Commentary: Efficacy of Dog Training With and Without Remote Electronic Collars vs. a Focus on Positive Reinforcement

Summary Though a growing body of evidence supports the efficacy of prison-based dog training programs, research on the process of change or the underlying mechanisms of change for incarcerated individuals who participate in these programs is limited. This qualitative study used interviews with 21 dog program staff to examine the utility of empowerment theory as a theoretical framework for understanding mechanisms of change for participants in prison-based dog training programs. Findings Thematic analysis of interviews with program staff indicated that outcomes of prison-based dog training programs are consistent with constructs of empowerment theory. Reported outcomes were more aligned with individual-level empowerment; however, participation in these programs addressed some structural issues of power within the correctional institution. Analysis resulted in six themes: (1) finding purpose and meaning, (2) enhanced self-concept, (3) skill development, (4) greater perceived control, (5) increased community engagement, and (6) positive post-release outcomes. Applications The alignment of prison-based dog training program outcomes with constructs of empowerment theory suggests that positive outcomes may be related to empowering handlers, though human–animal interactions and positive reinforcement training were often mentioned by staff. Consequently, programs may benefit from using empowerment theory as a guiding framework in program design and training of program staff. Prison-based dog training programs may be of particular interest to social workers in correctional settings, as program features align with core social work values of social justice, dignity and worth of the person, and the importance of human relationships.

Download Full-text

Your Dog is Your Teacher: Contemporary Dog Training Beyond Radical Behaviorism

Society and Animals ◽

10.1163/15685306-12341383 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 23 (6) ◽

pp. 525-543 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Michał Piotr Pręgowski

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Positive Reinforcement ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Radical Behaviorism ◽

Great Emphasis ◽

Mutual Benefit ◽

New Approach ◽

Dog Training ◽

Self Development ◽

The Relationship

Contemporary dog training and the ongoing changes within this field, particularly ones related to perceptions of dogs and their roles, are interesting topics for academic inquiry. Present practices generally rely upon either the pack-and-dominance concept—leading to top-down, discipline-heavy treatment—or behaviorism and operant conditioning, where great emphasis is placed on positive reinforcement. The “positive” approach underlies state-of-the-art training programs of the second decade of the 21st century. Authors of such programs go beyond the limitations of behaviorism, embracing up-to-date information about the emotional and cognitive abilities of dogs—something that trainers strongly attached to behaviorism are prone to overlook. Such a new approach to dog training does not oppose critical anthropomorphism, and it challenges prior understanding of the dog-human relationship. The relationship in question ceases to be unilateral and becomes a bond of mutual benefit, where a force-free, reward-based method of training is in unison with advertising the self-development potential for humans.

Download Full-text

Efficacy of a remote-controlled, positive-reinforcement, dog-training system for modifying problem behaviors exhibited when people arrive at the door

Applied Animal Behaviour Science ◽

10.1016/j.applanim.2007.11.001 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 113 (1-3) ◽

pp. 123-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Sophia Yin ◽

Eduardo J. Fernandez ◽

Sabrina Pagan ◽

Sarah L. Richardson ◽

Greg Snyder

Keyword(s):

Problem Behaviors ◽

Positive Reinforcement ◽

Training System ◽

Dog Training

Download Full-text

Comparing trainers’ reports of clicker use to the use of clickers in applied research studies: methodological differences may explain conflicting results

Pet Behaviour Science ◽

10.21071/pbs.v0i3.5786 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Lynna C Feng ◽

Tiffani J Howell ◽

Pauleen C Bennett

Keyword(s):

