Bark of Duty

08/07/2025

Great write up to build persistence!

Search Science Sunday: Behavioral Momentum in the Search

Imagine your dog moving confidently through a search area, nose to the ground, sniffing and looking for odor. As it crosses a familiar corner where it has found odor before, it pauses and offers a subtle behavior, maybe a slight head tilt or a focused sniff. Even though no odor is there this time, the dog’s behavior feels almost automatic, like it’s being pulled forward by something invisible. This is not just habit or guesswork you might be witnessing something more.

You might be witnessing more than memory. This could be the result of Behavioral Mass, the value a behavior gains through repetition and reinforcement, or Behavioral Momentum, the tendency of a reinforced behavior to persist once in motion. Both are grounded in the science that emerged from Skinner’s Box, where behaviors that were rewarded became more resilient and more likely to reoccur, even when conditions changed. Skinner's contemporary John A. Nevin developed Behavioral Momentum Theory (BMT). BMT suggests "that behaviors, much like physical objects, can gain “momentum” based on their history of reinforcement. When a behavior is consistently reinforced, it becomes more resistant to disruption or change, akin to an object with high momentum being harder to stop than one with low momentum." Thorndike and Newton are present here too.

Andrew R. Craig explains, “Persistence, or resistance to change, is thought to be a fundamental aspect of operant behavior and has received considerable attention in both experimental and applied analyses for several reasons.”

In the world of canine odor detection, understanding how behavior builds, persists, and resists breakdown is key to developing reliable teams. To truly appreciate the forces of Mass and Momentum, we can trace them back to one of the most influential experiments in behavioral science: Skinner’s Box.

Skinner’s Box: The Foundation of Operant Training
B.F. Skinner designed an experimental chamber where animals like rats or pigeons could interact with levers, lights, or buttons. When a specific behavior (like pressing a lever) resulted in a consequence (usually food), the animal learned to repeat that behavior more frequently. This setup gave us operant conditioning, the foundation of reinforcement-based dog training today.

But what makes a behavior stick? And what keeps it going when the going gets tough?

That’s where behavioral mass and behavioral momentum come in.

Behavioral Mass: The "Weight" of a Reinforced Behavior
Behavioral Mass is the magnitude or value of a behavior. It’s created through:

-> Reinforcement History: The more times a dog is rewarded for a behavior, the more “mass” that behavior accumulates.

-> Emotional Significance: If a behavior results in positive emotions; joy, play, clarity, it becomes personally meaningful to the dog.

-> Contextual Strength: When a behavior solves problems across different environments, it becomes more deeply rooted.

In Skinner’s Box, the rat learned that pressing a lever = food. As this behavior was reinforced repeatedly, it developed behavioral mass. It became the rat’s default solution.

In scent detection, behavioral mass is seen when a dog confidently offers odor-sourcing behavior, even when conditions are novel. The dog knows the game. It’s rehearsed. It has weight.

Behavioral Momentum: Persistence in Motion
Behavioral Momentum is just what it sounds like: the tendency of a behavior to keep going once it's been set in motion, even in the face of distractions, stress, or change.

Skinner, Nevin, and later researchers found that animals would continue reinforced behaviors even when minor disruptions were introduced. Why? Because repetition and success had created momentum.

Think of it like this:
-> High-momentum behaviors resist disruption.
-> Low-momentum behaviors collapse under challenge.

In detection work, momentum is that moment your dog encounters odor and keeps working the problem, despite a barking dog nearby, uneven footing, or a distracted handler. The behavior carries on because the dog has rehearsed not just the behavior, but the process of staying engaged. The mass and momentum together keeps the dog working no matter what's going on around them.

EVERY SEARCH Is a Skinner’s Box
In truth, every search scenario you set up is a Skinner Box. Your dog performs behaviors. The environment and your responses either reinforce or extinguish those behaviors. Over time, you're either building:

-> Strong, emotionally charged behavioral mass, and
-> Durable, pressure-resistant behavioral momentum…

…or you're not.

Practical Takeaways for Detection Handlers
- Reinforce often, and reinforce well. Every reward builds mass.
- Celebrate effort, not just success. Reward persistence to build momentum.
- Don’t interrupt flow with premature cues or corrections. Let the dog stay in motion.
- Make the work emotionally enriching. Positive associations add weight to the behavior.

Final Thought
The brilliance of Skinner’s Box wasn't in the lever or the food pellet, it was in showing how behavior is shaped through consistent consequences. Today, you are shaping your dog’s detection behavior in exactly the same way.

Want more reliable performance?
Build behaviors with mass, and protect their momentum.

Once the DOG is making decisions, Skinner is there.

06/07/2025

Conservation detection dogs, for the win!

Did you know that some of our most loyal companions are helping save whales? Through the University of Washington's Conservation Canines program, specially trained dogs are locating whale s**t—yes, whale poop!—to gather vital health data without disturbing these majestic creatures. This data helps researchers understand stress levels in whales, what they are eating, toxins in their bodies, and DNA analysis, which is crucial for conservation efforts.

With their exceptional sense of smell, these dogs can detect floating s**t from a distance, reducing the need for researchers to approach whales directly, minimizing stress on the animals.

These canine conservationists are more than just good boys and girls—they're heroes in the fight to protect endangered whales.

