future response or strength of the behavior.
Example: A dog is being taught to sit. Immediately after he sits, he receives a treat.
– Negative Punishment is the removal of a stimulus (usually pleasant) after a response that will lead to a decrease in the future response or strength of the behavior.
Example: Someone is applying a shock collar until a dog stops doing a certain behavior. If you want your dog to stop barking, the shock is turned off as soon as the dog stops barking.
– Positive punishment is the presentation of a stimulus (usually aversive) after a response that will lead to a decrease in the future response or strength of the behavior.
Example: A dog is pulling on the leash. Pressure is applied to the dog’s neck immediately as he is pulling.
Let it clear that I don’t condone the use of shock collars or other aversive methods to traing dogs. Research (Guilherme Fernandes, Olsson, & Vieira de Castro, 2017; Ziv, 2017) suggests that the use of aversive methods including electronic collars do cause distress to dogs with some methods being downright dangerous. Aversive methods also seem to change the interaction between humans and dogs.
Many of us, when looking for a trainer will look for someone who uses positive reinforcement methods and many of us are very familiar with using treats to teach behaviors to our dogs. What many owners are not aware of is that when a trainer explains they use balanced training methods, they may be telling the owner they use all 4 types of consequences to training their dogs.
If you are looking for an only positive reinforcement trainer ask questions about their methods especially if they do not detail them on their website. Ask questions and if the methods of training do not align with your values, move on and look for another trainer.
References:
Guilherme Fernandes, J., Olsson, I. A. S., & Vieira de Castro, A. C. (2017). Do aversive-based training methods actually compromise dog welfare?: A literature review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 196, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2017.07.001
Ziv, G. (2017). The effects of using aversive training methods in dogs—A review. Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 19, 50–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2017.02.004