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The Four Quadrants of Operant Conditioning and What They Mean For You and Your Pup: Part I

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murph

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Disclaimer: This post is intended to be a neutral informational on operant conditioning. If you find any errors in this post, please let me know. Thank you.

Operant conditioning as a psychological subject was created by Edward Thorndike. He theorised a “law of effect” that states behaviors are a result of consequences, whether that be rewarding or discomforting.

The meaning of positive and negative

In the context of Operant Conditioning, positive means to add something. Negative means to take something away.

Defining Reinforcement and Punishment

Reinforcement is a consequence that makes a behavior occur more often.

Punishment is a consequence that makes a behavior occur less often.

Quick Recap
Positive and negative refer to whether a stimulus was added or removed.

Reinforcement and punishment refer to the future frequency of the behavior.

Reinforcement describes a consequence that makes a behavior occur more often in the future. Punishment is a consequence that makes a behavior occur less often.

What is shaping behavior?

In the service dog community there is a saying: slow is fast.

This is a reference to shaping behaviors in dogs. Shaping behaviors is the act of reinforcing or punishing approximations of a behavior to achieve the eventual desired behavior.

Operant conditioning shapes voluntary behaviors through their consequences. Actions followed by rewards tend to be repeated, while those followed by negative outcomes diminish.

What is extinction?

Extinction occurs when a previously reinforced behavior is no longer reinforced. During extinction the behavior becomes less probable.

Common training methods use variable rewards to stave off extinction. If the dog does not know when the reinforcement or punishment will come, the behavior is better reinforced than by reinforcing the behavior at every opportunity.

Positive Reinforcement

Positive Reinforcement is possibly the most common and well known method in dog training. It is generally accepted by evidence based dog training as the best way to train a dog.

Examples of Positive Reinforcement:
  • Giving your dog a treat when they complete a command.
  • Giving your dog praise when they potty outside
When can Positive Reinforcement produce undesirable results?

Because Positive Reinforcement involves adding something that is pleasurable, the are times where this can result in undesirable behaviors.

Examples:
  • Your dog jumps on the counter and takes a bite of your lunch. They then learn that by counter surfing, they get food.
  • Your dog jumps on a visitor at the dog and the dog is petted or engaged by the visitor. The dog will associate jumping with greeting others.
Positive Punishment
Examples of Positive Punishment
  • Your dog barks inappropriately and you respond with a firm “No.”
  • Your dog runs into the woods and gets sprayed by a skunk. Later, your dog avoids all skunks.
Negative Reinforcement
Examples of Negative Reinforcement
  • Pulling up on a choke chain during a walk to make the dog stop pulling. (This example can also be applied to slip chains and martingale collars)
  • Using stimulation on an electronic collar when your dog preforms an undesirable behavior.
  • Holding stimulation on an electronic collar until the dog preforms the desired command.
Negative Punishment
Examples of Negative Punishment
  • Your dog nips at your feet during a play session and you disengage from play
  • Your dog nips at your hand during feeding time and you take the bowl away.
In my experience, this type of reinforcement, while effective, requires the handler to he steadfast to ensure extinction of the undesirable behavior.

This post is a lot longer than I anticipated, so I am going to make this a two parter. My next post will be on Training Styles associated with these training strategies, as well as learning thresholds.

Thanks for reading!
 
This was a fantastic read, really well explained and laid out. The way you broke down the terminology and gave clear examples makes it easy for anyone to follow, even without a behavior background.

I especially liked the section on shaping behaviors and the “slow is fast” reference. That mindset applies to almost every aspect of training.

Looking forward to part two, especially your take on how these principles tie into different training styles. Appreciate the time and detail you put into this one
 
This post reminds me of a heated conversation I got into on a Reddit sub. The debate was (what I believe to be) the confusion between negative reinforcement and positive punishment. IMO it's the number one reason why people fail to solve their dogs leash reactivity.

They think they're punishing the behavior BUT they're actually negatively reinforcing the behavior. The thing about positive punishment is, us as handlers don't get to decide what's punishing, the dog does.

Moreover, we see leash reactivity get progressively worse as the intended punishment ramps up in its physical severity. Its still not punishment, but very strong negative reinforcement.

The thing about negative reinforcement is, it's extremely effective at creating strong and lasting behaviors.
 
MyDogBitz said:
This post reminds me of a heated conversation I got into on a Reddit sub. The debate was (what I believe to be) the confusion between negative reinforcement and positive punishment. IMO it's the number one reason why people fail to solve their dogs leash reactivity.

They think they're punishing the behavior BUT they're actually negatively reinforcing the behavior. The thing about positive punishment is, us as handlers don't get to decide what's punishing, the dog does.

Moreover, we see leash reactivity get progressively worse as the intended punishment ramps up in its physical severity. Its still not punishment, but very strong negative reinforcement.

The thing about negative reinforcement is, it's extremely effective at creating strong and lasting behaviors.
Click to expand...
That’s such an interesting point, and really well explained.

