Kaedian's Dog Blog

Q&As, tips and training tutorials

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Classical and Operant Conditioning

These two forms of learning can get complicated rather quickly so I'll keep this post brief as possible.

Classical conditioning (Pavlov) is the process of learning in which a trigger paired with a stimulus creates a response in the subject.

Pavlov's experiments involving dogs paired food with the sound of a bell. The dogs would salivate in anticipation of the food and when paired with the bell enough times, the bell alone would trigger the salivation with no food present. It's just like how we feel good or even excited at the sound of the ice cream truck - we've been classically conditioned our whole lives to anticipate lovely ice cream when we hear the van's music! This is a very basic form of training and unfortunately can be used in a negative way too.

Pairing the sight of say, a snake with the shock from an electric collar is a common method of classical conditioning used usually in the US (as the UK only has one truly venomous snake and they're rare as hen's teeth). Claiming that pairing the sight with the unpleasant sensation will create an unpleasant feeling and a desire to avoid the snake. The degree of success with this is sketchy. And there is an ethics issue regarding inflicting a punishment on an animal.

Many people attempt to treat dog to dog reactivity with a paired punishment, but this often backfires as the issue is more complicated - it's an emotional response issue, and inflicting pain will only serve to heighten the dogs' fear/overreactive response to the sight of another dog, creating an animal who will lash out harder, faster and with less hesitation in order to make the 'bad thing' go away faster before any more nasty shocks are administered. For this sort of issue, BAT (Behavioural Adjustment Training) is far more effective and kind.

So! To recap, Classical Conditioning is a stimulus paired with a trigger to create a response.

Operant Conditioning is a little different to Classical Conditioning (CC). B.F. Skinner worked on this idea that if a Behaviour produces a Positive Response, it will occur more frequently. We use Operant Conditioning a lot in modern dog training in the form of Shaping. The dog offers up behaviours and the ones we mark and praise are offered up more and more, becoming a learned behaviour! Done in a positive and playful way, this form of training is a great way to learn new behaviours, fun for both dog and owner.

With Operant Conditioning, there are four different methods of learning:

Positive Punishment (P+)

Negative Punishment (P-)

Positive Reinforcement (R+)

Negative Reinforcement (R-)

P+ adds an aversive stimulant to reduce a behaviour (a sharp loud noise if dog sets foot in an off limits room)

P- removes a desirable stimulant to reduce a behaviour (puppy jumps up on me, I leave the room)

R+ adds a desirable stimulant to increase the behaviour (a simple click and treat)

R- removes an aversive stimulant to increase a behaviour (choke collar remains tight whilst pulling, will only loosen when the dog stops pulling and walks with a loose lead - doesn't always work due to dogs' oppositional reflex)

So there you have it! As briefly as I can explain it! Many dog trainers have trouble remembering all of this but the more familiar you become with the processes of Classical and Operant Conditioning, the more you will be able to categorize your interactions with your dog and understand your relationship, and more importantly, what motivates your dog!

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What is clicker training?

Clicker training is a force-free method of training that involves a marker and a reward. The ‘click’ indicates to the dog (or rat, or chicken, or parakeet or just about any other pet) that good things are coming. It is a clear indicator to the animal that they have performed a behaviour correctly, and are more likely to offer repeats of this behaviour.

For a basic example, say you want to teach your dog a ‘sit’ cue. I use ‘cue’ rather than 'command’ as I see a relationship with a dog is a partnership, not a dictatorship. We must not force our dogs to do anything they do not willingly wish to do, as this damages our relationship.

Back to 'sit’, you bring a treat to your dogs nose and slowly bring it backwards and above their head so that they follow. As the nose goes up, the bum goes down, and the moment their bum touches the floor is the moment you give their marker; the click, followed by a reward. This indicates to the dog that their bum touching the floor is the specific behaviour that triggers you giving them the treat! Easy!

Every click MUST be followed by a treat, even if your timing is a bit off, even if the dog does something unexpected the moment your thumb squeezes the clicker, there must ALWAYS be a treat, otherwise the clicker loses its effect.

For anyone worried about getting their dog fat on all these extra treats, worry not! You can use your dogs meals like I do! If they’re not motivated enough by their kibble, you can dampen them with a bit of chicken broth or even reduce their meals slightly and use lean meat such as chicken breast for training.

For more difficult training situations, for example, out somewhere busy with lots of distractions or for training something more complicated or even more boring than usual, a higher value reward should be used, for the higher effort it is for the dog to maintain concentration, the higher their 'wage’ should be. Hot dogs, cheese, dried liver or cocktail sausage are great high value rewards that should be used in tiny amounts - each individual treat should be a little taste, like fine dining. Always leave them wanting more!

I find it best to use hand signals first to cement the behaviour, and then when the dog can perform it reliably, add a cue word afterwards. So instead of:

Hand signal = behaviour = click = treat

It goes:

Hand signal + verbal cue = behaviour = click = treat

And eventually you can slowly phase out the hand signal and reward to leave:

Verbal cue = behaviour

It is a very gradual process which can require lots of repitition and praise but just about any animal can learn it and you can use it to teach just about anything!

Clicker training can involve both Classical and Operant conditioning, which I will go into in the next post!

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Why go positive?

The dog training world is constantly changing, always finding ways to be better, faster, more innovative. But the greatest change in recent years is the transition from traditional methods to kind, force-free training backed by science!

Keep reading

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Welcome to my new dog blog! This is my poster-boy, Ingot.

He’s an 11 year old Staffordshire bull terrier cross (possibly Beagle - one day we’ll get the money together for a DNA test!). We’ve had him 9 months now, having adopted him from a local rescue and he has been the easiest dog in the world in most respects; he’s impeccably houstrained, never chews anything he shouldn’t, wonderfully affectionate and cuddly and chills out at home most of the day.

However, once we take him outside, the sight of a squirrel, a bird, or god forbid another dog, all his manners go out the window and he becomes fixated. Now let me start by saying he is NOT aggressive.

He displays reactive behaviour and at the flick of a switch, his desire to go charging towards the trigger is overwhelming. Now, Ingot has doggy friends - those he is excited to see and plays with nicely and by some twist of fate, call it luck or vibes or whatever, but he seems to understand that dogs that I know are alright, and he doesn’t need to fly off the handle.

Passing strange dogs is nigh on impossible without some impressive display of acrobatics at the end of the lead as his frustration takes him over. After months of research and work, his trigger zone is now much wider than it once was, meaning we can spot a dog about 50 yards down the street and he’ll be interested but not ‘over threshold’.

As a budding trainer, Ingot has taught me more in 9 months than I’ve ever learnt in two years assisting puppy classes. He is incredibly bright and eager to please so I know we’ve got loads more to learn together in future and that’s why I’m making this blog.

I’m going to post our successes, our misadventures and my own thoughts and theories on the many aspects to consider in dog training. I’ll post some tutorials on teaching your dogs some basic cues in a kind and force-free manner, and some games and enrichment to help build a loving bond and help you and your dogs live happier and more fulfilled lives.

I hope as I build a readership, this blog becomes an interactive experience - ask me questions and I’ll explore the possibilities!

Anyway, that ends this super long introduction post! Looking forward to the next one - and do let me know if there’s anything you want to see in particular!

- Kaedian and Ingot