What Type of Learning is Used in Dog Obedience Training

Two types of learning theory are used in dog training: operant conditioning and classical conditioning. These two styles of learning are used -- sometimes interchangeably and sometimes individually -- to train dogs in everything from basic obedience skills, such as house training, to tasks required for complicated jobs like guiding a visually impaired person or searching for missing people under the rubble after an earthquake. Used correctly, operant and classical conditioning can help a dog go from a wild puppy to a well-behaved companion.

  1. Operant Conditioning

    • Operant conditioning was invented by B.F. Skinner in the 1950s. Skinner discovered in his experiments that rats would press a bar if they were given a reward immediately after doing so. He called this operant learning. Operant conditioning, the theory of learning that was created out of Skinner's experiments, is based on the theory that behavior can be changed by reinforcing positive behavior and providing a negative consequence for undesirable behavior.

    Operant Conditioning in Dog Training

    • All organisms respond to a stimulus, and the response they receive helps condition them to respond in a certain way in the future. This is Skinner's Stimulus-Response theory. Anything that rewards a behavior will reinforce it. For example, if a dog receives a reward for sitting when given a command to sit (the stimulus), the act of sitting will be reinforced by the reward (the response) and the dog will be more likely to sit when given that command in the future.

      Operant conditioning is widely used in dog training because it is simple and highly effective. Even a child can give a treat to a dog when it sits on command. Negative conditioning, or punishment, is no longer considered acceptable in dog training because many regard it as cruel. Recent studies indicate that dogs learn just as effectively from positive reinforcement and that punishment, such as shock collars or hitting the dog, is not necessary.

    Classical Conditioning

    • Classical conditioning was first developed by Ivan Pavlov in the early 1900s. Pavlov discovered that when dogs heard a dinner bell they salivated even before the food was presented because they had been conditioned to associate the bell with food. The theory of classical conditioning was developed from these studies, which teaches animals or people to associate unrelated stimuli with a reward or punishment. After the association is formed, the stimuli becomes a conditioned stimuli.

    Classical Conditioning in Dog Training

    • Classical conditioning is commonly used when training a dog to perform higher level tricks or skills. Guide dog trainers train the animals to respond to environmental stimuli -- such as a "don't walk" sign on a busy street -- by sitting, which helps the owner know when to stop and wait. Normally, the "don't walk" sign would be meaningless to the dog, or an unconditioned stimulus, but through training the dog learns to associate the "don't walk" sign with sitting. Sitting then becomes a conditioned response. In this way, classical conditioning can teach dogs to respond to environmental stimuli to do a variety of jobs, such as searching for drugs or rescuing drowning swimmers.