Edinburgh Dog Behaviour

Edinburgh Dog Behaviour Providing training and behaviour services for dogs and their people.

Woohoo! Weekend ahead! ๐Ÿฅณ What is your favourite weekend activity with your dog? Do you go hiking? Do sports? Or just ext...
21/02/2025

Woohoo! Weekend ahead! ๐Ÿฅณ What is your favourite weekend activity with your dog? Do you go hiking? Do sports? Or just extra snuggles on the couch? ๐Ÿฅฐ

Adolescence is hard. Don't be afraid to ask for professional support if you're struggling โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿฉน
19/02/2025

Adolescence is hard. Don't be afraid to ask for professional support if you're struggling โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿฉน

Happy Monday! ๐Ÿ˜‚
17/02/2025

Happy Monday! ๐Ÿ˜‚

Wishing you all a lovely Valentine's Day with your doggie darlings โค๏ธ
14/02/2025

Wishing you all a lovely Valentine's Day with your doggie darlings โค๏ธ

An oldie, but goldie. Setbacks and temporary regressions happen and can be really upsetting - but they're often just par...
13/02/2025

An oldie, but goldie. Setbacks and temporary regressions happen and can be really upsetting - but they're often just part of the journey ๐Ÿ’›

11/02/2025
Have a lovely weekend! What adventures are you and your dogs up to? ๐Ÿพ
08/02/2025

Have a lovely weekend! What adventures are you and your dogs up to? ๐Ÿพ

That looks a very efficient black hole ๐Ÿคญ
06/02/2025

That looks a very efficient black hole ๐Ÿคญ

"A baby animal is a baby animal. They are still developing, figuring out their world and societal expectations. They nee...
04/02/2025

"A baby animal is a baby animal. They are still developing, figuring out their world and societal expectations.
They need to feel safe, being alone is scary, not knowing whatโ€™s happening from one moment to the next is scary. We accept this in human children."

A baby animal is a baby animal. They are still developing, figuring out their world and societal expectations.

They need to feel safe, being alone is scary, not knowing whatโ€™s happening from one moment to the next is scary.

We accept this in human children. We have a better understanding of whatโ€™s expected although we can never prepare. But do we go in with these expectations and anything that doesnโ€™t meet them is a bonus.

With puppies we are surprised, feel like thereโ€™s something wrong and often question what is happening. If we all went in with the same idea that this is a life changing, challenging but very rewarding journey, we might see better choices when bringing home our pups.

โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿฉน
01/02/2025

โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿฉน

It's nearly the season ๐Ÿคญ
30/01/2025

It's nearly the season ๐Ÿคญ

27/01/2025

Many people struggle with positive reinforcement training because they donโ€™t yet understand what a โ€œreinforcerโ€ really is. The golden rule of dog training is โ€œall behaviour that gets reinforced gets repeated.โ€ Simply put, a reinforcer is anything that a dog will work to get โ€“ not just something that they like.

Many dogs like getting praised by their owners, but praise is only a reinforcer for a dog if they are willing to put energy into getting access to it. If they find it pleasant, but wonโ€™t work for it, itโ€™s not a reinforcer.

To use a human analogy, many humans enjoy the smell of freshly cut grass, but very few of us would be willing to put the effort into mowing a lawn just to smell it. We find the smell pleasant, and yet we donโ€™t race outside to smell our neighbourโ€™s grass clipping when we hear them mowing.

In this scenario, the smell of freshly cut grass is not a reinforcer, even though we like it, because we arenโ€™t willing to expend energy to access it.

In contrast, for humans with a sweet tooth, something like home-cooked brownies often does function as a reinforcer. In order to gain access to brownies, the person would have to drive to the shops, purchase the ingredients, drive home again, prepare the mixture, cook the brownies, clean the kitchen, and let the brownies cool before they were able to eat the brownies. For this person, brownies are clearly acting as a reinforcer, as they are willing to put a lot of work and energy into getting them!

REINFORCERS ARE INDIVIDUAL
Though home-cooked brownies may work as a reinforcer for the person in the scenario above, they will not be a reinforcer for all humans. Some people may dislike overly sweet foods, and others might like brownies, but not enough to go to the effort of baking them.

Similarly, what a dog find reinforcing is specific to the individual. Some dogs love food above all else, others prefer playing with toys, smelling new scents, chasing prey or meeting new people. In order to successfully train your dog, you must first determine what is reinforcing to them.

REINFORCERS CHANGE
Just because something is a reinforcer to an individual in one scenario, doesnโ€™t mean that it will be a reinforcer in all scenarios.

Our brownie-loving human may not find brownies reinforcing if they have just eaten a whole batch, or immediately after Christmas dinner. The brownies would also not be reinforcing if there was something that the person wanted more than brownies in a given situation. If you offered to trade someone a hundred dollars for their brownie, most people would choose the money. Resources also stop being reinforcing when they are available for free. If the brownie-lover was getting free, freshly made brownies delivered every day, they probably wouldnโ€™t bother going to the effort to make their own.

Good trainers are able to identify what is reinforcing for their dog in a given situation. For example, many dogs do not find food reinforcing when out on a walk. They may enjoy eating the food and take it when offered, but they are not willing to work for it. Usually this is because there is some other resource that they want more, like meeting another dog, smelling new scents or getting to the park for a run. Food is also less likely to be reinforcing in this scenario because most dogs get fed for free.

If you struggle to motivate your dog, we recommend contacting your local positive reinforcement trainer for help.

Happy Training Dog Geeks!

https://www.beacondogtraining.com.au/thatdoggeek

Manifest the ๐Ÿฟ๐Ÿ™
25/01/2025

Manifest the ๐Ÿฟ๐Ÿ™

Yellow "I need space" jackets for humans... โœŒ๏ธ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ’›
23/01/2025

Yellow "I need space" jackets for humans... โœŒ๏ธ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ’›

Our dogs are trying their best to learn how to live in our crazy human world โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿฉน
21/01/2025

Our dogs are trying their best to learn how to live in our crazy human world โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿฉน

IFKYK ๐Ÿ˜Ž๐Ÿ˜‚
19/01/2025

IFKYK ๐Ÿ˜Ž๐Ÿ˜‚

๐Ÿคฃ
17/01/2025

๐Ÿคฃ

Address

Edinburgh
EH88BG

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 6pm
Wednesday 9am - 6pm
Thursday 9am - 6pm
Friday 9am - 6pm

Telephone

+447495789757

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