Clean Run Magazine - January 2010 - 65

A Not a Reinforcer When is a reinforcer not a reinforcer? Augie’s first step out of the crate at an agility trial is shown in frame A. He had one thing on his mind, and it was not agility. I gave him food in an attempt to reinforce the behavior of paying attention to me, and he was happy enough to take the food. Nonetheless, as you can see in frame C, the food was a dismal failure as a reinforcer for attention. The target behavior of attention was not increased by the food, so food was not a reinforcer. This is a perfect example of something that is generally considered a reinforcer becoming nothing more than an indulgence in a certain context. People often ask me what to do in this situation. My advice is to put an animal in this state of distraction back into your vehicle and forget agility for the present. Run your other dogs, if you have any. That’s what I did on this day. A dog that displays dramatic behavior such as this needs more training, not a different reinforcer. What’s in a Name? I have to admit that I don’t care for the term “positive” dog training. Positive training is often misunderstood to mean somehow “upbeat or kind” or otherwise virtuous. Positive trainers train dogs primarily or exclusively by using positive reinforcement to reinforce the behaviors they want. Positive reinforcement means simply that you add something (such as a cookie, a toy, or praise) to make a behavior (such as sit, down, or stack) more likely to reoccur. Positive as it is used in behavioral science, means adding something, not being nice. Positive trainers very well may be nice people with upbeat attitudes, but that has nothing to do with the science of dog training. In my opinion, calling yourself a positive trainer can also be divisive. Positive, as it is commonly used, is a fuzzy, emotionally laden term that implies that anyone who does not train that way is somehow not a positive person in general, and no one likes to be thought of that way. Furthermore, the vague way we have defined positive training can be very misleading. Many, if not most, people believe it means that anyone who smiles and doles out food while they use corrections and punishment is a positive trainer because they maintain an upbeat attitude, and that is not so. Finally, why are we so proud of hanging out in the positive reinforcement quadrant? Why do we think that negative punishment is somehow different than positive punishment? Used correctly, both suppress behavior in exactly the same way. I don’t find that helpful. On the other hand, the much neglected negative reinforcement quadrant is a great place to train. Maybe it would be smart to begin thinking in terms of “reinforcement” training, instead of positive training. I am pretty sure that most of us would see a huge increase in desired behavior from our dogs. In the end, that’s the only thing that matters. Understanding and mastering the use of reinforcers and punishers is not easy, but that should not discourage you. I hope I have given you some food for thought, and that you will reexamine your training program in light of it. Your Saluki can be reinforced into running agility really reliably and well, When Pigs Fly! D As used in behavioral science, positive and negative do not mean good and bad, respectively. Positive simply means adding something, and negative means taking away something. Jane, a breeder of Bull Terriers under the Madcap prefix, has put 18 performance titles on four different Bull Terriers and is one of only three people to have put an AX and AXJ on a Bull Terrier. Her passion is helping people who have been told that their dogs “just have an attitude” or are incapable of learning. She never trains for mere compliance—she teaches her students how to shape a dog that vibrates with happiness when training. Jane is the author of When Pigs Fly! Training Success with Impossible Dogs (Dogwise Publishing). She teaches at her home and does”Pigs Fly” seminars around the country. Contact her through her website, www.madcapbullterriers. com, or at janekillion@yahoo.com. January 10 | Clean Run 65

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Clean Run Magazine - January 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - January 2010