03/07/2025

Day at the beach with the puppers! Cos dogs need time to be dogs. 🐕 🐕‍🦺🏝️

1) Baymax enjoying a facial scrub
2) Guarana, previously a dog that hates water, is living proof that with enough fun and patience, dogs can learn to overcome their shortcomings and turn it into a strength! 💪🏼
3) Atlas being babied 👶 by the intern A (but seriously, a dog that can relax fully while you hold them in the water shows a lot of trust!)
4) Intern A having a friendly race with the 3 doggos and Guarana shows us why she’s top dog
5) “Bury it? Nah, let me chew on it while lying in the waves. Wait, why is it floating away?” Baymax 🤦🏻‍♀️

02/07/2025

“The rise in anxiety among American humans has been exhaustively documented,” Rose Horowitch wrote in 2024. “With much less fanfare, we also seem to have entered the age of the anxious canine.”⁠ https://theatln.tc/7OklVWaz
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Many of America’s 85 veterinary behaviorists are booked months in advance. Several whom Horowitch spoke with said that the number of people seeking pet mental-health care has exploded in the past few years. But there is no consensus as to why. One theory is that dogs today are more anxious. More Americans are choosing to adopt pets, which saves lives but can leave traumatized pets with inexperienced owners. We’ve also altered the way pets live in ways that may make them anxious or aggressive toward people and other dogs. But it could also be that anxious adults are projecting their own issues onto their furry companions. What people classify as a behavioral issue reflects human expectations as much as a dog’s nature, according to a bioethicist. ⁠
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“So is the dog-anxiety crisis real, or is it a product of owners’ anxiety-riddled psyches? Dogs can’t tell us how they’re feeling, so we’ll probably never know,” Horowitch continues. “But both explanations are depressing. Either humans are stressing dogs out so much that they truly need prescription meds, or owners are putting their dogs on unnecessary psychoactive drugs to address annoying but normal dog habits. It might be time, in other words, to reevaluate the way we approach dog ownership. ⁠
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“Many Americans don’t have the time, energy, or green space their pets need to thrive,” Horowitch continues. “If the choice is to medicate our dogs or to make them, and ourselves, miserable, pet ownership starts to seem ethically murky.”⁠

Read more here: https://theatln.tc/7OklVWaz
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🎨: Paul Spella / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

28/06/2025

WHY CAN’T HUMANS STOP MESSING WITH DOGS?

Today our breed expert Carol Price looks at the harm we have done dogs in our constant desire to ‘improve them’

Recently I came across this picture, from The Brain Maze (a scientific site) highlighting how much the anatomy of the English bull terrier had changed, over the past century, as a direct result of human genetic selection.

“In the early 1900s”, they said, “(English) bull terriers had proportionate skulls, lean bodies, and long legs—traits suited for agility and function”. Whereas “modern bull terriers, bred for show standards, now display an arched "egg-shaped" skull, shortened snout, thicker neck, deep chest, and a stockier build. These changes, driven by aesthetic preferences, have introduced health issues like dental misalignments, breathing difficulties, and skeletal stress. The transformation is a clear example of how human-directed breeding can reshape a species' biology, often at the cost of functionality and health.

WHY?
There is nothing new about the changes so many pedigree dog breeds have undergone, over the past century, in order to better suit some arbitrary human preference of the time. But the question that has always fascinated me is WHY do we do it? Or what deeper impulse in humans makes them believe that the basic original design of a dog, as decreed by nature – and stress tested through countless past millennia – was simply not good enough as it was. And thus had to be constantly ‘improved’?

Because this is the impulse that has taken us down the road to where so many dogs are today with their myriad health issues. Dogs bred too small. Dogs bred too big. Dogs bred with squashed up faces and huge hanging folds of skin. Dogs with over-long backs. Dogs who can’t see properly. Dogs who can barely breathe. Dogs who can barely walk.

One of the best accounts ever of what had gone wrong in pedigree dog breeding appeared in Jemima Harrison’s 2008 ground-breaking TV documentary, ‘Pedigree Dogs Exposed’, which lead to significant changes in the way both the UK Kennel Club, and breeders, amended their approaches to canine welfare. More on the documentary here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedigree_Dogs_Exposed

THE BLIND SPOT
The extent to which different dog breeds have been ‘ruined’ by human genetic selection can be a highly emotive subject, not always grounded in fact – as certainly some pedigree dog breeds still remain intrinsically a lot healthier than others. And much can depend on the care with which different people breed them.

I still struggle to understand, however, the ‘blind spot’ that exists in so many people, where they simply cannot see that the ‘cuter’ or more novel appearance that exists in their dog has been created at the expense of its health and life quality and, so often, longevity too.

One of the things that most attracted me to pedigree Border collies, many years ago, was that they were one of the less ‘messed about’ breeds, originating from a far wider gene pool. Though there are some who believe that is already changing, with too much emphasis being placed on the aesthetic look of a dog (i.e. for showing) or its potential for different working/competitive functions when choosing breeding stock. Rather than the more intrinsic physical, mental and temperamental soundness those dogs carry in themselves and their lines.

But ultimately people themselves do not understand their own power. For breeders will only stop producing less healthy dogs when they stop buying them.

All text © Carol Price/Collieology 2025

27/06/2025

05/02/2025

Sound buttons to teach your dogs a human language: yay or nay?

Why not spend the looonggg time you need to teach your dog to associate the word/button to learn your dog’s (body) language instead?

A viral, online phenomenon claims to have further opened the door to human-canine communication. Buttons allow dogs to seemingly talk with their humans, but ...

05/02/2025

回首旧岁，感恩满怀，
展望新年，希望常在。
愿岁月静好，心常安，
前路光明，福相伴。

Looking back on the past year, my heart is full of gratitude.
Looking ahead to the New Year, hope is always with us.
May the days be peaceful, and your heart always at ease.
May the path ahead be bright, with blessings by your side.

Have a blessed lunar new year! 🧧 🧨🍊🍊