Blog • Page 22 of 35 • Three Dogs Training

Positively Confused

What is positive reinforcement and positive punishment and why positive reinforcement is the best and most effective way to train your dog.

Ask Professor Boo is our recurring, positive reinforcement dog training and behavior question and answer column. If you have a question that you would like to ask Professor Boo, please feel free to contact him.

[dropcap]Q[/dropcap]: What’s the difference between positive reinforcement and positive punishment?

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]: If Professor Boo had a time machine he would go back in time to find B.F. Skinner and his cohorts and have a stern talking to them about the naming of the four quadrants of Learning Theory.

Positive Reinforcement (shorthand for Positive Reinforcement is PR or R+) and Positive Punishment (shorthand for Positive Punishment is PP or P+.) are just two elements of the four quadrants of Learning Theory.

The other two elements are Negative Reinforcement and Negative Punishment – we will save those for another day.

Positive Reinforcement means that we are offering a timely reinforcer to the subject to insure the behavior is repeated – YIKES!

Okay let’s try again –

Positive Reinforcement allows us to build our bond with our dogs while we are teaching them good behaviors.

Positive Reinforcement is offering a reward (or something the dog likes) immediately after any behavior we want or like so we will get more of that behavior. When we reinforce the behavior by following it immediately with a reinforcing event like a food reward, a great game, the butt scratch of a life-time or anything that makes the dog vibrate with JOY the dog will repeat the action that earned him that great reward. Generally we also add in a praise word, or “marker word,” or clicker to mark the good behavior and predict the reward is coming for the dog. This eventually allows us to fade out the food (or other added reinforcer) so that we don’t always have to be strapped with hot dogs to take our dog for a walk.

Positive Reinforcement allows us to build our bond with our dogs while we are teaching them good behaviors. It helps the dog to enjoy and look forward to learning, and to be more creative and confident in general. Neurological studies have shown that all of us (human, dog, cat, etc.) learn better when our brains are bathed in the kids of neurotransmitters associated with positive emotions.

Positive Punishment means that we are offering a punisher to the subject to insure the behavior will stop. – YIKES again!

Okay let’s try another way –

Positive Punishment breaks our bond with our dog and our dog’s trust in us.

Positive Punishment is offering a punisher (or something the dog does not like) AS* the dog is producing a behavior we don’t like/want so that the dog will stop doing it. When we want to punish a behavior we must apply the punishing event AS* the dog is still in the act of the unwanted behavior (otherwise we run a big risk of actually punishing the dog for stopping). Traditional punishing events have included yelling, pulling on the choke collar or pinch collar, subjecting the dog to any kind of pain from a shock collar to the more severe methods of drowning, flipping, rolling, scruff shaking, or kicking, and worse. Studies have shown us that most of the time when punishers are faded the unwanted behavior returns because remember in PR – we are looking to have the animal repeat the behavior to EARN the reward. In PP we are simply looking for the animal to stop the behavior in the face of the punishment. This means you will always have to punish or at least threaten to punish if you choose this route.

*Note – because human timing in training is relatively slow in comparison to our dogs when using P+ one has to aim for “AS” in terms of the timing of the punisher so that one actually gets even closer to the event to be punished. With R+ we have a little more wriggle room in terms of timing – maybe a quarter of a second, but that’s a lot in training terms.

Positive Punishment breaks our bond with our dog and our dog’s trust in us. It teaches them that learning is at the very least no fun and at the worst painful. It does not build confidence – it breaks it. It all too often leads to more aggression from our dogs. Neurological studies have shown that punishment acts quickly to suppress a behavior because of the survival instinct of avoiding pain and threats; but it comes with baggage in the nature of fears, re-directed and learned aggression, and shut down behaviors based in chronic stressors that can lead to a host of physical illnesses. In summary positive punishment not only carries a host of fallout, it has make you ask the following, “Did I get this dog so I could cause him or her pain and fear?”

When using Positive Reinforcement you must know what your dog likes and doesn’t like.

When using Positive Reinforcement you must know what your dog likes and doesn’t like. If you have a dog who is head-shy then patting them on the head when they do something you like is a PUNISHMENT not a reinforcer. If you have a dog with gastric issues then food rewards may not be a fun thing for your dog. You have to know what your dog loves (remember: makes your dog vibrate with joy) in order to offer him/her that for a reward.

