9d (edited) • Predation Tidbits
Counter-Conditioning to Common Prey Triggers
A big part of predation substitution is counter conditioning. In order to understand what it is we are looking for it is important to be on the same page of what counter conditioning means. AlleyDog.com describes it as “…a type of therapy based on the principles of classical conditioning that attempts to replace bad or unpleasant emotional responses to a stimulus with more pleasant, adaptive responses.”
As a refresher lets also define classical conditioning. As found on SimplyPsychology.org “classical conditioning is a fundamental form of associative learning in which an organism learns to connect or associate two stimuli that repeatedly occur together.”
With the groundwork now laid let’s talk about how to approach this with our dogs. Many dogs, even nontraditional working breeds, can have strong reactions to certain animals or objects in the environment such as bicycles and skateboards. These reactions can be anywhere from overarousal to fear. How we, the human, respond with our dog is also important. In short we must also remain calm for the majority of encounters (exceptions are those of self-defense if something were to happen. You and your dog’s safety are #1) and how you respond to those encounters (even the ones of self-defense) do impact your dog.
If your dog sees his trigger, starts to become emotional and your reaction is that of frustration and punishment then your dog may decrease his behavior, but no learning will have occurred for what to do instead. All the dog will learn is that his human will be upset with him and it will have a damper your relationship with your dog. Overtime this could lead to either your dog not enjoying going on walks (and you won’t either) and/or your dog taking out his frustration on something else such as your fence, yard, pillows, housemates, etc.
This cycle is something that will have a handful of outcomes: a dog that is locked away most of the time, a dog that is “forgotten” about in the backyard, a dog that is surrendered to a shelter or a dog that is abandoned just to name a few. This is obviously very sad and for those of us that understand and enjoy dogs with more energy and drive is especially heartbreaking because more often than not it isn’t the dog’s fault.
This is where understanding and implementing counter conditioning can make a huge difference in the behavior and relationship you and your dog have. This teaches your dog what to do instead because, much like humans, if you tell someone not to do something without an alternative behavior they sometimes (especially children) will make something up to fill the void and that can be an even more of an undesired behavior if they were not taught a desired alternate behavior.
When a dog is taught a desired behavior in place of an undesired behavior in a way that is positive and rewarding the longevity of the behavior is extended due to the history of learning. After some time, the animal or object that was once a stimulus will now be a cue to reengage with you and not have that emotional response. This is of course something that will take time and numerous encounters. The sooner you start in a dog’s life the sooner you and your dog can enjoy the outdoors with much less stress.
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Counter-Conditioning to Common Prey Triggers
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