15/06/2020
Is dog training a matter of common sense?
Defining common sense as being sound judgment relying on experience alone doesn't usually offer enough information to draw reliable conclusions.
The alternative is dog training based on research with the application of theory to practice. An example of such a theory would be the famous operant and classical conditioning by Ivan Pavlov. Pavlov found that objects or events could trigger a conditioned response in dogs. Responses that produce a satisfying effect become more likely to occur again, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again.
As opportunistic beings, dogs tend to repeat behaviors that have a satisfying effect. Dogs beg at the table because they're rewarded with food. They jump on people because they are showered with attention.
So if you give a dog a cookie every time she sits, you will see her sitting more often, especially if she loves cookies! If a dog jumps on his owner, and the owner pushes him away but the dog likes the attention because he has craved every bit of it all day long, he'll likely jump more.
Your dog jumps on you, because he's happy to see you come home. Since your dog is doing this for attention, the best thing to do is to turn around and become boring. By turning around you are removing something the dog perceives as good (the attention), for the purpose of eliminating a bad behavior. (punishment)
Watch Adrienne Farricelli in action as she corrects a dog that greets her by jumping using a "no force-positive reinforcement" game.
Check out more of Adrienne Farricelli's brain training games for dog here.
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