Different large breed dog information center
Praise. The use of the term 'praise' in this home page NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT. The removal of an aversive event contingent on a behavior with the goal of increasing the likelihood of the behavior in the future (1). Example: The Koehler technique for teaching the retrieve involves releasing an ear pinch or terminating a shock at the moment the dog clasps the dumbbell in its mouth. If the dog does what is required the pain is removed. Equally, a dog may have learned that escaping from an enclosure relieved the restriction he was feeling and having been negatively reinforced will escape to relieve that uncomfortable feeling again. Negative reinforcement can help us teach the dog eg, the dog is released from confinement only when he is silent or as another example, when an uncomfortable physical force is used to guide the dog into a 'sit', 'down', etc - when the dog complies, the force is removed. The use of the hands/feet in this situation which doesn't involve discomfort to the dog (indeed is pleasant to the dog) is not negative reinforcement because it is not averse to the dog. PUNISHMENT. A punishment is any stimulus that decreases the probability of the response that it follows. Punishment only seeks to stop undesirable behavior - it does not teach a new desired behavior. The undesirable response that the Punishment was designed to decrease may only last for a short duration or may only occur when the 'punisher' is present. Think of the traffic ticket for speeding (punishment), the driver may slow down while the memory of the fine is still present or whenever the driver sees a traffic cop but after a time, the driver will return to his same old bad habits. POSITIVE PUNISHMENT. The giving of an aversive event contingent on a behavior with the goal of decreasing the likelihood of the behavior in the future (1). Example: Dog gets up on the 'Down Stay' in an obedience class, the handler immediately storms towards the dog, glaring at it, gives the dog a harsh scruff shake and screams 'No!' and physically forces the dog back into the 'Down'. |




