Operant & Classical Conditioning for Dog Aggression

When Good Dog Charles turns into Cujo, you must immediately take necessary measures to prevent his aggressive behavior from putting roots and escalating. Operant and classical conditioning will lend a helping hand, as they both play an important role in behavior modification. Both can help your dog by replacing undesirable behaviors with more desirable ones and by ultimately changing your dog's underlying emotional response.

Understanding Skinner's Law

In a nutshell, operant conditioning teaches a dog that his behavior leads to consequences. The dog, therefore, "operates" in his environment and learns that his behavior may lead to something good or something bad happening. American psychologist B. F. Skinner, the father of operant conditioning, believed that behavior that is reinforced will repeat, whereas behavior that is not reinforced will die out and eventually extinguish. Punishment, on the other hand, would weaken behavior and decrease its likelihood of being repeated.

Rats in a Skinner's Box

Skinner's studies were conducted by using a Skinner box which contained rats and pedals that upon being pressed released a food pellet. This allowed him to carefully study animal behavior in a very controlled environment. Because the rat's peddling behavior was followed by the release of food, the rats repeated the peddling behavior over and over. This was proof that when behaviors were reinforced, they persisted and continued. This same application can be used to your advantage when it comes to dealing with aggressive behavior.

Understanding Pavlov's Law

While B.F. Skinner is considered the father of operant conditioning, Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov is considered the dad of classical conditioning. "...Lots of individuals assume that it is necessary to get dog training tips preceding to having their pets. A number of people might find this fascinating but a lot of people might concur that this is a wonderful tip to follow. The condition with a number of pet owners is they will get a dog and then find out that they are simply not suitable to be cautious of them. Eventually, they could abandon their pets in order to retrieve their old lives. These dog training tips can let people know what they have to take care of and if they have the time to train their dogs. These guidelines will be found on Secrets To Dog Training. By using the time to execute appropriate dog training, you will enjoy a lifetime of relaxed a relationship with your ".... In this case, Ivan Pavlov discovered how dogs learn through associations. Through several experiments, he noticed how environmental events that previously had no connection could, through experience, produce a new response.There's no doubt today that Pavlov's revolutionary studies paved the path for newer, more objective methods for studying behavior.

Pavlov's Drooling Dogs

Pavlov casually discovered classical conditioning when he was studying the salivary glands in dogs. After his scientists fed the dogs day after day, he soon noticed how the dogs started drooling at the mere sight of a white lab coat. Therefore, the dogs learned to pair the food with the lab coat. He then further studied this behavior by sounding a bell in close association with their meal. Soon, the dogs learned to associate the bell noise with food, and shortly thereafter, started drooling just at the sound of it in anticipation of the food. This same application can be used when dealing with aggression in dogs.

Lending a Hand from Skinner

Today, you can apply Skinner's principles to help Good Dog Charles better cope with his aggression. For instance, if your dog barks, growls and lunges at the sight of another dog, you can train him an alternate behavior to reinforce. Find a distance from where your dog is better under control, and when he spots a dog, ask him to sit. Reward the sit by using high-value treats. Because the sitting behavior is repeatedly reinforced, he'll be more likely to sit in the future; while on the other hand, the barking, growling and lunging behaviors may extinguish over time.

Lending a Hand from Pavlov

Use Pavlov's classical conditioning to help your dog make positive associations. If other dogs are a problem, you can find a distance where your dog is calmer and every time he spots a dog you can feed him high-value treats. With time, he will pair the presence of dogs with food and this will change his underlying emotional response. Instead of reacting fearfully, he may follow Pavlov's law and may as well drool in anticipation of the treat.

Choosing One Method Over the Other

You may wonder at some point if you should use operant or classical conditioning to help your dog. As a general rule, it's best to use operant conditioning when your dog is in a cognitive, thinking state of mind and doesn't appear upset; whereas, you should use classical conditioning when your dog is upset and dealing with emotions such as fear. It's crucial to consult with a dog behavior professional to determine which method is best to apply and how to apply it correctly.

Pavlov is Always on Your Shoulder

Whichever method you employ, keep in mind that Pavlov is always sitting on your shoulder, as animal trainer and mentor Bob Bailey states. Indeed, classical conditioning is happening all the time. If you are asking your dog to sit when he sees another dog, the moment you feed treats, he is learning that the sitting behavior leads to treats, but he's also always automatically making good or bad associations whether or not its intentional. Therefore, any of your training interactions even those you may see as purely operant lead to classical associations no matter what.

• 
  

  Classical conditioning - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_conditioning

  Classical conditioning (also Pavlovian conditioning or respondent conditioning) is a form of learning in which the conditioned stimulus or CS, comes to signal the ...

• 
  

  Operant Conditioning vs. Classical Conditioning

  www.dogmanners.com/.../operant-conditioning-vs-classical-conditioning

  When dealing with learning or modifying behavior, we are actually working with Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning. For the purposes of this article, we ...

• 
  

  Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning

  ananda.mahto.info/classical-conditioning-and-operant-conditioning

  Ananda Mahto Patreca Pamela Hawkins. In the education field, teachers often spend as much time engaged in classroom management as they do teaching.

