Classical conditioning is how we learn to associate a neutral stimulus (like a sound, or a light) with a consequence. Classical conditioning means “basic learning”.
There is a myriad of contradictory information on the Internet all of which can become very confusing. As a general rule, always follow positive methods and do not apply anything that makes you uncomfortable.
Whether it is toilet training, leash training or manners, you will find the essentials concepts you need to know are to overcome most dog behaviour problems.
The information provided is simple, the most difficult part is YOU following through with your dog training! As a general rule, if a dog is not doing something right … it’s most likely the human’s fault.
THE GOOD NEWS: you can learn what to do and help your GSD to understand and follow your instructions. It’s all about communication ~~ intra-species communication. To achieve this, you need to learn the techniques of universal learning.
If something is not working,
try a different method of training it.
Dogs and all animals learn through the principles known as Classical Conditioning, Operant Conditioning and Extinction.
When you read about these principles you will notice that animals learn with both rewards and punishment.
Rewards, of course! Forget about electronic collars, choke/check chains or any other form of punishment.
Why punishment is NOT the best option? Simply put, it is inefficient:
When you use rewards, you are telling your GSD exactly what it is that they did right, and they WILL repeat that behaviour to get more rewards!
When using rewards, you’re creating a positive association with the correct behaviour. Your GSD will want to do as commended even off-leash and even without treats! (Learn here how to use food treats the correct way).
Instead give a reward for the correct behaviour. What if the reward is not good enough? would you go higher? Yes, because the worse that can happen is that you are just pampering your GSD!
When using rewards the right way, you will also be reinforced when you see the desired behaviour you want occurring more frequently!
Picture this: you are learning to play an instrument and the teacher continually slaps your hands when you do something wrong. How many classes do you think you will endure before giving up?
Having said that, some dogs might react aggressively, when punished and this can put you in danger.
When using rewards on the other hand, the exact opposite happens, your GSD will feel joy and happiness during training sessions! Your GSD will actually feel joy and happiness in every aspect of its life. Positive reinforcement makes us, and your GSD feel good and learn at the same time!
Please don’t misunderstand , to clarify, you will be using punishment, mostly inadvertently. Punishment is defined as something that when given, reduces the likelihood that the unwanted behaviour will happen again. There are some things your GSD might not like, for example, when you hug him/her or when you completely ignore him/her.
Focus on the positive way, REWARD good behaviour
and
IGNORE your GSD when it does something wrong.
Classical conditioning is how we learn to associate a neutral stimulus (like a sound, or a light) with a consequence. Classical conditioning means “basic learning”.
Operant conditioning is a form of associatory learning process through which the force of a behaviour is modified by reinforcement or punishment.
Extinction learning refers to the gradual decrease in response to a conditioned stimulus that occurs when the stimulus is presented without reinforcement.