by Eileen Anderson | Jan 6, 2017 | Training
I read the following online the other day: People shouldn’t object to the use of negative reinforcement! It’s just stuff like washing my hands when they are dirty or drying them when they are wet. What’s wrong with that? This...
by Eileen Anderson | Aug 13, 2016 | Animal Behavior, Training
What do the following training descriptions have in common? “My dog’s afraid of strangers. But when she stops barking and makes eye contact with me, I give her a treat.” “I hold her foot. Then I give her a treat …
by Daniel Antolec | Jun 17, 2016 | Learning Theory, Training
Animal training can serve useful purposes, be great fun and strengthen the human-animal bond. It can also frustrate folks, especially if they have not formally studied learning theory. Welcome to Learning Theory 101. Training is as simple as A-B-C. The...
by Ewa Highland | May 2, 2016 | Animal Behavior, Business & Consulting, Learning Theory, Training
When consulting on canine behavior problems, you will be looking at your ABCs – Antecedent – Behaviour – Consequence – as part of your functional assessment. The immediate antecedents, such as direct environment, setting the dog off doing...
by Eileen Anderson | Feb 23, 2016 | Training
Thanks to Debbie Jacobs and Randi Rossman for their input on this topic. Any weird conclusions are mine alone. I have come to believe that most of us who thought we were using “choice” as a reinforcer were mistaken. Wait! …