• 
  

  Classical Operant Conditioning definitions Quizlet

  quizlet.com/dictionary/classical-operant-conditioning

  User-contributed definitions of Classical Operant Conditioning definitions on Quizlet

• 
  

  Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning: Potential

  anandamahto.wordpress.com/2006/03/25/classical-conditioning-and...

  Mar 25, 2006 Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning: Potential Tools for Classroom Management

• 
  

  Classical and Operant Conditioning - Stacy's Wag'N'Train ...

  www.wagntrain.com/OC

  This page presents the theories of Operant and Classical Conditioning, and explains how they can be applied for dog training and other animal training.

• 
  

  Examples of Classical and Operant Conditioning with Dogs -

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YevlI_s3b4

  Examples of Classical and Operant Conditioning with Dogs. By Dr. Kathy Gerbasi

• 
  

  Classical and Operant Conditioning Examples (Set 1)

  webs.anokaramsey.edu/biederman/courses/p1110/examples1.htm

  Classical & Operant Conditioning Examples (Set 1) (1) Robert gets a ticket for driving under the influence that results in a $500 fine and suspension of his driving ...

• 
  

  Classical and Operant Conditioning in Psychology 101 at

  allpsych.com/psychology101/conditioning.html

  Psychology 101: Synopsis of Psychology ... Classical and Operant Conditioning. Classical Conditioning. One important type of learning, Classical Conditioning,

• 
  

  Changing Behavior with Operant Conditioning - YouTube

  www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLoHH03QAAI

  One of my students teaches her puppy to roll over using positive reinforcement (If it was negative reinforcement, the dog could have just ran away). As ...

• Classical and Operant Conditioning Examples (Set 1)

  webs.anokaramsey.edu/biederman/courses/p1110/examples1.htm

  Classical & Operant Conditioning Examples (Set 1) (1) Robert gets a ticket for driving under the influence that results in a $500 fine and suspension of his driving ...

• What are Operant and Respondent conditioning and How Do We

  www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/what-are-operant-and-respondent...

  What is Respondent conditioning previously referred to as Classical Conditioning? Well within an organism there are two types of reflexes, unconditioned reflexes and ...

• Classical and Operant Conditioning: Phobias and Addictions -

  voices.yahoo.com/classical-operant-conditioning-phobias-addictions...

  Oct 10, 2011 Associative learning and the difference between classical conditioning/operant conditioning. How phobias can develop from classical conditioning

• Operant Conditioning

  www.smartdogtrainer.com/operant-conditioning.htm

  By: Thomas A. Beitz. Operant Conditioning is one of the most significant contributions to learning science of the past 75 years. It was developed by B. F. Skinner and ...

• Operant conditioning - Psychology Wiki

  psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Operant

  Operant conditioning is an aspect of learning theory and is the use of consequences to modify the occurrence and form of behavior. Operant conditioning is ...

• What are the differences between classical and operant ...

  wiki.answers.com Science Social Sciences Psychology

  In classical conditioning a stimulus that already leads to a response is replaced by a different stimulus. In operant conditioning a behaviour is picked out and ...

• Secrets of Dog Training Professionals - Operant Conditioning

  ezinearticles.com/?Secrets-of-Dog...Operant-Conditioning&id=201252

  May 19, 2006 Have you ever wondered how really good dog trainers come up with the techniques they use to solve behaviour problems in dogs such as excessive barking ...

• Learning: Classical Conditioning & Operant Conditioning

  schoolworkhelper.net/learning-classical-conditioning-operant...

  * Learning process by which experience produces a relatively enduring change in an organisms behaviour or capabilities Adapting to the Environment ...

• What are the similarities between classical conditioning and ...

  wiki.answers.com Science Social Sciences Psychology

  Similarities of classical conditioning and operant conditioning? The similarities of classical and operant conditioning is that the two components modifies behavior

• Operant Conditioning, Part 2 - Stacy's Wag'N'Train - Effective ...

  www.wagntrain.com/OC/Part2.htm

  This page continues explaining the theories of Operant and Classical Conditioning, and explains how they can be applied for animal training.

• Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning ...

  alison.com/topic/learn/1282/24611/operant-conditioning/comparison...

  XSIQPsychology - Comparison of classical conditioning and operantconditioning Comparison of classical conditioning and operant conditioning

• TED-Ed The difference between classical and operant conditioning ...

  ed.ted.com/...between-classical-and-operant-conditioning-peggy-andover

  As a cognitive-behavioral therapist, Dr. Andover uses empirically-supported techniques to treat clients ranging in age from childhood to adulthood with a variety of ...

• Operant conditioning Facts, information, pictures Encyclopedia ...

  www.encyclopedia.com Businesses and Occupations

  Operant Conditioning. Simply put, operant conditioning refers to a systematic program of rewards and punishments to influence behavior or bring about desired behavior.

• Operant Conditioning vs. Classical Conditioning in Advertising

  www.ehow.com Business Advertising General Advertising

  Classical conditioning and operant conditioning are psychological reactions exploited by advertisers to convince us to buy their products. In classical conditioning ...