22/11/2022
Did you know that dogs display judgment bias? Yes, your dog could literally be an optimist.
Or worse, they could be a pessimist. Pessimism is a sneaky genetic trait in dogs that may never be noticed but certainly exists.
In the wild, a pessimist was a careful, wary, alert and alive dog. It makes sense. New places, things, and strange people or animals could very well all be predators.
In our lives, however, if a dog has a serious negative judgment bias, they are often labeled "reactive" or a "problem dog". This would be because a pessimistic dog will often be a dog that lunges, barks, and is all around wary of new things and people.
The traditional approach to these issues is only semi-effective, and also somewhat risky and not very ethical towards the dog. Direct de-sensitization and counter-conditioning involve placing the dog in situations they perceive as highly stressful.
Highly stressful situations are very far from optimum learning environments, as your dog actually learns fastest during play.
The games-based method instead recommends you apply good situational management, and then play games that will grow your dog's confidence, developing an all-around positive judgment bias.
The results of this are a little slower perhaps, but are far more effective, as you are truly building a solution based on teamwork and happy games-based learning.
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