Extinction: An Ironic Addendum

If you read my first article about extinction you’ll know that I think it is an overly-hyped suggestion that doesn’t work as advertised to control behavior. dinosaur-meteorite_3040850bNow I will offer the proof of the pudding. A quote from someone who knew that even punishment needs to be reapplied to suppress a behavior. You may be surprised about who acknowledged that fact. It may also caution you about swallowing “what they say” without first using your own knowledge and using a little bit of logic. Continue reading

DRO – Differential Reinforcement of “Other” Behavior:

DRO stands for “differential reinforcement of ‘other’ behavior”. You can shorten it to “teach something different.” It is a widely recommended means of fixing behavior problems. For example, if a dog jumps up on people, teach it to lie down, instead. There are variations on DRO, such as DRI (teaching an incompatible behavior) and DRA (teaching an alternate behavior) In essence they all mean the same thing – teach the dog something new to replace an existing behavior. Despite the popularity of these tricks the reality is that they are not suggested because they are the most effective way to stop unacceptable behavior. They are suggested because they avoid considering punishment. This is often attributed to being the “scientific” way to solve behavior problems. It’s not. Continue reading

Seminar for Serious Trainers: Santa Cruz, CA

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Advanced Agility Seminar Cato, NY

Please join us for a 4 day seminar with Gary Wilkes!

Dates: March 19th – March 22nd 2015, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: Confident K9 Training, Santa Cruz, CA

This seminar will introduce you to real clicker training – the first practical and humane application of operant conditioning for dogs, from its creator.  You will gain first-hand knowledge of how to shape and control behaviors with precision and maintain great performance. You will also learn how to stop behaviors on a dime. No, this isn’t that namby-pamby “all-treats” stuff. You will learn to use the full spectrum of behavioral tools at your disposal. Rather than a simplistic single-minded view, Gary Wilkes provides a balanced and broad perspective on controlling your dog’s behavior.  From competitive obedience to working dogs, dogs with neurological disorders or just dealing with a rowdy pet, this information will sharpen and polish your knowledge of dog behavior and allow you to realize your dog’s full potential. Come to this hands-on seminar and find out how to use the solutions from one discipline to solve problems in another. Broad Band Click & Treat® Training will show you how to teach accurate and reliable behaviors without losing your dog’s spirit.

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Aversive Control: A biological and evolutionary perspective. Part 1

 Punishment is generally considered the human application of naturally occurring forces that influence behavior. That’s about all you can say about the subject before hitting a fork in the road: the traditional, colloquial use of the term and the attempts by science to describe the phenomenon. Both roads, guided by good intentions, lead to perdition.
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