The biggest trick to Positive Punishment is TIMING and being ready to break your bond with your dog while you actually discourage your dog from wanting to learn. Using Positive Punishment could shut your dog down leaving them living their lives like a hostage never knowing when the next scary thing will happen to them. Or you could make you dog more aggressive – studies have shown that one of the biggest contributing factors to aggression in dogs (and people, too) is using harsh (aggressive) correction on them. You might be told or be thinking that your dog is not feeling the pain from the shock collar because they are not responding, but in fact your dog is not responding because he/she is actually overwhelmed with stress and cannot comply. All you will be doing is making their stress bigger.

Transport yourself back in time to when you were in school and answer this question: Would you learn better if someone smacked you in the head every time you misspelled a word or made a math mistake or would you learn better if someone showed you where you made your mistake and then rewarded you each time you overcame each one?

There is nothing that can be taught by positive punishment that cannot be taught by positive reinforcement. In fact, there is more that can be taught by positive reinforcement. The choice of how you wish to treat the animal in your care is up to you.

Boo prefers PR!

Publisher’s Weekly reviewed A Dog Named Boo!

Publisher’s Weekly reviewed A Dog Named Boo and it’s a great one!

As a companion to the Publisher’s Weekly interview with me earlier this week, they’ve gone ahead and reviewed A Dog Named Boo!

Here’s a link:

Nonfiction Review: A Dog Named Boo: How One Dog and One Woman Rescued Each Other–and the Lives They Transformed Along the Way

Let me know what you think in the comments!

Remote dog Training is Good

Is remote here to “Stay”

We adapted during the pandemic, and some of those adaptations turned out to be a good thing, like remote dog training.

“How is that good?” you might ask.

There are certain situations where my being in-person for an initial session would interfere with the process…

For example a dog who is afraid of strangers or aggressive with new people would not be well served by my walking into their home. In these cases, my presence only causes your dog more stress (and probably you, too).

If your dog spends the majority of an in-person session barking at me, it limits what we can do. However if we meet remotely first, I can craft management strategies and training techniques for you to begin working on so that when I do arrive in-person for the follow-up session, you and your dog will be less stressed, ready to work and I will be able to see how the process is progressing.

For all behavioral issues, the use of videos on zoom allows us to watch together as I identify and show you your dog’s body language. This is indescribably enlightening and usually very difficult to see in real life.

I can also watch how you work with your dog without my presence getting in the way.

It doesn’t matter if your dog wants to eat me or play with me, my presence changes their behavior dramatically.

Many of my clients started with a remote session and happily continued that way. Some have done a blended series of sessions, starting with remote and following up with in-person and remote as needed.

During the pandemic, separation anxiety issues floated to the top of the list of behavioral issues for a lot of households.

I have worked fully remotely with some separation anxiety clients, and some have done the blended approach which allows us to check in frequently for very short sessions that are not practical in-person.

Some of the most fun I’ve ever had with clients is remotely walking them through a skill they thought they couldn’t teach their dog. By the end, we are all cheering and laughing because it’s like playing remote twister. And the dog not knowing what just happened is still thrilled by the treats and laughter.

Some more logistical reasons remote is good:

As a working mother of a child with special needs, remote sessions allow me to meet with more clients, offering easier scheduling than in-person.
Because I don’t have to travel for remote sessions, the cost of a remote session is less than in-person.
No matter where you live, we can set up remote sessions. I’ve been able to work with clients from Paris, to Chicagoland, Connecticut, Texas, California, and even Australia.
And because there are so many pandemic dogs and families who need help, remote sessions help us all manage the larger demand.

And if you are looking for a Subject Matter Expert on kids and dogs and/or special needs kids and dogs, you may need to reach beyond local trainers. I can now offer that speciality to anyone anywhere.

Resource Guarding – “Please Don’t Bite the Baby”

Excerpt… “Please Don’t Bite the Baby”

Resource Guarding can be one of the trickiest behavioral issues to modify and manage because there are so many variations.

Some dogs only guard their food

Some guard toys

Some guard bones

Some guard anything that hits the floor

Some guard whatever it was they just stole

Regardless of what your dog guards and to what degree, the process is the same.

There will be adjustments for management and time needed to modify the behavior, but ultimately it is all about teaching your dog that giving up something is far more profitable then guarding it.

