In my previous post "Methods Schmethods" it seems I raised quite a fire storm by expressing why I shun the Whisperers and those who use positive punishment, flooding, and aversives. I've received more comments in 24 hours on that one post alone than I've ever received in the history of this blog.
Which is funny because there are many more posts here that discredit those who claim to Whisper and rehabilitate. And those never raised anyone's ire. Anyway, I thought I'd give you all some of scientific evidence that shaped my thinking. These aren't opinion pieces (although I could post a ton of those), but actual scientists, researchers, and veterinary behaviorists who have done the research.
Regardless of what quadrant of operant conditioning you use, these are valuable pieces of research. I recommend everyone read through each of these, as these findings are not opinion.
And, in science, a correction is identified as positive punishment. Professionals in the field stick with accepted definitions and don't use words like correction, as that's too loosely defined. So if you'd like to leave a comment, please use the professionally accepted terms – not the undefined "slang."
Science Daily
http://preview.tinyurl.com/pm8ghw
"Using 'Dominance' To Explain Dog Behavior Is Old Hat"
Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical App. + Research
http://preview.tinyurl.com/p3grgy
"Dominance in domestic dogs-useful construct or bad habit?"
Am. Society of Veterinary Animal Behaviorists
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6cz775
"The Use of Dominance Theory in Behavior Modification of Animals"
Am. Society of Veterinary Animal Behaviorists
http://preview.tinyurl.com/yw3op6
"The Use of Punishment for Behavior Modification in Animals"
American Humane
http://preview.tinyurl.com/b7t687
"'Dog Whisperer' Training Approach More Harmful Than Helpful"
Sophia Yin, DVM
http://preview.tinyurl.com/ozqhlu
"Experts Say Dominance-Based Dog Training Techniques Made Popular by
Television Shows Can Contribute to Dog Bites"
Science Daily
http://preview.tinyurl.com/cmwuln
"If You're Aggressive, Your Dog Will Be Too"
The dog whisperer opens each show with a disclaimer that most people don’t read and reality cuts and edits what we are not to see. Not all dogs or poeple are re-habilitable! He has asked many people to give up their pets and move on!
I meant to post on the previous item, but figured it might as well go here!
As I see it, anyone working with dogs/humans/other animals and attempting to change their behaviour is ‘training’ or you might call it teaching.
‘training’ refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies (borrowed from Wikipedia).
So, clearly any of the folks working with dogs on TV etc are ‘training’ in some sense. The laws of learning (i.e. operant and classical conditioning etc) can be used to explain why pretty much anything with a nervous system forms associations, learns and changes. Just because a ‘trainer’ or dog ‘whisperer’ may not explain their ‘methods’ in these terms, or may even not be aware of them, doesn’t mean that these laws of learning are not the underlying reasons why change/learning occurs.
To simplify, we do what works (gets us the reinforcement we seek – food/attention/access to resources etc).
If we want to ‘change’ a pattern, we need to stop the behaviour being ‘reinforced’ in some way. Using aversives one might choose to not just stop the reward but also make it an unpleasant experience. Ideally we would also want to implement an alternative behaviour.
+R trainers generally find that its sufficient to remove the reward AND teach an alternative, whereas DW style seem to opt for aversives and the dog figures out a suitable alternative on its own?
I’m not disputing that in some situations DW style may ‘work’ but I doubt that its for the reasons they give – I love the list of papers in this post and have read most of them. They suggest that we are better focusing on the simple explanantions for behaviour and not worrying about concepts such as dominance/pack leadership etc.
If we don’t need those concepts, why confuse the situation by adding them in? Personally I feel they set up an atmosphere of confrontation between handler and animal and I prefer respectful communication….but that’s a personal preference!
PS for anyone interested I’ve been deeply interested in canine behaviour and relationships for 5 years since ending up with a human and dog aggressive/reactive collie, who also displayed numerous pathological phobic reactions. We have made massive progress and the same collie is part of a demonstration team, works as a neutral stooge for other reactive dogs and is a model for canine massage! These changes were only possible once I started to listen to him, and use sound science-based methods to communicate with him.
I am a trainer with our local club – of the people I see there trying DW style methods/’corrections’ etc, I have yet to see anyone with the necessary timing and accuracy to use them ‘correctly’.
Laurie – awesome resources and some great reads, thanks! ASVAB article was reader-friendly without a lot of jargon, which might be helpful to people without the medical/veterinary background (ahem, like myself – I aint no scientist, I’m just a lowly dog trainer!)
Thanks again!
Stevan,
Thanks for your comments. However, this isn’t about any one person. This is about science. It seems that some who like the Dog Whisperer have immediate knee-jerk reactions to any thing written that doesn’t support him or his show.
Again, this is about science. I’m saying that the DW *does* use science, however I choose not to use the same quadrants he does because the potential for fallout is too great. The same results can be obtained with more dog-friendly methods, as the research cited bears out.
Please don’t continue to defend the DW here on this blog. This is about science, not entertainment.
Ha, you’re funny about “just” a dog trainer. Being “just” a dog trainer, you know that dog trainers who use operant and classical conditioning are scientists to some degree. Especially if you not only understand it, but can apply it effectively to modify behavior. We educated dog trainers can really change the life of a dog (and his people). If I can do that, I’m happy being just a dog trainer! 😉
hello, i love you. thanks for this one!