It's very clear that fear is an emotion. We see the behaviors that arise from fears and anxieties. Many people are attempting to deal with those behaviors. 

If the dogs are in a cognitive/thinking state, then we may use operant conditioning (clicker teaching/ positive reinforcement for desirable behaviors) effectively.

However, if dogs are overwhelmed by stimuli that they fear, to the exztent that they're anxious, then they cannot be in a cognitive state of mind. They're expressing an emotional response to fearful stimuli. We would need to use classical conditioning for systematic desensitization, rather than operant conditioning.

Or think of it this way: We may not succeed with giving verbal cues. We may not succeed with command-based training, not because either of those is wrong per se, but because those choices by the owner and trainer would not be effective when the individual subject/student with which we're working is overcome with anxiety, nervousness, and fear.

If there are two huge ways that subjects/students learn, either by classical conditioning, or by operant conditioning (cognitively through positive reinforcement), then we need to figure out when to use which of those two different modes.

 In the real world, we often hear that we should not give a reward or praise to a fearful dog because we'd "reinforce" the fear. However, that's not the case. Giving praise, or coddling, "You're a good baby dog" to a fearful dog does not increase the that dog's fear. Remember that the fear is the emotion, the part we cannot see. Our words, "You're a good baby dog, don't worry" actually have very little effect on the dog. They don't change its fearful behavior. Our words are just background noise. We may as well give it up because the words do not improve the behavior. They don't make it worse; they just don't solve the problem.

If the dog had *not* been afraid, then once in a while our coddling, cooing, "You're my baby dog," may reinforce a silly behavior, such as a limp. Why? Because if the dog had pricked its paw with a pine needle out in the yard, it may have lifted its paw. In response, we may have said, "Aw, pooooooor baby, what's the matter? Does your footie hurt?" We'd rush to its side all solicitous to check that paw, and remove the pine needle. How long do you think it would take Poor Baby Darlin' to figure out that if it lifts its paw while walking we'll give it some lovin' attention? Not too long for our intrepid and fearless walker on pine needles.

Have we reinforced the fear? Not at all. We've reinforced the paw lift behavior that we captured, marked with "Awwwwwwwww, poooooooor baby," and rewarded with solicitous attention. But that's not reinforcing the fear. (smile)

How about if we feed cookie treats to a fearful dog? If a dog is exhibiting fearful behavior, if it's highly stressed, it will most likely not accept and eat the cookie treats. In fact, if it will accept the treats readily, that may be an indication that it no longer feels the emotion of fear, that the fearful feeling is abating.

However, if we remove the fearful dog from the environmental factors that evoke this fearful response, if we give that dog sufficient social distance from the stimuli that the dog is able to relax, then we can feed it cookie treats. So long as we do so while it can still see the BST (Big Scary Thing/the stimulus) in the distance, then we'd be attempting  desensitization and counter conditioning (using classical conditioning instead of operant).

In the days before behaviorists and therapists taught us how to treat phobias, and subsequently how to help modify behaviors based upon fears, we were still "stuck" in using obedience skills only to help dogs learn how to "behave." That's a laugh, really, because of course the dogs who were reacting, even over-reacting, were "behaving." They were behaving all over the place! (LOL)

What a long, long way we've come in our understanding that for teaching regular skills, we'll use operant conditioning/clicker teaching. That's the mental learning game for dogs. It requires cognitive/thinking skills.

But for behavior modification to reduce a dog's anxiety, nervousness, or fear, we'll use classical conditioning to change the underlying emotional response.

I'm not speaking solely of fears that are overwhelming. No indeed. Classical conditioning works remarkablly well, too, to help any dog overcome one of those little snags we meet in real life, such as unpleasant experiences. Trainers all over the world are venturing to try feedinglittle pieces of chicken or roast beef or cheddar cheese, and using a high rate of delivery, too. What a huge change these people are making in dogs' lives!!!

© 2004, Barbara D. Brill, North Chili, NY. All rights reserved. No further reproduction permitted without express written consent.  Email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it