Operant conditioning is a learning method first published by B.F Skinner and popularized commercially by the Brennans.

Operant conditioning has four main quadrants in which learning occurs . Positive reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement , Positive Punishment , and Negative Punishment .Positive and Negative should be seen as adding and subtracting a valued consequence for the learner. Reinforcement is a consequence of action that increases the likelihood of the learner to repeat the desired behavior being taught. Punishment decreases the likelihood of behavior of the learner being repeated in the future.

An example of negative punishment, is the use of choke chains. By holding the choke chain up the dog tries to release the pain of the choke collar by going into a sit position . The sit is reinforced by releasing the dog from the aversive stimulus . A possible consequence of this , is you have a dog that will only sit if on a lead or possibly an inexperienced student could damage the larynx of the dog by applying it incorrectly.

One example of Positive punishment is the trainer applies a thumbtack to the ear of the dog , and the pain forces a dog to open its mouth in response . The outcome for this particular dog is he had a tendency to bite whenever a hand hovered above his left ear. Aggression and unpredictability is often a natural conclusion to using positive punishment exclusively as your only training tool. Dogs often will only work with them and I have found it undependable in the long run and damaging to your bond with a dog.

Negative reinforcement is removing something pleasant to increase a desired behavior .Bringing a rowdy dog to a timeout can be a form of negative reinforcement. You are removing the dog from the desired behavior of playing rough with other dogs. Depending on the dog , some may feel the crate is a reward while some dogs may consider crate time as a punishment. I find that if you have trained a dog and acclimated them to a crate properly it can act as positive reinforcement for them but with less value than rough housing with the other dogs. Overuse of the timeout can be detrimental if the dog finds it punishing but if introduced properly it is quite helpful for training.

Positive reinforcement is adding something pleasant that the dog wants to increase the behavior from the learner. I use positive reinforcement for potty training . The dog learns quickly that if he potty outside that he gets a treat and peeing inside produces nothing as interesting as a sausage when he potties indoors .Positive reinforcement is the most reliable way to a rock solid relationship with your dog. Since all the dog’s experience with you is positive it cultivates that trust and builds the desire of the dog to work with you instead of avoiding you.

If I used shaping for crate training , I would set a perimeter in my head where I think it would be a close enough distance and reward the puppy when he is in that radius and use a Fixed Ratio schedule to reinforce the behavior. As an alternative , I can use luring and leave treats near the front of the entrance into the crate, then move to a variable ratio schedule to increase the puppy’s interest. For the more brave puppy , I can just wait for them to inspect the crate on their own and reward them with a jackpot the first time they come in to capture the behavior.

Yay you you got to the end ! Here is a pic of a dog as a reward !

Cheers

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