Clean Run Magazine - April 2009 - 13

overwhelming and frustrating for them as it would be for us! Try Again NRMs can make training more efficient, but only if used infrequently. Likewise, if you find that you’re relying heavily on You Blew It NRMs, take a step back and assess your foundation training. A dog that repeatedly misses contacts or breaks stays, despite being informed of his errors, is telling you that he doesn’t comprehend the correct performance. If he repeatedly bites your hand instead of the tug toy, he needs a more significant consequence than those you’re applying. You presumably wouldn’t deliver repeated positive punishment if it wasn’t working. It’s just as inappropriate to overuse NRMs and negative punishment as a substitute for good training. like negative punishment and NRMs either. My Fidget becomes very depressed when she hears a signal that tells her she’s failed to earn reinforcement after a response. Her ears flatten, her tail droops, and she hangs her head. I may be saying no as nicely as I can and she’s resilient enough to keep trying, but I don’t fool myself. She’s still being punished. Animals presented with an NRM in the laboratory turn away, move to the end of the apparatus, or even attack a cage mate. While certainly preferable to positive punishment, NRMs are associated with depression and frustration, and animals find them unpleasant. What’s the moral of this story? Condition your NRMs unambiguously. Be clear in your mind what you’re saying with your NRMs and, if you use them prudently, your dog will benefit from the feedback. Training dogs is an exercise in cross-species communication—the onus is on you to help your dog understand how to win the prize so he doesn’t have to hear that loser horn. D References Bower, G. & Grusec, T. (1964). Effect of prior Pavlovian discrimination training upon learning and operant discrimination. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 7, 401-404. Brown, P. L. & Jenkins, H. M. (1967). Conditioned inhibition and excitation in operant discrimination learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 75, 255-266. Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned Reflexes. Oxford University Press. Rescorla, R. A. (1969). Pavlovian conditioned inhibition. Psychological Bulletin, 72, 77-94. Williams, D. A., Overmier, J. B. & LoLordo, V. M. (1992). A reevaluation of Rescorla’s early dictums about Pavlovian conditioned inhibition. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 275-290. Saying No Nicely NRMs give trainers the opportunity to provide clear feedback to their dogs about incorrect behaviors. NRMs signal negative punishment, defined as the removal or withholding of rewards, in contrast to positive punishment, which involves aversive stimuli. Because we prefer not to apply aversive events, like collar corrections and worse, we tend to consider negative punishment and its corresponding signals as non-aversive. Still, animals don’t Pamela Reid, a certified applied animal behaviorist, received her Ph.D. in Psychology with a specialization in animal learning and behavior from the University of Toronto. Now the Director of the ASPCA Animal Behavior Center in New York City, Pam lectures on animal behavior, learning theory, and agility training. She writes articles for both professional journals and popular magazines and is the author of the acclaimed book, Excel-erated Learning! Explaining (in plain English) How Dogs Learn and How Best to Teach Them (James & Kenneth Publishers 1996). Pam’s success in agility and flyball shows in her present teammate, Border Terrier/Border Collie mix, Eejit, TM-Platinum, ADCH, FbMCH, a two-time USDAA Steeplechase Champion, DAM Regional Champion, and multiple Top Ten finisher. Contact her at pamr@aspca.org. (5, 21) 1 (−14, 17) 2 Color! CRCD 3 (−15, 0) 3 4 (−4,−2) Course Bendable Tunnels! Baseline Building! 10 Dog and Person Shapes! T 5 (11,−8) Available in English, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Japanese, Spanish and Swedish versions. Native Macintosh version available! ™ Try it free for 30 days www.cleanrun.com April 09 | Clean Run 13

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Clean Run Magazine - April 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - April 2009