Remember Pavlov?

Practical Uses for Classical Conditioning

For a good basic explanation of the
Pavlovian experiments, please visit
http://www.simplypsychology.org/pavlov.html

A couple of upsetting scenes got me thinking about classical conditioning and canine behaviour (again.  It's a never-ending train of thought in the back of my nerdy mind).

The first one happened in the summer: I was walking two dogs through Assiniboine Park on a busy day and a man and woman were standing on a hill overlooking the pathway.  Every time someone would walk by with a dog, their dog would react with barking, pulling on the leash, and whining.  The man was attempting to punish the behaviour out of the dog: He was setting him up to fail by having him so close to the path that he couldn't control his reaction, ensuring he would react, and then hitting him every time he did react.

The other two incidents happened in the last month: One was a lady walking her two large dogs on prong collars.  Similarly, they got excited when they saw another dog and started to react with barking, whining, and pulling on leash.  The lady very harshly corrected them, yanking on the leash to tighten the collar around their necks, and scolding them loudly to "STOP".  The third one happened just last week: A lady was again walking two dogs and I was across the street walking a dog as well.  Her dog got excited and was barking and whining, looking at the dog I was walking.  The lady turned and yelled at her dog, kicking it, and kneeing it until it backed up and paid attention to her.

Now, even if these owners weren't hurting their dogs (I'm sure they were, but let's pretend the punishment wasn't physically painful), the whole point was to stop the dogs from reacting this way and what they were doing was the complete opposite.  I am sure these people love their dogs very much, and that their intent was to improve their behaviour, unfortunately dogs don't know our intent, only what they experience.

If you are afraid of spiders and see one in your kitchen, what do you do?  Scream, squeal, yell for someone to come squish it, run away?  What if you were trapped in the room (like a dog on a leash unable to move away)?

What if someone scolded you or kicked you in the shin because you were afraid?  How would you feel about the spider then?  How about the person who scolded you or kicked your leg?  What would you do the next time you saw a spider in your kitchen, would you feel more or less upset?

A conditioned emotional response is one that is brought about by associations.  When you bring your dog's leash out, does he do a happy dance, wagging his tail and excitedly moving towards the door in anticipation of his walk?  When he hears that familiar rattle of the treat bag, does he come running, offering you his best sit in anticipation of a cookie?  Your dog doesn't have a thing for nylon or plastic, those associations were learned by pairings, making them conditioned emotional responses.  The difference is these are positive emotional responses: leash=enjoying a walk, plastic bag=eating a yummy treat.

Negative emotional responses come about when seeing another dog=getting smacked, kicked, or choked.  How do you expect those dogs to react next time they see another dog?  If the punishment is severe enough, they may learn to suppress their response and keep quiet, but that sure won't change how they feel.  In fact, I would wager that they feel more anxious because they're not allowed to respond for fear of punishment.

A more effective, kinder way is possible.  Create positive associations with the feared object and this will get you on the right path to helping your dog feel more comfortable.

Don’t worry about rewarding your dog's unwanted behaviour (barking, pulling, lunging, whatever he may be doing).  Counter-conditioning means that you are trying to change how your dog FEELS first, which in turn will change how he behaves. A fearful dog will act defensively. A comfortable dog will not. You cannot change your dog's behaviour until you have helped him feel safe.

If you need help with this, contacted a certified trainer in your area.



Donna Hill has a great video on teaching the "look at that" game, based on Leslie McDevitt's "Control Unleashed" program.

If you want to learn more, I have two blogs on Dog Reactivity: Understanding Dog Reactivity and Reactive Dog Myths, and Karen Pryor has a brief article further explaining the benefit of the "look at that" exercise.

Classical Conditioning is not just for reactivity, it's part of everyday learning.  You can use it to help your dog feel more comfortable with being in a kennel, with meeting new people, going to the vet, or just about anything that could potentially make them anxious.  But don't wait until your pup is anxious to start classical conditioning!  Socialize your pup as early as possible in controlled, relaxed, positive situations and you can go a long way in preventing your pup from developing fears or reactive behaviours.

Jillian Enright, CPDT-KA
Pawsitive Pooch Dog Training

For more great training tips...

Visit us on Facebook

Visit our website

Reliable Recall

Recall:  The Basics

To have a strong recall you must have a solid foundation upon which to build.  If your dog’s recall is not excellent, especially in the presence of distractions, then it is important to start from square one.  A reliable recall is one of the most important behaviours our dogs can learn; it can keep them safe in an unpredictable situation.  

Helpful Steps for getting started:

1. Let your dog wander around in a safely contained area  (i.e. a fully fenced back yard or inside the house).
2. When your dog is not looking at you, call his name to get his attention.  As soon as you have his attention, in your most cheerful and inviting voice, call “come!”
3. As your dog is moving towards you, you can encourage him with a happy voice, but don't repeat your cue (such as "come").  If your dog does not come running, start moving backwards and patting your legs, you can also make kissing sounds or whistle to help entice your dog towards you.
4. Touch your dog around the neck or on his collar with one hand and click with the other hand, taking care not to click in your dog’s ear, and give him a treat.  The reason for making physical contact is that you want to ensure your dog comes close enough that you could leash him up if you needed to, you don't want him dodging away if you reach for him.  If your dog is nervous about hands reaching over his head or about having his collar touched, practice some desensitization for this as a separate exercise.  
5. Then let go and use your release word  (i.e. “free”, “break”, “okay”, etc.), allow your dog to return to playing or doing something fun.  You do not want him to think that recall predicts fun coming to an end.  

IMPORTANT:

It is never a good idea to punish your dog after he’s come to you.  Even if you were chasing him around the yard for an hour and are extremely frustrated, it is still very important to reward him when he finally gets to you.  If he gets in trouble when he finally does come back, he will be more likely to avoid you in the future.  Next time start inside where there are fewer distractions to help build up a history of reinforcement.  Set yourselves up for success.  If recall is associated with being punished your pooch is more likely to want to run in the other direction.

Make your recall reward the biggest and best (yummiest) reward your dog gets during his training.  Recall is a very important behaviour and cue your dog needs to know, so make it fun and rewarding.  Remember to only say the word “come” once.  If he doesn’t come right away, do other things to make yourself more exciting.  

Do not repeat the cue or  he will learn the cue for recall is “come, come,  come,  Fido,  come,  Fido,  GET  OVER  HERE!!”  (You  get  the  idea  ☺)

For more great training tips...

Visit us on Facebook

Visit our website