The Fundamentals of Animal Behavior and Training | How Animals Learn

Throughout history, animals have played a significant role in the lives of humans. After all, dogs alone have been domesticated since before recorded history; to all intents and purposes, since the beginning. This is all thanks to their behavior. Behavior is the reason we have pets in the first place. It’s why we welcome them into our homes, families, and hearts. It’s the driving force behind our desire for pets and, unfortunately, why we sometimes give them up. Animals and behavior go hand-in-hand. It’s the foundation of our interactions with them and the backbone of our lives together.

Given this profound and often perplexing history and relationship together, one might assume that understanding our pets’ behavior would be second nature to all of us. What else do we interact with daily but hardly understand, much less know how to influence? Yet, unfortunately, most pet owners have no understanding of their pets’ behavior nor how it works. This is not their fault. Even many veterinarians lack a comprehensive understanding of their patients’ behavior. To remedy this issue, let’s delve into the fundamentals of animal behavior and training to offer guidance.

What is Behavior?

At its core, behavior is the focus of psychology; unraveling the intricacies within the materialistic and deterministic universe. Behavior refers to the conduct, movements, and reactions of an organism in response to stimuli. Put simply, it’s what living things do. It’s their actions and the motivations behind them. By examining the interactions between an animal’s environment and genetics, the study of behavior aims for its prediction and control; ultimately, improving the lives of both owners and their beloved pets.

What Causes Behavior?

As previously mentioned, behavior is shaped by two key factors: environment and genetics. It’s crucial to note that these categories are interdependent; one cannot exist without the other. As a result, the behaviors exhibited by your pet result from an intricate blend of influences stemming from both environmental and genetic factors.

For example, when a pointer dog performs the famous “point”, it engages in a predominantly genetic behavior—pointing—only brought on by the presence of something to point at in the environment—bird. The environment elicits the behavior. Or in behaviorist terms, the stimulus elicits the response. Without the presence of the stimulus (the bird), the corresponding response (the point) would never have been brought about. This principle holds true for ANY behavior you see from your pet, regardless of the species or nature of the behavior—be it good or bad.

The Two Types of Behavior

All behavior can be broken down into two different categories: Respondent and Operant. Respondent behaviors are the involuntary actions an animal performs in response to a presented stimulus without prior thought and regardless of resulting consequences. Put simply, a presented stimulus causes an involuntary reaction. Some examples include your cat sneezing after sniffing some dust, your rabbit freezing when spooked, or your dog drooling at dinner time. Even a baby giggling when tickled is a respondent behavior. The animal has no control over their response; it is just a reflex or reaction to a presented stimulus.

Operant behaviors encompass voluntary actions performed by an animal in anticipation of a specific consequence that the animal has learned through experience. Put simply, a presented stimulus triggers a voluntary action, driven by the anticipation of a predicted outcome. For example, when you instruct your dog to sit, and the dog complies, it does so in anticipation of receiving a treat. This is an operant behavior.

Remember, ALL behavior is learned through one of these two categories. From aggression to fun tricks and every behavior in between. This is the same for all species whether we’re talking about dogs, cats, horses, rodents, birds, reptiles, fish, and even people. Use these categories as your foundation for understanding behavior in all living things.

Classical (Respondent) Conditioning

Now that we have an understanding of what respondent learning is, let’s explore how we can use this to effectively train our pets. The use of these learning methods to our advantage to teach behaviors we want is called “conditioning”. In the case of respondent learning, we label this “classical” or “Pavlovian” conditioning. This term is easy to remember, as almost everyone is familiar with the iconic scientist for which it is named, Ivan Pavlov, who observed his dogs salivating at the sound of a bell (fun fact: it was actually a metronome).

As another example of classical conditioning in training, let’s consider a tactic called ‘clicker training’. This popular training method relies on classical conditioning as a core principal to teach your dog. It works like this. When you first make the click sound to your dog, they will likely have no reaction. The click is a neutral stimulus and therefore useless to us as the trainer in its current state. So in order to make the click useful, we need to give it meaning and value. This is accomplished by “charging” the click with classical conditioning.

At the beginning of training, the trainer makes the click sound and then immediately feeds the dog a treat. This treat is called the “unconditioned stimulus” because, unlike the click, it does not require conditioning to establish its value. It is inherently rewarding to the dog. The act of feeding after the click induces positive emotions in the dog, such as joy and excitement (I’m sure we all can relate!). These positive emotions brought on by the food are called the “unconditioned response,” reflecting the dog’s involuntary response to the presentation of food.

After several repetitions of click and treat, the dog will learn to associate the click sound with the pleasurable emotions experienced from receiving food. Consequently, the dog learns to manifest the same response of joy and excitement when presented with the click alone. No food required! This means we have successfully transformed the previously neutral stimulus of a click sound into a “conditioned stimulus” that leads to a now “conditioned response” of joy and excitement. So long as the conditioned stimulus (click) maintains its value, it will continue to result in the desired conditioned response (joy and excitement) from the dog.

