This is a follow on from the previous article where I used B.F. Skinner’s definition of operant conditioning, with an interpretation of it in my own words. This article will delve into how operant conditioning works, which is a topic fraught with misunderstanding and over simplifications which have rendered the definitions and applications of the terms specific to operant conditioning as technically wrong. This issue is not unique to the dog training world unfortunately.

If you have not read the previous article, I strongly suggest you do that first as this one will make more sense read second.

If you own or have ever owned a dog, you’ll likely have heard the term “operant conditioning” at some point. It seems strange to me that what was a fully developed system of learning back in the 1960’s has become a messy confused and misunderstood and misapplied topic today across the dog world. I have decided to put things into my own words so that some of the original clarity might return, and so that the way I work with dogs makes more sense to people. Let’s start at the beginning……

I was asked by Robert Hynes to think about what dog training and trainers tell people to do with their dogs, with the hypothesis that it pushes the humans into going down the route of seeking to control and manage everything in the dog’s life, which brings out narcissistic tendencies. I agree with the hypothesis and came to the conclusion that egotism is a big part of it too. So I had better explain;

I’ve been openly critical of Dog Training and Dog Behaviourists in my writing of late, which is all well and good, but I’m aware that presenting a positive vision of what to do instead is not something I have written or spoken about much. This article seeks to address that a little.

I got into a to and fro with a certified behaviourist and PhD candidate in a FaceBook Group the other day. This blog is going to dissect that back and forth and analyse it. This will be a series of blogs because there are around 10 in depth comments to go through. I’ve managed just two in this blog.

I’ll post some of the behaviourist’s comments as screenshots so there’s no doubt that I didn’t write these to suit my purposes, then I’ll deconstruct them for you because it's a bit scary how wide of the mark some of the interpretations of behaviour are. Remember these people charge up to $500 an hour to work with your dogs.

I shall include refutations based on my personal experiences, and I’ll refer to Robert Hynes’ experiences where relevant too.

I’ve wanted to tackle the famous quadrants of dog training for a while. So here goes. I can’t avoid getting a bit technical in places, but I’ll minimise it as much as possible so I don't get bogged down.

I’m sure you’ve all seen the operant conditioning 2×2 matrix known as the quadrants of dog training. I’ve included an image below for reference. In this blog I shall address why I consider the quadrants to be nonsense, in terms of dog training, and I’ll use references to scientific literature and real world examples to do so.

I’ve titled this one “Look at me, dammit” because that’s what every owner who ever took a puppy or a dog to a training school said multiple times whilst waving a treat around in front of the dog’s face frustrated that the dog is doing everything but paying attention to them.

I am going to take a harsh tone in this one because this topic annoys me. If you’re wanting or expecting rainbows and unicorns, jog on. If you want to understand why the things we’ve been told to do to train our dogs are the opposite of what we should be doing, and don’t mind some good old fashioned mudslinging, read on.

A few thoughts from James French who founded the trust technique, and some follow on thoughts from me.

“We are so fixated on trying to fix the behaviour that often another [unwanted] behaviour comes out, because we haven’t addressed what drives the behaviour – feelings. Change the feeling to change the behaviour.”

James is saying that a behaviour is a result of an internal emotional reaction [to an external stimulus]. It therefore follows that the behaviour won’t change until the way the animal / person feels about whatever they are reacting to changes.