Dogs from the positive schools universally performed better at tasks the researchers put in front of them, and the dogs from aversive schools displayed considerably more stress, both in observable ways-licking, yawning, pacing, whining-and in cortisol levels measured in saliva swabs. The reality, Schenkel was later forced to admit, was that the wolves were stressed, not striving for alpha status.Ī study from Portugal published last fall in the pre-print digital database BioRxiv (meaning it is not yet peer-reviewed) evaluated dozens of dogs selected from schools that either employed the use of shock collars, leash corrections and other aversive techniques or didn’t-sticking entirely or almost entirely to the use of positive reinforcement (treats) to get the behavior they wanted. They fought, naturally, which Schenkel wrongly interpreted as a battle for dominance. The origin of so-called “alpha theory” comes from a scientist named Rudolph Schenkel, who conducted a study of wolves in 1947 in which animals from different packs were forced into a small enclosure with no prior interaction. These new methods are backed by a growing body of science-and a rejection of the old thinking, of wolves (and their descendants, dogs) as dominance-oriented creatures.
Dogs that receive too much correction-especially the harsh physical correction and mean-spirited “Bad dog!” scoldings-begin to retreat from trying new things. As canine training has shifted from the old obedience-driven model directed at show dogs to a more relationship-based approach aimed at companion dogs, trainers have discovered that the use of negative reinforcement and positive punishment actually slow a dog’s progress, because they damage its confidence and, more importantly, its relationship with a handler. Much has changed about the way that science is applied today.
Taking away a dog’s frisbee because he’s barking at it is negative punishment, because you’ve withdrawn a stimulus to decrease an unwanted behavior. A choke collar whose tension is released when the dog stops pulling on it is negative reinforcement, because the dog’s desirable behavior (backing off) results in the removal of an undesirable consequence. Scolding a dog to stop an unwanted behavior is positive punishment, because it’s an action to discourage a behavior. A brief primer: Petting a dog on the head for fetching the newspaper is positive reinforcement, because you’re taking an action (positive) to encourage (reinforce) a behavior.
It also includes the flipside: positive or negative punishment. The science upon which these new techniques are based is not exactly new: it’s rooted in learning theory and operant conditioning, which involves positive (the addition of) or negative (the withdrawal of) reinforcement. Choke collars, shock collars, even the word no are all-but-verboten. pet industry to $86 billion in annual sales. This time, with the assistance of a new class of trainers and scientists, I’ve changed my methods entirely, and I have been shocked to discover booming product lines of puzzles, entertaining toys, workshops and “canine enrichment” resources available to the modern dog “parent,” which has helped boost the U.S. But in those days, the approach was the subject of debate and derision: treat-trained mongers might do what you want if they know a biscuit is hidden in your palm, but they’d ignore you otherwise. I don’t mean to suggest I had no better option there was then a growing movement to teach dog owners all about early socialization and the value of rewards-based training, and plenty of trainers who employed only positive reinforcement. Chica was a well-behaved dog, but she was easily discouraged when I tried teaching her something new. I read classic dominance-oriented books by the renowned upstate New York trainers The Monks of New Skete, among others, to teach her I was the leader of her pack, even when that meant stern corrections, like shaking her by the scruff of the neck. Those methods made sense when I raised my last dog, Chica, in the early aughts. It eschews the old, dominating, Cesar Millan–style methods that were based on flawed studies of presumed hierarchies in wolf packs. This emphasis on socialization is an important element of a new approach to raising the modern dog.