So if negative reinforcement is that effective at creating lasting behaviors, what’s the best balance to aim for? Would you say both methods can be used together, or is it better to lean on one more than the other in practice? I’d love to hear how you apply it when working through leash reactivity.
 
Kaia Murphy said:
That’s such an interesting point, and really well explained.

So if negative reinforcement is that effective at creating lasting behaviors, what’s the best balance to aim for? Would you say both methods can be used together, or is it better to lean on one more than the other in practice? I’d love to hear how you apply it when working through leash reactivity.
Click to expand...
This is a hot stove issue in the dog training world. Personally I'm a huge proponent of negative reinforcement.

I use both negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement in training. With little puppies I do everything with shaping, luring and positive reinforcement. Once they're old enough to learn loose leash walking (around 5 months or so) I introduce negative reinforcement via pressure to position. By this age they've already been punished in some fashion so pressure isn't totally foreign to them. But that being said, I teach leash pressure outside of any other training before applying it.

Leash reactivity is kind of a catch-all term these days. If I was dealing with an adult dog with bad reactivity I would use a combination of management, skill building, redirection, outlet, and punishment to address it.
 
MyDogBitz said:
This is a hot stove issue in the dog training world. Personally I'm a huge proponent of negative reinforcement.

I use both negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement in training. With little puppies I do everything with shaping, luring and positive reinforcement. Once they're old enough to learn loose leash walking (around 5 months or so) I introduce negative reinforcement via pressure to position. By this age they've already been punished in some fashion so pressure isn't totally foreign to them. But that being said, I teach leash pressure outside of any other training before applying it.

Leash reactivity is kind of a catch-all term these days. If I was dealing with an adult dog with bad reactivity I would use a combination of management, skill building, redirection, outlet, and punishment to address it.
Click to expand...
Don't let R+ trainers fool you, they use negative reinforcement all the time. I'm going to go over it in part 2
 
MyDogBitz said:
This is a hot stove issue in the dog training world. Personally I'm a huge proponent of negative reinforcement.

I use both negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement in training. With little puppies I do everything with shaping, luring and positive reinforcement. Once they're old enough to learn loose leash walking (around 5 months or so) I introduce negative reinforcement via pressure to position. By this age they've already been punished in some fashion so pressure isn't totally foreign to them. But that being said, I teach leash pressure outside of any other training before applying it.

Leash reactivity is kind of a catch-all term these days. If I was dealing with an adult dog with bad reactivity I would use a combination of management, skill building, redirection, outlet, and punishment to address it.
Click to expand...
I like how you separate shaping and luring work early on before layering in pressure later. It makes a lot of sense to build that foundation first.

When you’re working with pups under 5 months, before introducing leash pressure, what do your leash sessions usually look like? Are you mostly focusing on engagement and following, or do you start any early off-leash work around that stage too?

Also curious how you decide when a dog’s ready for that shift into negative reinforcement, is it more about age or maturity level?
 
Kaia Murphy said:
I like how you separate shaping and luring work early on before layering in pressure later. It makes a lot of sense to build that foundation first.

When you’re working with pups under 5 months, before introducing leash pressure, what do your leash sessions usually look like? Are you mostly focusing on engagement and following, or do you start any early off-leash work around that stage too?

Also curious how you decide when a dog’s ready for that shift into negative reinforcement, is it more about age or maturity level?
Click to expand...
I'm using leash pressure on my 15 week old... i lightly pull up on the leash for a sit and i mean LIGHTLY because she's a poochon and i'm afraid of fucking up her trachea.

I don't start ecollar training until 6 mos minimum full stop.

I also have a lab puppy that pulls, so our leash sessions are full of corrections because he is projected to be at least 100 lbs and if/when I have another baby I'll be damned if he drags my ass into the concrete.

I personally don't do off leash until 2-3 years old, but thats because I dont trust dogs at all ever. Need the most solid recall in almost every situation and even then... i am a worry wart.

My husband be having my dogs and his dog off leash and they are 5 years, 20 weeks and 15 weeks and im like 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

Murph has such high drive, and i know i can recall her, but I am so afraid one day there will be a squirrel that shakes his ass in just the right way....
 
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Kaia Murphy said:
I like how you separate shaping and luring work early on before layering in pressure later. It makes a lot of sense to build that foundation first.

When you’re working with pups under 5 months, before introducing leash pressure, what do your leash sessions usually look like? Are you mostly focusing on engagement and following, or do you start any early off-leash work around that stage too?

Also curious how you decide when a dog’s ready for that shift into negative reinforcement, is it more about age or maturity level?
Click to expand...
The puppies are wearing a leash the second I get them home. When were outside they are dragging a long line around. In the house they wear a 6' leash with no handle. These are management tools. I can provide freedom but also keep the pup out of trouble. When we start going on neighborhood walks we use a flexi.

