Clean Run - June 2014 - 58
Why
Should I
Care About
This Science Stuff?
How Dogs and Other Animals Learn
By Lynne Stephens, KPA CTP
Now it is time to come to grips with some of this science which, whether we like it or not, is continuously affecting
every aspect of our lives both with and without our dogs. First I want to discuss several technical terms with which
you may already be familiar.
Classical Conditioning
Every animal, including the human, is subject to learning
through classical conditioning. A classically conditioned response is a response to a stimulus over which the animal has
no control. For example, when I hear a dentist's drill, I cannot
stop the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach or the cold
sweat that appears on my brow. Similarly, my mouth involuntarily waters at the smell of a wonderful meal cooking.
Through classical conditioning the sight of a leash produces
feelings of great excitement in many dogs in anticipation of a
romp in the park. Unfortunately, some of these dogs are also
classically conditioned to stay as far away as possible from
their owners when they hear the word "come." They have discovered that this word usually means the leash goes on, then
they go to the crate and get left alone for several hours.
another dog or human approaching? Does he become fearful
at the sound or sight of something new in his environment?
If left unnoticed, some of these responses can become problem behaviors. However, if noticed and acted upon promptly,
with timely use of classical conditioning techniques, we can
avert many problems.
To classically condition a more favorable response to loud
noises, for example, I introduce my dog to a very low level of
that sound. When the sound begins I begin to feed the dog.
When the sound stops, I stop feeding.
Our dogs are learning through classical conditioning whether we
are aware of it or not. If we are aware, we can use this knowledge
to our advantage and we can also avoid potential problems.
I classically condition a good response to having human
hands on all of my dogs' collars. In the past, this may have
happened by accident. But now I consciously classically condition a favorable response to my reaching for the collar by
feeding continuously while my hand is on the collar and stopping as soon as I remove it. I am aiming for my hand on the
collar to become the cue for the good treats to begin and the
removal of my hand to be the cue that the treats will stop. I
don't want my dogs to be difficult to catch in an emergency.
We must be attentive to our dog's reactions to various stimuli.
For example, does he become really aroused when he sees
I know that some of you are probably beginning to worry
about some of this just as I did when first hearing of this ap-
58
Clean Run | June 14
Clean Run - June 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run - June 2014
Contents
Clean Run - June 2014 - 1
Clean Run - June 2014 - 2
Clean Run - June 2014 - Contents
Clean Run - June 2014 - 4
Clean Run - June 2014 - 5
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