Three Important Uses for Classical Conditioning in Dog Training
Dog training isn’t just about behaviour. Here are 3 ways that you can use classical conditioning to build positive associations for your dog.
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| Photo: Annabel Gsoedl/Shutterstock |
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Everyone’s heard of classical conditioning, because everyone has heard of Pavlov and his dogs.
Classical conditioning refers to the way that we and other animals learn by association: that when one thing happens, it is followed by something else. In dog training, we use it to teach dogs that they don’t need to be scared of something after all because every time they see it or it happens (ideally at a low level where they feel safe), it will be followed by amazing treats.
This is counter-conditioning, where we aim to create (i.e, condition) a positive emotional response.
The way I like to put it in my new book, Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog is:
The thing the dog considers scary (CS) is always followed by the ultimate snacks (US).
This is a very effective technique to help fearful dogs. Here are three ways that we use classical conditioning in dog training.
Desensitization and counterconditioning
The most common use of counter conditioning is to pair it with a technique called desensitization. This helps to ensure the dog feels safe, which is the most important thing to aim for with a fearful dog.
In desensitization, we make sure that the thing the dog considers scary is only ever shown to them at a level that is not scary at all, a level where in fact they are quite happy.
Sometimes this is easy to achieve, because it means turning down the dial on the volume of a recording to play sounds super low, or asking a helpful and friendly person to stand still at a big distance from the dog and not even look at them.
Sometimes it’s harder to achieve. That could be because our assessment of the volume that would be perfectly fine was wrong, or because the person doesn’t follow instructions and instead comes too close to the dog.
Or it could be because the thing that’s considered scary is actually quite complex and it needs to be broken down into different parts in order for us to work on it. For example, the dog is afraid of going to the vet and there are lots of component parts like the car ride, the waiting room, the exam room, the presence of the vet, the application of a stethoscope and any other implements, and so on. Each component should be worked on separately to achieve the desensitization part.
The counter-conditioning part involves always giving wonderful treats whenever the scary thing, or components of the scary thing, are there. You can read more about it in this blog post on desensitization and counter conditioning.
Ad-hoc counterconditioning
Our priority with a fearful dog is to help them feel safe. But sometimes stuff happens that we can’t control, like a neighbour setting off fireworks or that person who won’t stay away and ends up coming too close.
In this case, it’s important to do what we call ad-hoc counterconditioning.
Since your priority is to help the dog feel safe, first of all you should get them out of there—move them away from the oncoming person, or turn the volume down, for example.
Then give them a really yummy snack.
Sometimes, in these circumstances, they will be too scared to take the treats. That’s a clear sign that you should try to avoid this situation happening in future. But nonetheless, you should still offer the yummy snack.
Hopefully, they will eat it later.
You can read about me using ad-hoc counterconditioning with my dog Bodger in Bark!
Classical Conditioning as a Preventive Measure
Another great way to use classical conditioning in dog training is as a preventive measure to stop fears from developing in the first place.
Suppose you have a dog who is not afraid of fireworks, and you hear fireworks. Preventive training would mean that you offer them a great treat anyway in order to make a positive association.
The more positive associations there are, the less likely the dog will become afraid later on.
One of the most obvious ways we use this kind of preventive training is with puppies. During the sensitive period for socialization (from 3 until about 12-14 weeks), we want to give them as wide a range of positive experiences as possible. Food and play are both ways to help ensure these experiences are positive.
This kind of prevention training is a deliberate choice. It's important to know, too, that whenever you use positive reinforcement to train your dog, you are getting a nice side effect of classical conditioning. Giving your dog little treats or other rewards means that they will be building positive associations with you and with the training situation.
It’s one of many reasons to stick to reward-based training methods.
Classical conditioning works
Classical conditioning is a very effective dog training technique that we can use when you want to build positive associations.
Getting it right can sometimes be a bit technical. Like anything else in dog training, it’s not just about the dog—it’s also a skill for the human to learn. You’ll find lots of tips (including mistakes to watch for) in my book, Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog.
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