Shaping Temperament

Part 5

The next area that we are going to look at in our discussion of temperament is how dogs learn. Surprising to many, there is a science to behavior and learning. Just as there are natural, unchanging, unbreakable "laws" that govern our physical world (physics), there are also natural, unchanging, unbreakable "laws" that govern how we (and other animals) learn. Those who are empowered with the knowledge of and the ability to apply these laws within their training programs are not only capable of quickly and accurately shaping behaviors but also attitude!

Dogs are constantly learning, changing their behaviors in accordance with the consequences of those experiences. Puppies are capable of learning simple associations as early as 2 1/2 week old. This process of learning continues throughout their lives. Every moment, every action, reaction, interaction - every experience has an accumulative effect on an individual dog's current and future emotional, mental and behavioral being.

Learning can be defined as a change in behavior due to the consequences of experience. Edward L. Thorndike, an American research, explained this in "Law of Effects", as any behavior followed by a pleasing or gainful response will likely be repeated in the future. Any behavior followed by a neutral or aversive response will likely not be repeated. In other words, any continued behavior must have a gain to the individual or it would not be repeatedly displayed. No animal (including humans) waste energy on behaviors that do not benefit it in some way. This does not mean that it has to be the million-dollar payoff, but the behavior must aid the individual in some way or it would not be present. That's the law.

There are four basic tools available in teaching our dogs. They are: Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Positive Punishment and Negative Punishment. Reinforcers, either positive or negative, increase the occurrence of a behavior. Punishers, whether positive or negative, decrease the occurrence of a behavior. In behavior, positive and negative have no emotional meaning. Positive does not equal "good" and negative does not equal "bad". Instead, they are simply plus (as in math) and minus. Positive means something is gained or added. Negative means something is taken away or avoided.

Positive reinforcement is something that the subject will work to gain, such as food, attention or freedom. It can be anything that the subject wants. The key to using positive reinforcement effectively is understanding that what is reinforcing to one individual is relative to what that individual wants at that particular moment. Your dog may work for food or play reinforcement in your living room but may have little interest in these "gains" when outside. A good trainer will know what is reinforcing to his/her dog in any given environment or situation. Reinforcement can be anything the subject wants to gain at that moment. As an example, I have a "studly" all-boy, very active and agile 2-year-old Bull Mastiff. Zachary would like nothing more than to urine mark every tree, bush and blade of grass. I have turned urine marking into a reinforcement for attentive (strong eye contact) heeling. I began this training by first standing still and holding Zachary's lead just long enough for him to be able to stand calmly at my side. At first he struggled and pulled, but soon he realized that I was a rock and there would be no gain for pulling. As he settled and the tension came out of the lead, I yelled "Go!" marking his moment of correct behavior, extended the lead and ran with him to the nearest bush to allow him to mark. We repeated this several times and he quickly caught on. The fourth time I shortened the lead, Zachary settled immediately. However, I did not release/reinforce him. As he looked up at me in wonderment, I yelled, "Go!" and offered the reinforcement. Now we have calm and looking at me. I will discuss this further when we get to shaping behaviors. The important thing to note here is that I know what is reinforcing to my dog and I know how to use it.

Positive reinforcement is the strongest training tool. The great advantage of focusing on positive reinforcement is that this is what each behavior is seeking. The other great advantage is that there is always something that your dog wants at any given moment, even if it is to be left alone. Another benefit of positive reinforcement training is that it puts the dog's attention on you. All good things come through you. This builds trust, attention and a willing eager attitude. Positive reinforcement training also builds confidence as your dog is constantly being reinforced for acting "correctly" as opposed to being broken down for incorrect actions. If you don't think positive reinforcement training can work for your dog, you don't understand the principles. Many trainers have jumped on the positive reinforcement, clicker bandwagon, running with a fad. Few that I have had the opportunity to watch truly understand the principles of learning theory. The clicker is a great teaching tool, if applied correctly. If not, it is very limiting. If you would like to see the real results of conditioned reinforcer/clicker/positive reinforcement training, watch some wild animal shows, or the caretakers at some of the better zoos. We will come back to this later.

How often you reinforce a behavior has a profound effect on how strong and persistent, or how weak and inconsistent, a behavior will be. We tend to believe that if we reinforce a behavior constantly, every time, that we will have a strong behavior. This is not true. I refer to this as the McDonald's Syndrome. "No matter how well or poorly I work, I still make minimum wage. Who cares? Why work harder than I have to? Here's your stale hamburger. Go away." To equate that to our dogs, every time I come I get a biscuit and get pet. If I come fast, if I come slowly, it's the same biscuit. Why should I work harder? The payoff is always there. Intermittency, on the other hand, builds persistence. It turns dogs into salesmen. If this doesn't work, I'll try harder. We all know persistent, solicitous dogs who have honed their skills by pushing on when the owner first tries to ignore them. They have learned that if they just try harder, the prize is theirs. Behaviors that are intermittently reinforced do not go away easily. This is great if it is a behavior that you want, not so great if it is a behavior you wish to eliminate. Now, if we can learn to use intermittent reinforcement selectively, we can heighten select components of any given behavior. As an example, if I reinforce my dog only for his faster recalls and not his slower ones, he will soon learn to move faster in order to win the prize.

There are those who feel that only positive reinforcement should be used in dog training. I am not one of them. I am a strong believer in positive reinforcement and use it as my foremost training tool. However, nature has given us four tools with which to work and I believe they all have a place in training. I believe that it is best to learn about all four tools and how best to apply them. You should know their virtues and their downfalls before choosing to use them in any training program.

Part 6 ... continued