Conditioning Reflex

For example, imagine again that the dog is walking by your side when, once again, we stop, but this time the dog automatically sits, too. Well, in this case what you should do is reward him at once. By doing this the dog, in a very casual way, has adopted a posture that will be associated to satisfaction. 

You definitely must be certain that your dog will be willing to repeat this exercise as many times as possible and you must let it be because this will reinforce his behavior. You must also be sure that from then on the dog will stop and sit down at the same time its owner stops. A second association of ideas then is to stop and sit.

In reference to holding back certain behaviors, it is a matter of waiting until the dog manifests them spontaneously. If this happens one must immediately, not 10 minutes or an hour later, apply the most adequate negative conditioning response regarding each situation.

The association that creates the conditioning reflex is the spinal cord in which we will have to rest at the time in which we will have to begin any inhibition process to mend any behavior deficiency that we may perceive in the dog.

The most clear exponent of the creation of a conditioning reflex was a series of experiments done by the Russian scientist Pavlov (1849-1936) for which he won a Nobel Prize. This research demonstrated the creation of these reflexes. By the sound of a bell caused intentionally Pavlov automatically provoked –without food- the segregation of the saliva necessary for the salivary glands to ingest food properly.