Operant Conditioning & Effective Use of Punishment
Behaviorally speaking, there are four ways to teach desired behaviors: Positive Reinforcement, Negative Punishment, Negative Reinforcement and Positive Punishment. These terms were developed by scientists to explain how something added or taken away can impact an animal’s learning. For example, the term Positive means anything that is added to and Negative means that something is taken away, e.g. food is given or taken away. This would be considered positive or negative. Reinforcement means that a behavior is increased, whereas Punishment means the behavior decreases. Michael Burkey’s Canine Behavioral Training primarily uses Positive Reinforcement and Negative Punishment to teach desired behaviors followed by Negative Reinforcement. Positive Punishment is rarely used.
To teach behavior, it is highly recommended that one do so by reinforcing desired behavior with a reward your dog finds pleasing (food treat, toy, petting, verbal praise, or other life reward). This is called using “Positive Reinforcement.” For example, when the dog’s rear end hits the floor after being asked to sit, he receives a reward.
One can also use “Negative Punishment” which is the removal of a reward. Using the the above example, if the dog began to stand after being asked to sit in order to obtain the food reward, one could remove the reward until the dog sat back down.
Dogs do what works for them. So in most cases, it is recommended that undesired behavior be ignored and desired behavior rewarded. The dog will usually attempt to perform desired behavior in order to obtain the reward. What is not rewarded (e.g. jumping on a person) usually goes away when it doesn’t work for the dog. This is called “extinction.”
In some cases, Negative Reinforcement may be used to teach behavior. For example, for a dog that barks excessively while on a walk due to over excitement, one might use a head collar. When the dog begins to bark, the owner would gently and gradually pull up on the leash which would close the dog’s mouth and tell the dog to sit. The slight pressure would be applied until the dog sat and appeared calm (not barking). For a dog that gets up from a sit position without being released with a verbal cue such as “ok”, the owner may pull up on the neck collar using a leash toward the dog’s ears causing the dog to want to sit back down. As soon as the dog sits again, the pressure would be released. A third example would be low level non-painful stimulus taps from a remote training collar would start when your dog is looking away from you and you give the command to “come”. The taps would stop as soon as your dog turned toward you and began to take a couple of steps toward you. Do not use negative reinforcement without professional instruction from a professional trainer.
Positive Punishment should not be used to teach a behavior but in some cases it can be effectively used to stop undesired behavior. It should then be followed by rewarding a desired behavior. In order for punishment to be effectively and humanely applied it must meet the below criteria. Do not use positive punishment without professional instruction from a professional trainer.
EFFECTIVE PUNISHMENT CRITERIA:
1. Immediate - the punishment must occur within seconds of the undesired behavior, otherwise, the dog is not likely to associate the punishment with the behavior.
2. Consistent - the punishment must be predictable as it has been consistently applied. It must occur every time the dog engages in the undesired behavior.
3. Delivered at appropriate intensity - the punishment must be sufficient enough to stop the behavior but not excessive to create other problem behaviors. Therefore, it must be: A. Minimal intensity sufficient to stop behavior quickly B. No fear or aggressive response
4. Aversive stimulus occurs briefly - the purpose of the punishment is to stop the undesired behavior from occurring and not to berate/scold/abuse the dog or as a way for a person to vent their anger at their dog.