How Dogs Learn

Classic conditioning refers to the involuntary response to stimuli. For example, preparing food for your dog they will begin salivating, this is an in-voluntary response to the knowledge that food is coming. Pavlov's research in the 1890s showed that any object or event could be associated with food and produce the same response by the dog. Classic conditioning takes place in every home and dogs’ life without much thought, such as picking up the lead to go for a walk, the dog knows they wear their lead to go for a walk and so the act of picking it up can arouse excitement or fear (depending on whether or not they enjoy going out), as they know what is coming.

Operant conditioning, developed by B.F Skinner following his interest in Pavlol’s theory. This is a training method familiar to nearly every dog owner. Using reward to encourage your dog to perform a certain behaviour or party trick. An example most will be familiar with is giving a paw in exchange for a treat. The dog will choose to perform the behaviour and hold their paw out as they know this will get them a tasty treat. Unlike classic conditioning which is in-voluntary, operant conditioning is a voluntary choice to perform the behaviour for the treat. This method can also be used to correct behaviour, which then involves punishment by not giving the treat if you do not get the behaviour you wanted.

Counter Conditioning and Positive Reinforcement

Counter conditioning is undoing a bad experience. This can take time to overcome as the experience has been conditioned as a bad experience. An example could be a dog who has been abandoned and is now fearful to go out in the car, they have associated the car with abandonment as they were driven away from the home and never taken back. The training now needs to involve positive experiences related to going out in the car. I would recommend very short journeys to begin with such as round the block to avoid the dog becoming too anxious as this reinforces negative emotions to the car. Feed plenty of treats promoting a positive experience in the car. This will be a slow process of desensitisation.

Ban the Crate

Crates, a modern idea that seems to be used by many, but I believe they are completely unacceptable.! It simply seems like something designed to make life easier for the owner. Dogs need to have their own space, so provide your dog with an area in the home they can call their own. To toilet train using a crate involves shutting them in forcing them to hold it. As dogs do not like to mess in their sleeping space any more than a human would. So, what if they just can’t hold on, they are being forced to wet the bed. This could lead to anxiety and possibly behavioural issues about being left alone. Really do not like the invention of crates, they also risk being misused by inexperienced or lazy owners.

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