Dogs learn through Operant Conditioning

B.F. Skinner coined the term operant conditioning and used it to describe how consequences affect an organism’s behavior.  Skinner believed that an organism operates his environment and figures out what works best for them.  Dog trainers have used operant conditioning for years to change behavior in dogs.  Operant conditioning is always working in the background with your dog whether you are actively training or not.  A dog trainer or behavior consultant should have an excellent understanding of these concepts while the average dog owner needs only a basic understanding of these.

There are three main components of Operant Conditioning:

1.       Reinforcement-  Something that makes the behavior occur again.

2.      Punishment-  Something that causes a behavior to become less frequent.

3.      Extinction-  No consequence to behavior at which point the behavior becomes less frequent.

The first two components can either be positive (adding something) or negative (taking something away).  The four quadrants of operant conditioning are as follows:

Positive Reinforcement is adding something the dog likes to increase the frequency of behavior.  An example of positive reinforcement is giving a dog a treat for sitting. 

Negative Punishment is taking something away that the dog likes in order to decrease the frequency of behavior.  An example of negative punishment is not giving a dog a treat until he does sit.

Positive Punishment is adding an aversive (something the dog doesn’t like) to decrease the frequency of behavior.  For instance, a dog is off leash and starts to chase a squirrel.  A person applies a shock from an electronic collar to the dog. The dog stops chasing the squirrel.

Negative Reinforcement is taking away aversive stimuli (something the dog doesn’t like) to increase the frequency of behavior.  You generally need to apply positive punishment to get the effect of negative reinforcement.  In the above example a dog started to chase a squirrel and a shock was given.  In order to use negative reinforcement, the shock would stop when the dog ran back to you.

It’s important to remember that using punishment in dog training can have behavioral fallout.  If you are training positively and you withhold too many rewards too early, your dog can experience a high level of frustration which is not conducive to learning.  If you are using positive punishment, your dog can associate the wrong thing with the aversive you applied.  Classical Conditioning is at work along with operant conditioning.

Socialize Your Puppy

You have a new puppy.  Now what?  Do the best thing you can for your puppy to prevent him from exhibiting aggressive behaviors later on- socialize your puppy!

There are critical periods in the development of a dog that occur during puppyhood.  It is critical to the well being of your puppy to take advantage of this time period to prevent issues later on in the dog’s life.  Although debated, most experts agree that the window for most dogs closes at about 12-14 weeks of age. This does not mean that if your dog is older, he cannot be socialized but depending on how much older and what his previous experiences are, it may be more difficult.

Hopefully your breeder has already begun the process.  If your breeder was not responsible enough to do this, you need to work overtime.  Even if your breeder did start the process, socializing your puppy should be a major priority right now.

During this critical time, you should work on exposing your dog to following situations and make sure that your dog has a positive experience.  In what Margret Hughes from Positive Paw Dog Training coined the Puppy Rule of 12, your puppy should experience twelve of the following things before your dog is twelve weeks of age.

12 New People (Outside of the Family)

12 New Objects

12 New Sounds

12 New Surfaces

12 Fast Moving Objects (not allowed to chase)

12 New Locations

To ensure your puppy is starting out right, it would be wise to take it a little farther and do the following also.

Handled by owner and family twelve times a week

Eat in twelve different locations

Played with twelve different safe, healthy puppies or adult dogs

Safely left alone from family or other animals twelve times a week for a minimum of five minutes.

Every exposure should be positive.  You can keep it positive by not pushing your dog, feeding yummy treats or playing with your pup during the exposure.  You are working on making positive associations with these things.  Your dog doesn’t have to do anything.  Allow your pup to investigate the object on his own time.  Be patient.  He will change his mind when he realizing that the object means him no harm.