Mary R. Burch - How Dogs Learn

Table of Contents

Howell Book House
A Pearson Education Macmillan Company
1633 Broadway
New York, NY 10019

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. For information, address Howell Book House, 1633 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10019-6785.

Copyright1999 by Mary R. Burch and Jon S. Bailey

MACMILLAN is a registered trademark of Macmillan USA

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Burch, Mary R.

How dogs learn / Mary R. Burch and Jon S. Bailey p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-87605-371-1

1. DogsTraining. 2. DogsBehavior. I. Bailey, Jon S.

II. Title.

SF431.B928 1999 636.70835dc21

98-42760 CIP

Manufactured in the United States of America

109876543

Book Design: George McKeon

Cover Design: Michael J. Freeland

dedication

For Laddie,
who introduced us to dog training and changed our lives

acknowledgements

We thought when we started this book that between the two of us, we knew everything we needed to know in order to write a basic book on operant conditioning for dog training. Not long after we began writing, we discovered that a great deal of the popular literature on training dogs is full of mythology and pseudoscience. As operant conditioning has become more popular, an increasing number of trainers have attempted to teach the concepts. Some trainers combine science with their own theories. The result is that many procedures are recommended that cannot be used reliably by a variety of trainers and dogs.

We hope this book will shed some light on the subject.

We would like to gratefully acknowledge several individuals for their valuable input.

Marge Gibbs of Leash and Collar Dog Training in Lincolnshire, Illinois, provided insightful information pertaining to the behavior of dog owners, and she was a source of encouragement throughout the writing process.

Steve Lindsay of Canine Behavioral Services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, directed the authors to the early writing of well-known obedience trainers, and his interpretation of trends in dog training today was extremely valuable.

Mike Rashotte, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at Florida State University, guided us to some of the critical studies in animal learning research that provide the experimental analysis of procedures equivalent to modern-day trends such as jackpotting.

In particular, we would like to thank Dr. Jack Michael at Western Michigan University for his thoughtful and detailed analysis and critique of an earlier version of this manuscript. His knowledge of the history of operant conditioning and his ability to discern subtleties and nuances of meaning and procedure are without peer in the field. We are honored that he has provided the foreword for our book.

foreword

The alliance of the practical art of animal training with the science of behavior is relatively recent. Of course, animal trainers must always have been somewhat familiar with the concepts and principles of the science of behavior, or they could not have developed the useful or entertaining behavior of their animals. And behavior scientists have long studied animal behavior as a part of their science. But relating the practical tools of animal trainers to the science of behavior nevertheless results in some clear gains for both fields.

Scientists gain another area of application in which the adequacy of existing knowledge can be evaluated, and from which new lines of scientific investigation will emerge when existing knowledge proves insufficient. Trainers gain by having their many techniques and rules integrated into a coherent system consisting of a small number of basic concepts and principles that serve as the basis for a larger number of derived relationships. Such integrated knowledge is easier to learn, easier to teach and easier to apply consistently.

Discovering failures in the fit between practice and science is also of value. Rules and practices of questionable scientific status are likely to be false rules, or they may suggest instances where our existing scientific knowledge is insufficient. Also, scientific knowledge that is not currently a part of the trainers technology may form a basis for new practical applications.

In some respects, the main topic of Mary Burch and Jon Baileys book is the use of rewards or reinforcers. There is no doubt that professional animal trainers are generally well aware of the importance of rewards in their training. But because the concept is familiar, there is some tendency for it to be oversimplified. The readers of this book may be surprised at the complexity, or better, the richness of the subject matter involving rewards. Well covered are the differences between primary and secondary reinforcement, between positive and negative reinforcement, and also the vexing and easily confused distinction between negative reinforcement and punishment. The sensitivity of behavior to the relation between rewards and the context in which the rewards occur (stimulus control) is also well covered; as is the sensitivity of behavior to the relation between reward availability, the passage of time, and the occurrence of previous unrewarded responses (schedules of reinforcement). The variables that alter the effectiveness of rewards, and subsequently alter the probability that the rewarded behavior will actually occurthat is, the topic of motivationare also given careful and thorough treatment.

Especially useful to the trainer, I think, is Burch and Baileys evenhanded and careful coverage of punishment, a topic that is seldom dealt with adequately in popular presentations of behavioral science. Because this topic, more than any other, raises ethical issues, and because the main message is often an admonition against excessive use or any use of physical punishment, the realities and complexities of this very important variable are often neglected. The fact is, many environmental changes that do not in any way involve physical pain function as forms of punishment, in the sense that they decrease the behavior that preceded them. This means a great many events affecting both trainees and trainers function as punishment. It is a topic that is just as complex as reinforcement, and must be as well understood by trainers, and by dog owners in general, if they wish to effectively understand behavior.

Another outstanding feature of this book is its coverage of factors that can strongly affect behavior but are not related to reinforcement or punishmentnot even to learningand are the results of medical conditions, genetic background, physical features of the environment and other things. The material dealt with in the section on behavioral diagnostics has only recently begun to receive appropriate consideration in applications involving human behavior problems. The animal trainer studying this book will be well ahead of many behavioral practitioners working with humans, with respect to these very important but often overlooked causes of behavioral excesses or deficits.