While this is a simple example, do not underestimate the strength of classical conditioning! This method is the most powerful and most important technique in training and behavior modification. Behaviorists use classical conditioning to rewire an animals brain at the most primal level, initiating the release of different hormones and neurotransmitters when presented with a stressful situation. Classical conditioning is a cornerstone in rehabilitating aggressive animals and treating clinical issues such as separation anxiety and extreme fear in both animals and humans. It can even be used to condition an animal to enjoy pain! Although any such usage is highly discouraged given ethical considerations and potential for harm. (Read more about classical conditioning and how to use it in How To Teach Your Dog ANYTHING)

Operant Conditioning

When teaching animals through operating learning, we refer to this also as conditioning. As previously discussed, operant conditioning is all about voluntary behaviors shaped by learned consequences. A good way to remember this is the antecedent (A) combined with the behavior (B) equals the Consequence (C). A+B=C.

Operant conditioning is what people usually think of when they hear training. As another example, let’s revisit clicker training. Once the click has been properly conditioned via classical conditioning, it now becomes a tool to teach more specific behaviors using operant conditioning. Let’s say you want to teach your cat to look at you on command. When you issue your cat the command ‘watch me,’ you are presenting a “discriminative stimulus” which simply means a stimulus that sets the stage for the “operant response” – in this case, the action of the cat looking at you. This action results in the consequence (a click) and positive (conditioned) emotions, enhancing the likelihood of your cat looking at you the next time you say “watch me”.

This principle works the same in undesirable behaviors. For instance, a dog stealing food off the counter has learned that the discriminative stimulus (food left unattended on the counter) sets the stage for the operant response (counter surfing), resulting in the consequence of getting some tasty food. Thus, the problem behavior of counter-surfing is more likely to recur in the future.

Types of Consequences

By now, you’ve noticed that operant conditioning is heavily based on the consequences that come as a result of a behavior, but what are these consequences? (hint: “consequence” does not always mean something bad!)

There are 4 main types of consequences in behavior:

• Positive reinforcers
• Negative reinforcers
• Positive punishers
• Negative punishers

While these categories may appear straightforward at first glance, don’t be deceived into taking each at face value. In the world of behavior, the terms “positive” and “negative” do not denote the morality of each consequence as inherently good or bad. Rather, “positive” simply means the addition of a stimulus to the consequence scenario, while “negative” indicates the removal of one.

Moreover, a “reinforcer” does not mean something inherently good, and a “punisher” does not mean something inherently bad. A “reinforcer” is simply a stimulus that increases the immediately preceding behavior such that it is more likely to occur in the future. Conversely, a “punisher” is a stimulus the reduces the immediately preceding behavior such that it is less likely to occur in the future.

So if a trainer uses a positive punisher as a consequence, this means they are adding a stimulus to decrease an undesirable behavior. An example of this would be shocking a dog with an e-collar to reduce the dog’s behavior of jumping on people. If a trainer uses negative punishment, they are removing a stimulus to also decrease an undesirable behavior. An example would be removing your puppies toys to reduce play biting. If a trainer uses negative reinforcement, they are removing a continuously applied aversive stimulus to increase a desirable behavior. An example of this is the pressure-and-release technique commonly used in horse training. Now, can you guess which of these categories clicker training falls under?…

You got it! Positive reinforcement because a click is being added to increase a desirable behavior like ‘watch me’. Each of these approaches can serve as an effective training tool, but each also has their own advantages and drawbacks. Everyone has their own opinions, but in general, positive reinforcement techniques yield faster and longer lasting results. This is because the trainer using positive reinforcement does not need to be as consistent as the one using other techniques. Additionally, the motivation for the animal to engage in the behavior is higher because it is inherently reinforcing-the dog wants to do what you want them to do.

On the other hand, punishment-based techniques demand an extremely consistent and swift delivery. One that even professional trainers have difficulty in executing (we’re all only human after all). This is because animals are often engaging in multiple behaviors at any given moment. This makes it hard for the animal to determine which behavior is being punished. For example, if a dog lying on the bed is shocked with an e-collar for barking at the door then the dog can quickly deduce that being on the bed results in a painful shock. As little as one of these can cause the dog to avoid the bed at all cost. Now the barking problem is still not resolved, and we have a new one to address. This difficulty for the animal can lead to frustration and what’s called “learned helplessness” where the animal will shut down due to lack of success and no perceived escape from aversive punishment. In the end, all we get is a frustrated dog and a frustrated owner; neither of which are likely to do more training in the future.

To Summarize

Behavior stands out as the single most important factor in pet ownership, wielding immense influence over the quality of our experiences with our pets. Fortunately, behavior can not only be observed and measured but also controlled, modified, and conditioned to suit our needs and preferences. Leveraging classical and operant conditioning techniques allows trainers and behaviorists to influence and transform any behavior, achieving outcomes that seem impossible. Just remember that these methods of learning are omnipresent, interwoven, and must go hand-in-hand. You cannot turn them on or off, and you cannot have one without the other. Therefore, you must always be aware of what your pet is learning at any given time, whether you are intentionally training or not. Because your pet is ALWAYS learning. Understanding the fundamentals of animal behavior will allow you mold your pet into your favorite companion and lifelong best friend.