Basic Canine Handling, Restraint and Training

Original Editor - Ansi van der Walt Top Contributors - Jess Bell, Kim Jackson, Tarina van der Stockt and Olajumoke Ogunleye

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Communication Between Domestic Dogs and Humans

Communication between two animals is said to take place when an observer notices expected changes in one animal’s behaviour in response to signs from the other animal.

Communication is not limited to members of the same species. It can take place between different species (i.e. inter-specific communication), such as between domestic dogs and humans.

Because dogs have lived in close proximity to people for more than 30,000 years, they have developed skills that allow them to communicate with humans. They are, in fact, considered better at reading human communication than genetically-related species like primates.

Because of these skills, dogs can respond to different signals given by humans, including human pointing, body posture, gaze direction, voice and sounds and touching / marking as cues to find hidden food.

Dogs are also able to signal to humans (e.g. using gaze direction). One study found that when obstacles are placed between a dog and a box with a hidden-reward, and the dog cannot open the box using methods it has been trained in, dogs will establish eye contact with their owners more quickly and for longer than socialised wolves.

Learning

The rest of this page will discuss learning theories in relation to dog training.

It is important to note, however, that a recent review which looks specifically at the effects of these various training methods on canine physiology, welfare, and behaviour toward people and other dogs found that:

• Aversive training methods (e.g., positive punishment and negative reinforcement see below) can negatively affect the physical and mental health of dogs
• There is no evidence that positive punishment is more effective than positive reinforcement–based training

Thus, this review encourages the use of positive reinforcement methods by those working with and handling dogs and methods and suggests that positive punishment and negative reinforcement should be avoided as much as possible.

The Dog Trust also suggests that instead of punishment and negative reinforcement, which can lead to fear, frustration and confusion, as well as behaviour suppression, depression and aggressive responses, positive reinforcement should be used. They propose the following strategies to deal with unwanted behaviour in dogs:

• Reward wanted behaviour
• Ignore unwanted behaviour
• Avoid situations where unwanted behaviour may occur
• Train an alternative, acceptable behaviour when unwanted behaviour cannot be ignored or avoided

Associative Learning

Learning is defined as: “a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience”. Through learning, animals are able to adapt to changing, dynamic environments. Dogs are capable of learning human gestures. However, the process by which they learn to respond to these gestures is affected by the environment, as well as the consequences of their behaviour in response to the gesture:

• Was there a positive or negative result to their behaviour?
• Is the situation familiar or unfamiliar?

Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning

Classical conditioning is a type of learning discovered by Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov presented dogs with food and measured their salivary response. He then began to ring a bell just before he gave the dogs their food. At first, the dogs only salivated once they received their food. However, they soon learned to associate the bell with food and began to salivate at the sound of the bell alone.

Classical conditioning may be used by animal trainers to:

1. Condition autonomic responses (i.e. drooling, producing / reducing adrenaline) in the absence of stimuli that would normally cause these responses
2. Create a link between a stimulus that does not typically affect an animal and a stimulus that does affect an animal

Some stimuli (such as food / pain) produce reactions in animals without training - these are called primary or unconditioned stimuli. Other stimuli only cause a reaction in animals once learning has occurred - these are called secondary or conditioned stimuli.

Classical conditioning can act as a “bridge” between the time it takes for an animal to receive a reward after performing a desired behaviour.

Operant Conditioning

While classical conditioning depends on a preceding stimulus, operant conditioning is a two-way process that occurs when an association is formed between a behaviour and a consequence.

Positive Reinforcement

Positive reinforcement occurs when something is added to encourage a behaviour. For example:

• Dog gets a treat for returning when called

Primary positive reinforcers are things that animals naturally like (e.g. food, water). Secondary positive reinforcers are things that animals have to learn to like.

When using positive reinforcement, it is important to consider the following:

• If animals are acting out of fear, positive reinforcement may reinforce the fear response
• Timing is essential - the reinforcement must come immediately after the preferred behaviour in order to reinforce this behaviour (not something that comes later)
• The reward has to be sufficient to motivate a repetition
• Reinforcements can become associated with the person giving them
• Animals may have enough of a specific reward, so it will no longer be as motivating
• They increase behaviour, so they should only be used when you want to encourage an animal to do something

Positive Punishment

Positive punishment is used to reduce a behaviour. “Positive” in this context means the addition of something. Examples of positive punishment:

• Shout at dog
• Squirting a dog with citronella for barking

When using positive punishment, the following points should be considered:

• Behaviours tend to be motivated by an expectation of a reward - the motivation of this reward is still there despite the punishment. Thus, the positive punishment must be greater than the reward to stop the behaviour
• Timing is important - it must occur at the time of the behaviour in order to create a connection with the behaviour
• Punishments may be associated with the person, so the behaviour only stops when this person is present
• Punishments can cause physical and mental harm

Negative Reinforcement

Negative reinforcement encourages a behaviour by removing something unpleasant. Examples include:

• Choke collar is loosened when the dog moves closer to the trainer
• Reins are loosened when the horse slows down

In order to use negative reinforcement, the trainer must be able to control the unpleasant thing that is being removed.

Negative Punishment

Negative punishment reduces behaviour by removing something good. An animal is less likely to repeat a behaviour if it causes him to lose something he likes. Examples include:

• Remove attention from the dog
• Take a treat away from the dog