Positive Reinforcement ◽

Animal Studies ◽

Future Research ◽

Scientific Evaluation ◽

Dog Training ◽

Training Technique ◽

Clicker Training ◽

Starting Point ◽

Animal Training ◽

Many Sources

Clicker training refers to an animal training technique, derived from laboratory-based studies of animal learning and behaviour, in which a reward-predicting signal is delivered immediately following performance of a desired behaviour, and is subsequently followed by a reward. While clicker training is popular amongst dog training practitioners, scientific evaluation in applied settings has been largely unsuccessful in replicating the benefits of reward-predicting signals seen in laboratory animal studies. Here we present an analysis of dog trainers’ advice and perceptions, conducted to better understand clicker training as it occurs in the dog training industry. Twenty-five sources (13 interviews with dog trainers, 5 websites, and 7 books) were analysed using a deductive content analysis procedure. We found that, for many sources, “clicker training” referred not only to the technique, but also to a philosophy of training that emphasises positive reinforcement and the deliberate application of Learning Theory principles. Many sources reported that clicker training was fun, for both dog and handler, but that it could be frustrating for handlers to learn and sometimes cumbersome to juggle the extra equipment. In addition, while most sources recommended clicker training particularly when training new behaviours, many stated that it was no longer needed once the dog had learned the desired behaviour. When comparing industry recommendations to methods used in applied studies, different criteria were used for predictor signal conditioning. Inadequate conditioning of the predictor signal in empirical evaluations could partly explain the lack of learning benefits in applied studies. While future research is needed to verify the practitioner beliefs in a wider population, these results provide an in-depth description of what clicker training is, at least for the sources analysed, and a potential starting point for understanding methodological factors that could contribute to previous studies’ failure to demonstrate the benefits purported to exist by industry practitioners.

Download Full-text

Feminisms, Fuzzy Sciences, and Interspecies Intersectionalities: The Promises and Perils of Contemporary Dog Training

Catalyst Feminism Theory Technoscience ◽

10.28968/cftt.v3i1.28789 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 1-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Harlan Eugene Weaver

Keyword(s):

Positive Reinforcement ◽

Animal Shelter ◽

Dog Training ◽

Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽

The Many

Tracing histories of interventions in dog training, this paper examines the contemporary divide between "dominance" and "positive reinforcement" training practices. Drawing from writings by scientists and trainers, this article traces the many ways that the doings of much contemporary dog training embody "fuzzy sciences." Examples from ethnographic fieldwork conducted in an animal shelter help demonstrate the ways specific fuzzy sciences of training are feminist, while others are not. The article closes with a consideration of the ways that relationships between humans and animals not only reflect but also shape experiences of race, gender, sexuality, nation, species, and breed, or "interspecies intersectionalities." The article concludes by thinking through the lens of "interspecies intersectionalities" in order to elucidate a promising expansion of the feminist fuzzy sciences of dog training.

Download Full-text

Self-Injurious Behavior vs. Nonsuicidal Self-Injury

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000127 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 33 (2) ◽

pp. 106-112 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Christopher M. Bloom ◽

Shareen Holly ◽

Adam M. P. Miller

Keyword(s):

Positive Reinforcement ◽

Empirical Investigation ◽

High Stress ◽

Animal Research ◽

Stress Conditions ◽

Human Populations ◽

Pharmacological Interventions ◽

Self Injury ◽

Cns Stimulant ◽

Nonsuicidal Self Injury

Background: Historically, the field of self-injury has distinguished between the behaviors exhibited among individuals with a developmental disability (self-injurious behaviors; SIB) and those present within a normative population (nonsuicidal self-injury; NSSI),which typically result as a response to perceived stress. More recently, however, conclusions about NSSI have been drawn from lines of animal research aimed at examining the neurobiological mechanisms of SIB. Despite some functional similarity between SIB and NSSI, no empirical investigation has provided precedent for the application of SIB-targeted animal research as justification for pharmacological interventions in populations demonstrating NSSI. Aims: The present study examined this question directly, by simulating an animal model of SIB in rodents injected with pemoline and systematically manipulating stress conditions in order to monitor rates of self-injury. Methods: Sham controls and experimental animals injected with pemoline (200 mg/kg) were assigned to either a low stress (discriminated positive reinforcement) or high stress (discriminated avoidance) group and compared on the dependent measures of self-inflicted injury prevalence and severity. Results: The manipulation of stress conditions did not impact the rate of self-injury demonstrated by the rats. The results do not support a model of stress-induced SIB in rodents. Conclusions: Current findings provide evidence for caution in the development of pharmacotherapies of NSSI in human populations based on CNS stimulant models. Theoretical implications are discussed with respect to antecedent factors such as preinjury arousal level and environmental stress.

Download Full-text