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The Learned Dog
Class 2: Dog training through the centuries...
A couple of quick things...
• Details on open-book/take-home “quizzes”
• will be emailed out March 10th and April 14th
• due the following class (March 17th & April 21st)
• if you need an extension, I will grant NQA extension to the following week
• Clicker Basics available from www.cleanrun.com
• Next week: Temple Grandin
The brain trust...
The Brain Trust McGyver & Gypsy
The Brain Trust Toby & Shadow
The Brain Trust The Feline Perspective
The Brain Trust Amanda
Dog training through the centuries...
A walk through time...
Ancient Greece: horses
• Xenophon (1962 reprint of 1894 translation of original greek). The Art of Horsemanship. London, UK, J.A. Allen.
• Importance of socialization
• Association incl. Law of Effect & Premack
• Dealing with fear
Ancient Greece: dogs
• Hull, D. B. (1964). Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece. Chicago, IL, University of Chicago Press.
• Xenophon’s (well somebody’s) Cynegeticus circa 400BC
• Arrian’s Cynegeticus circa 100 AD
Europe, pre-late 19th century
• Rossignol, J. E. L. (1892). "The Training of Animals." The American Journal of Psychology 5(2): 205-213.
• Survey of books on animal training (1750 on)
• Observational learning
• Luring
• Role of instinct
• Splitting not lumping
• Imprinting and developmental environment
Mid to late 19th century (America)
• Hammond, S. T. S. (1885). Practical Dog Training; or Training vs. Breaking. NY, NY, Forest & Stream Publishing Co.
• Response to harsh training techniques of the day: positive reinforcement vs. punishment
Traditional terrier trainers...
• Lee, R. (1889). A history and description with reminiscences of the Fox Terrier. London, UK, Horace Cox.
• Bristow-Noble, J. C. (1919). Working Terriers. London, UK, F.V. White & Co., LTD.
• Smith, A. C., Ed. (1937). Terriers, their training, working and management. London, UK, Seeley, Service & Co. Ltd.
• Plummer, D. B. (1978). The Working Terrier. Ipswich, UK, The Boydell Press.
• Plummer, D. B. (1980). The Complete Jack Russell Terrier. Ipswich, UK, The Boydell Press.
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Germany, 1910: a book that presages many of the key ideas in modern training
• Most, K. (1910, reprinted 2001). Training Dogs: A Manual. Wenatchee, WA, Dogwise Press.
• “Most demonstrated an understanding of operant conditioning concepts such as primary and secondary reinforcement, shaping and chaining 28 years before the publication of B.F. Skinner’s The Behavior of Organisms. “
• Burch, M. R. and J. S. Bailey (1999). How Dogs Learn. New York, NY, Howell Book House.
• Big believer in negative reinforcement (compulsion) followed by immediate positive reinforcement
• First that I have found to use “pack” as a training idea
Time line of dog training in the USBurch, M. R. and J. S. Bailey (1999). How Dogs Learn. New York, NY, Howell Book House.
The Learned Dog – Class 2
Recent History of Dog Training
Influences of the 50’s and 60’s• AKC Obedience trials gain popularity
• Companion dog training is introduced to public
• Blanche Saunders & Helene Whitehouse Walker– The Complete Book of Dog Obedience, 1954 and
The Story of Dog Obedience, 1974 both by Saunders
– Saunders a student of Weber
– Weber a student of Col. Konrad Most
– “Traditional Training” came from military dog training via Most and his book Training Dogs – A Manual of 1910
Influential Trainers of the 50’s and 60’s
• Winfred Strickland A student of Saunders
Competitor, AKC judge, authorShift towards more positive training methods
• Milo PearsallPublished in 1958 Dog Obedience TrainingUses both R+ and punishment, known as a
gentler approachDid seminars and clinics
Influential Trainers of the 60’s and 70’s• William Koehler
Military and police dog trainingHollywood dogsPublished, The Koehler Method of Training,
1962Method focuses on punishment vs. positive
Very stressful for dogs and trainersAnecdotal Info: He used R+ in his training for
HollywoodVery influential throughout the 70’s and 80’s
Influential Trainers of the 60’s and 70’s
• Barbara WoodhouseOne of the first TV dog trainers!“Walkies” !Became a household name via TV and booksTraining becomes popular with the pet ownerShe used both punishment and some positive
• Mathew Margolis, “Uncle Matty”A big influence via TV and booksLeans towards more praise
Influential Trainers of the 80’s and 90’s
We begin to move towards the positive…
• Jack and Wendy Volhard and Gail FisherBring a methodical view to obedience and pet
dog trainingBring a methodical view to train trainers
• Dr. Ian DunbarThe father of puppy and positive food trainingVia books, videos, seminars and TV seriesReally pushed the importance of training pet
dogsThe catalyst for Association of Pet Dog Trainers
Influential Trainers of the 80’s and 90’s
• Karen Pryor writes Don’t Shoot the Dog
A guide to interpersonal relationships which brings operant conditioning to the light
• Karen Pryor & Gary Wilkes
Begin to really push clicker training with dogs around 1992 with lectures around the country
Present day training
• An Industry growsInternet Training & Behavior Associations Association
examples: APDT, CCPDTIndependent Certification available
CPDT Certified Pet Dog TrainerScience based training using more positive
reinforcement growsA more educated consumerEducation opportunities for trainers expandMove away from obedience clubs to training
centers
Present day training
• Sometimes a step backwardsMedia trainersQuick fixes for the publicCan be dangerous for dogs and people
• The current science trends are looking atCognition and animalsEmotions in humans and animalsHow emotions effects learningAs time goes on this is and will have an impact
on dog training
Thoughts and questions...
The take home message...
• There has been a continuing ebb and flow of...
• the relative emphasis on reinforcement vs. punishment
• the relative importance of understanding
• the natural behavior of dogs
• dogs as pack animals (and humans as members of the pack...)
• the interplay between genetics, development and training, i.e., the limits of training
Key questions...
• Associations...
• What gets associated with what?
• Event & Event, Event & Action, Action & Outcome
• What determines if an association gets made?
• Repetition, surprise, importance, contiguity & order in time & space?
• Are all associations made equally easily & quickly, and if not, why not?
• Are the rules the same regardless of the type of association?
Key questions
• What is the role of variability vs. consistency?
• Why are each important?
• When is variability important, when is consistency important?
• What is the role of surprise?
• When does the most rapid learning occur?
Key questions
• What, Why and How of different training techniques?
• Reward
• Punishment
• Shaping
• Luring
• When is each appropriate? Side-effects?
Key questions
• Different techniques for different audiences?
• Skilled trainers
• People who are learning how to be trainers while training their own dog
• People who “just want” a well-behaved dog
The big challenge moving forward...
• Training requires a variety of skills: observation, timing, analysis...
• Learning on the job, and their goal is typically a dog that doesn’t do X and comes when they are called, not becoming a better trainer. How do we make this easier?
• Operant & classical conditioning are only one part of the puzzle, but we are still finding our way with respect to understanding the role of emotion.
• Training is only one part of the equation of what a dog will become. We need to approach the problem holistically: genetics, development, training & environment. But this is anything but simple.