And, occasionally, the guarding will pop up for the rest of your dog’s life during stressful periods, or high energy/excited play, but by keeping your dog’s skills in good working order, you will be able to easily resolve any guarding issues.

I have lived with, Pinball, the ‘Super Villain of Resource Guarding’ and have posted an excerpt about my strategies for working through his issues from my book “Please Don’t Bite the Baby, and Please Don’t Chase the Dogs.”

We were all a bit worried when our son arrived in our home with the ‘Super villain of Resource Guarding’ living there. However, by teaching Pinball good solid commands, and slowly allow him and my son to spend managed time together, we saw things we never expected to see. This video where Charlie Brown Takes a Dive is a great example of how far a resource guarding dog can come with some skills, management, and persistence.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvxByT3LS1o[/embedyt]

In the end, if your dog guards things, training good skills then working with a good behavior consultant is essential to take those skills and turn them into more positive behaviors.

Rights of NYC Dogs and Their Humans

Emma, a female Giant Schnauzer walks the Upper West Side of Manhattan off leash.

She outweighs my dog, Pax’e, by about twenty-five pounds and has gone-after Pax’e on multiple occasions.

These were targeted attacks, beginning with a predatory assault in Central Park which Emma would not break off until I intervened.

Subsequent attacks occurred on Ninety-seventh Street and the parking lot of Park West Village, each marked by escalating intent and aggression.

In an attack on December 29th, Emma ran across Ninety-seventh Street to bite Pax’e on the butt slamming Pax’e into a parked car on the street, then continued to peruse Pax’e. As I tried to get us away, Emma bit Pax’e again, lunging, growling, and snapping at her while I circled Pax’e to stay between Emma’s advances and Pax’e. This attack occurred in front of P.S. 163. What if children had been out there at the time?

Flaunting the leash law, Emma’s owner continues to walk Emma off leash on Ninety-seventh Street and probably others with little regard for the safety of dog or human. Today, January 6^th, Emma entered Central Park off leash at 103^rd Street after the 9 AM leash restriction was in effect.

I was able to keep Emma away from Pax’e, but shortly after Emma and her human continued towards the Pool at 100^th Street, I heard a dog fight. Emma was attacking a Boarder Collie named Nikko. I checked in with Nikko and her owner, Cecilia, afterwards. As she does with Pax’e, Emma targeted and attacked Nikko who had been playing with Cecilia. After the episode, Nikko was visibly shaking with her tail wrapped tight to her belly. Cecilia was also visibly shaking.

These details are important to underscore that Emma’s attacks are not like the occasional dog greeting that turns into canine trash talking. Emma is targeting Pax’e and other dogs aggressively.

Events like these highlight a few of the rights that all New York City dogs and their humans have:

All NYC dogs have a right to not be targeted by another dog on the streets or in the parks.
All NYC dogs have a right to not be subjected to this kind of stress and the potential that this trauma will cause them to become fearful of other dogs.
All the dogs have the right to be safe from predatory or dog-aggressive dogs.
- It is unlikely Pax’e and Nikko are the only dogs Emma has gone after.
All New York City dog owners have a right to walk our dogs out our front doors without the fear that this will be the walk when a dog like Emma seriously injures our dog.
Dogs need to be walked on leash in New York City for their own safety and in Emma’s case, the safety of others.
Any dog has a right to not like another dog, but they cannot be allowed to act on these feelings because of irresponsible handling.

I have worked with clients whose dogs have had much more reactive/aggressive behaviors than Emma. These handlers have been responsible. They’ve kept their dogs on a leash, done training and behavior modification, and managed their dog’s access to other dogs in order to keep their dogs and other dogs safe. I thank every dog handler in New York City who works to keep a dog-reactive dog managed and socially responsible.

I am reminded of the Siberian Husky named Charlie who killed one dog in Central Park in 2018 and mauled another one in 2019. Could these attacks have been avoided if there had been a recourse to alert dog owners in the area? There was no way Charlie’s two known episodes were isolated behaviors without prior actions that predicted harm.

Is there a resource I don’t know about?

311 says to call the police. The police can’t do anything until there is an injury to a human. And injury or death to another dog is a civil matter.

If you see Emma, please be careful.

And please remind her human to put Emma on a leash.