Common Terms for dog training

Operant Conditioning

Operant conditioning is a type of learning that occurs when the consequences of behavior are manipulated. It is divided into four quadrants: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative punishment.

• Positive reinforcement adds something pleasant to increase the likelihood of a behavior.
• Negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant to increase the likelihood of a behavior.
• Positive punishment adds something unpleasant to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.
• Negative punishment removes something pleasant to decrease the likelihood of a behavior.

Conditioned Reinforcer

A conditioned reinforcer is a neutral stimulus that has been paired with a primary reinforcer and comes to elicit the same response.

Marker

A marker is a conditioned reinforcer that is used to tell the dog exactly when they did something right.

Engagement

Engagement refers to a dog's focus and motivation.

Luring

Luring is a way to train a dog by using food to lure the dog into the desired position.

Shaping

Shaping is about gradually reinforcing a dog closer and closer to the desired behavior.

Fading

Fading is the gradual removal of lures or prompts.

Hunger Drive

Hunger drive is a dog's natural motivation for food.

Prey Drive

Prey drive is a dog's instinct to chase and grab things with its mouth.

Acquisition-Based Behaviors

Acquisition-based behaviors are behaviors that the dog finds reinforcing by themselves, such as chasing or searching.

Reinforcer vs. Reward

A reinforcer is anything that strengthens a behavior, while a reward is something pleasant that is given to the dog.

Creating a Reward Event

A reward event is an interactive way of rewarding the dog that strengthens the bond between the dog and the trainer.

Cue

A cue can be verbal or physical to prompt the dog to do a certain behavior.

Reinforcement Schedules

Reinforcement schedules refer to how often a dog is rewarded for a certain behavior.

Arousal

Arousal refers to the dog's level of excitement.

Overshadowing

Overshadowing is when a more relevant signal makes the dog ignore a less relevant signal.

Motivation

Motivation is the dog's desire for something.

Additional Resources

In addition to the terms listed above, there are many other important dog training terms. Some of these terms include:

• Clicker: A clicker is a small device that makes a clicking sound. It is used to mark the exact moment that a dog performs a desired behavior.
• Treat: A treat is a small amount of food that is used to reward a dog for good behavior.
• Toy: A toy is an object that is used to play with a dog.
• Command: A command is a word or phrase that is used to tell a dog to do something.
• Extinction: Extinction is a process of letting a behavior go extinct by not rewarding it.
• Generalization: Generalization is the process of teaching a dog to perform a behavior in different contexts.
• Discrimination: Discrimination is the process of teaching a dog to distinguish between different stimuli.
• Proofing: Proofing is the process of making a behavior reliable in different contexts.

I hope this blog post has been helpful. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Dr. Aldin