Operant Conditioning by Mark Fulmer-Sarahsetter

Take a look at these two scenarios. You are working a young pointing dog out in the field on game and your dog slams into a beautiful point. As you approach the dog you begin telling him to whoa in an assertive voice repeatedly. The dog is standing as you attempt to flush but can't find the birds. You continue to whoa the dog while you flush and the dog's composure starts to melt. You raise your voice to make sure he doesn't move and his head and tail both drop. Now as you approach him to tap him for a relocation his belly almost goes to the ground. I have seen this happen more times than I want to remember over twenty years of judging field trials and rehabilitating dogs that people have messed up.

Now look what happens when good training is added to the above scene. The dog has slammed into a point again. As you approach you say ' whoa' once in a soft assertive voice. As you flush you look back at the dog and say 'good' as you flush to build the dog's confidence as you attempt to flush. You kick a bush and the dog doesn't bat an eye and you immediately say 'good'. Every time you raise the stakes during the flushing effort and the dog stays on point you say 'good'. Now as you walk back to your dog to let him relocate one more 'good' as he continues to stand. Now with a tap to release him he moves forward to re-establish point.

Many would say that the second dog did better because he was praised and let it go at that but there is much more happening than meets the eye. Some call it a gift, some call it an art, some call it good training, yet actually it is the science of training better known as Operant Conditioning. There have always been people with an intrinsic knowledge of how to train, but it can be learned by anyone.

In scene one, the handler never lets his dog know that he is doing a good job. On the contrary, he is actually teaching the dog to need to be whoa'd many times because of his uncertainties. He obviously doesn't know where the bird is or if his dog will remain standing. In scene two, there is more training than meets the eye. The word 'good' is an established conditioned reinforcer. It is a positive conditioned reinforcer. A conditioned reinforcer can be established by pairing sound, movement, or stimulation with food, petting, or other real reinforcers. If you say 'good' every time you pet a dog, soon you will see a dog that will work just as a hard to hear the word 'good' as he will for a petting. It is important that a cue for a reinforcer be concise. The word 'good' is much better than 'good dog Joe' because it does a better job of marking the exact time when an enforceable behavior(something you like or is desirable) occurs. For example, let's take a look at teaching a dog to walk at heel. A dog on lead drifts in and out of the heel position four times in five seconds - just try saying 'good' four times versus 'good dog Joe' four times in five seconds. The word 'good' will mark time very well in those five seconds while 'good dog Joe' will become babble as it all runs together.

The primary reinforcer in both scenes is the scent of the bird. The whoa command is a secondary reinforcer in the presence of a bird, but would be the primary reinforcer if given with no bird present. The sad story for the first dog is that everything that occurs while the dog remains steady are also secondary reinforcers. The bungled flushing attempt, the multiple commands, even the handler's frustration communicated thru body language are all secondary reinforcers that will help to create undesirable behavior if this event happens often. The second dog has been blessed with a skillful handler. As the handler approaches the dog on point he scans where the bird may be while confidently reinforcing his dog with one whoa command as he steps ahead of his dog. Every time he expands his flushing effort he reinforces the dog's continued good behavior with 'good'. The dog remains high and tight through the entire flushing effort because he continues to be reinforced for good behavior not only by the 'good' cue but also because all of the handler's confidence and skill during the flushing attempt are positive secondary reinforcers. Most handlers in field trials fire a blank gun to the side or a shotgun over the shoulder when birds are flushed. Without knowing it, these handler's strike the same posture that also can become a cue to remain tight or to let down depending on how it is taught or learned naturally by the dog.

One of the most annoying training mistakes to me is the long time tradition of putting a dog back in place if it breaks point but whoa's on command after the break. Any dog that performs a given command properly should never be corrected for a action that happened prior to the command. Only praise (a properly conditioned reinforcer) should follow a properly executed command. However, for a dog on a checkcord that is not steady, or a dog that needs to be run down, it is acceptable to put him back in place.

Anyone who has every trained a dog has dabbled with positive reinforcement training (Operant Conditioning) without a real knowledge of the techniques involved. If you have a real understanding of this knowledge you will become a much better animal trainer. It will require thought to integrate reinforcement training with traditional training methods for bird dogs, but I will assure you it is worth the effort.