12/03/2021
The science behind the technique known as Approach and Retreat.
Approach and retreat is the term often used to describe a process for changing the response of an animal to a feared or potentially feared stimulus.
There is no scientifically agreed definition because it isn't a scientific "thing". It's a protocol or procedure that applies a form of behaviour modification known as negative reinforcement - where the animal is approached or approaches a feared thing or situation, and the removal (the retreat) of the feared or disliked thing happens when the animal shows a desired response.
So approach and retreat is an invented term used to describe the process of exposing an animal to a feared stimulus and then removing that stimulus when the animal does something the trainer wants. That could be lowering their head, looking at the trainer, moving towards the stimulus, pointing an ear towards the trainer, slowing their flight response or ceasing to flee, breathing out - whatever the trainer deems is a desirable response.
In most cases of the use of approach and retreat, the removal of the stimulus (or the removal of the animal from it) is contingent on the animal appearing to become calmer - for instance ceasing to try to escape or flee.
However this slowing or apparent signs of calming in the behaviour of the animal is not always - and shouldn't be assumed to be - any indication that the animal no longer fears the stimulus.
They may be learning that their behaviour makes "it" go away or stop, but the important thing to think about is this:
If the animal is choosing to consciously use their behaviour to cause something to go away or stop, then that's actually evidence that they still fear it to some extent and they want distance from it.
The other issue is that when animals have a milder fear of something they will often instinctively slow down their movement, lower their head and avert their gaze, sometimes turn their head away, so as not to antagonise a perceived predator or threat.
This is known as appeasement behaviour - it means "I feel threatened, but I am trying to show I am no threat by slowing down my movements, not making eye contact and keeping my head down" literally and figuratively.
They also do this towards innanimate threats.
So some of the changes in behaviour that we see in response to the approach of a perceived threat are not because the animal is becoming calmer, and more accepting or trusting, but because they are trying to calm themselves, and appease the threat.
The final risk of using the movement towards an animal of a feared stimulus and it's removal (negative reinforcement) for a desired response is that animal ceasing to run away could be the onset of something that in science is called learned helplessness. It's sometimes referred to as an animal becoming "shut down" and it's often seen in horses that have been subjected to a lot of aversive training like this.
It's what happens when the animal gives up trying to get away because trying to get away makes things no better and often makes them worse for himself.
For instance if a horse is wearing a rope halter and lead rope and when he tries to run away he feels pain from the knots on the halter or the rope around his poll then that's making the situation worse. So he may stop trying to run away because it hurts more to do so than he fears the threat.
Although I should add that it's important to know that adrenalin is a pain killer - so a highly stressed horse will tolerate more pressure from a device like a rope halter or chifney or a normal bit than he would when he is calm.
Aside from the misunderstandings of why approach and retreat doesn't necessarily change perception of feared stimuli (and changing behaviour is not the same as changing feelings by any means), approach and retreat may never work for an animal that has learned to be afraid of something and has been successful in escaping or avoiding it.
That's another huge risk of using approach and retreat. Instead of the animal learning that stopping his flight response makes the feared thing go away or stop, what he may learn is that if he fights harder or tries harder to flee, or accidentally does something that momentarily makes it stop, his brain will lay down a neural pathway to repeat that behaviour. This is how horses become chronic rearers, buckers, fence jumpers, shy in traffic, bolt, or run out at show jumps.
Learned escape and avoidance behaviour is conditioned behaviour.
A much better strategy for introducing novel stimuli to animals of any kind is to use graduated passive habituation techniques, or to use proactive interventions like systematic desensitisation.
But with stimuli the animal has learned to fear (something bad happened when they encountered that stimulus and fleeing or fighting made it stop - even momentarily) it may require a long term strategy to counter-condition the feared stimulus by persistently associating very small versions of the frightening thing with other things that they really like.
Animals form learned fear associations with things, when something with no initial significance to them, or something perceived to be a mild threat is associated with something of aversive or more aversive value.
Their perception can be changed by counter conditioning, which helps them to change their feelings, by reassociating something that was scary with something that has powerful appetitive value.
This is not the same as using consequences to modify behaviour.
It is not the same as giving the animal a treat if they behave.
It is about modifying the perception an animal has of something by associating it with something they like.
If you have an animal who has learned to fear a thing or a situation we have procedures we can teach you to help change their perception of that thing. Approach and retreat is not one of those.
What we'd like to do even more is to teach you how to use non aversive techniques before you get to the situation where your animal has learned to fear something :-)
If you're interested in using proven and force-free ways of training your animals, please do get in touch.