With bigger dogs like German Shepherds they start to become a bit much to handle without loose leash walking skills around 5 months old. That's when I teach it. But, it's not a totally foreign concept to them because I've been using a leash and a flat collar all along up to this point. But, I'm now going to introduce them to a prong collar.

I introduce the prong collar outside of any training. I put the collar on the dog, slowly apply some pressure, release and reward. I repeat this a bunch of times and within a few reps the dog is anticipating the reward when they feel the pressure. Once that happens I start moving around a lot in different directions and every time the dog moves into the pressure (removing it on their own) I reward them. I'm doing this in a distraction free environment.

Once all this happens I introduce pressure-to-position. Pressure to sit, pressure to down, pressure to place, pressure to come, etc. The whole process only takes a few sessions. Afterwards we move outside and we start walking. Now, the loose leash walking becomes a lot easier to teach. If the dog pulls or moves towards a distraction I quickly move in the opposite direction. This way the dog corrects themselves and they're like "Oh, I know this game" and they quickly learn to pay attention to you and your movement. It all goes rather quickly.

Once the dog is six months old I introduce the e-collar and I then pair the e-collar stim to the prong collar and get off the prong collar quickly, like one or two sessions. By now I have directional control and loose leash walking on a flat collar.

It sounds like a lot but it goes fast and I know I spend more time on it then necessary.
 
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MyDogBitz said:
The puppies are wearing a leash the second I get them home. When were outside they are dragging a long line around. In the house they wear a 6' leash with no handle. These are management tools. I can provide freedom but also keep the pup out of trouble. When we start going on neighborhood walks we use a flexi.

With bigger dogs like German Shepherds they start to become a bit much to handle without loose leash walking skills around 5 months old. That's when I teach it. But, it's not a totally foreign concept to them because I've been using a leash and a flat collar all along up to this point. But, I'm now going to introduce them to a prong collar.

I introduce the prong collar outside of any training. I put the collar on the dog, slowly apply some pressure, release and reward. I repeat this a bunch of times and within a few reps the dog is anticipating the reward when they feel the pressure. Once that happens I start moving around a lot in different directions and every time the dog moves into the pressure (removing it on their own) I reward them. I'm doing this in a distraction free environment.

Once all this happens I introduce pressure-to-position. Pressure to sit, pressure to down, pressure to place, pressure to come, etc. The whole process only takes a few sessions. Afterwards we move outside and we start walking. Now, the loose leash walking becomes a lot easier to teach. If the dog pulls or moves towards a distraction I quickly move in the opposite direction. This way the dog corrects themselves and they're like "Oh, I know this game" and they quickly learn to pay attention to you and your movement. It all goes rather quickly.

Once the dog is six months old I introduce the e-collar and I then pair the e-collar stim to the prong collar and get off the prong collar quickly, like one or two sessions. By now I have directional control and loose leash walking on a flat collar.

It sounds like a lot but it goes fast and I know I spend more time on it then necessary.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what we did at board and train but with only ecollars, flat collars, and long and short leashes. Amazing write up. This is exactly how to train a dog.
 
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MyDogBitz said:
The puppies are wearing a leash the second I get them home. When were outside they are dragging a long line around. In the house they wear a 6' leash with no handle. These are management tools. I can provide freedom but also keep the pup out of trouble. When we start going on neighborhood walks we use a flexi.

With bigger dogs like German Shepherds they start to become a bit much to handle without loose leash walking skills around 5 months old. That's when I teach it. But, it's not a totally foreign concept to them because I've been using a leash and a flat collar all along up to this point. But, I'm now going to introduce them to a prong collar.

I introduce the prong collar outside of any training. I put the collar on the dog, slowly apply some pressure, release and reward. I repeat this a bunch of times and within a few reps the dog is anticipating the reward when they feel the pressure. Once that happens I start moving around a lot in different directions and every time the dog moves into the pressure (removing it on their own) I reward them. I'm doing this in a distraction free environment.

Once all this happens I introduce pressure-to-position. Pressure to sit, pressure to down, pressure to place, pressure to come, etc. The whole process only takes a few sessions. Afterwards we move outside and we start walking. Now, the loose leash walking becomes a lot easier to teach. If the dog pulls or moves towards a distraction I quickly move in the opposite direction. This way the dog corrects themselves and they're like "Oh, I know this game" and they quickly learn to pay attention to you and your movement. It all goes rather quickly.

Once the dog is six months old I introduce the e-collar and I then pair the e-collar stim to the prong collar and get off the prong collar quickly, like one or two sessions. By now I have directional control and loose leash walking on a flat collar.

It sounds like a lot but it goes fast and I know I spend more time on it then necessary.
Click to expand...
The thing about this kind of training, is it is constant. It's not just sessions, but every time they potty. No pulling. Reinforcing recall. Making things a game. Praise.

Yes, puppies need 5 minute training sessions, but those are just the focused ones.
 
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