If you have read any of my other articles about dog training, you already know that I am a big advocate of motivating your pet by using positive reinforcement to shape appropriate behavior versus applying punishment to eliminate unwanted behavior.
It all sounds good on paper; but what if you already have some problem behaviors you want to get rid of? How can you reduce the frequency of a nuisance behavior without using punishment? Well, there is a great and very effective method of doing this.
The secret is a focused reinforcement schedule known in the behavior modification world as Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (or DRO for short).
What In The World is DRO? I understand this is a pretty big word and sounds complicated; but it really is not.
In fact, it is actually quite simple to put in motion.
All that this fancy term means is that you reinforce ANY behavior OTHER than the nuisance behavior you are trying to eliminate.
Still confused? Let me use a simple example to demonstrate.
Let us say you want to reduce the amount your dog barks.
Well, reinforce him for any OTHER behavior than barking.
This might be lying down, wandering from one room to another, or watching TV...
whatever.
Literally, anytime your dog is NOT barking, take the time to walk over to him and give him a good reinforcement.
The key is to condition yourself to look for those opportunities and act accordingly.
Now let us take it one step further.
There is a "sub-category" of DRO called DRI.
This stands for Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behavior.
All that this means is that instead of reinforcing any OTHER behavior, you target a specific behavior to reinforce that is directly INCOMPATIBLE with the target behavior you are trying to reduce.
For example, if your dog likes to jump up on you when you walk in the door, you teach him to sit instead and reinforce "sitting".
The behavior "sitting" is incompatible with "jumping".
In other words, your dog cannot jump up on you when he is sitting down.
You will have to help him at first by giving him some direction (I.
e.
, ask him to sit); but over a period of time he will learn that when you walk in the door something good will happen when he sits down.
How Does It Work? The principle behind this application is you are increasing the frequency of appropriate behavior by reinforcing it (the definition of reinforcement), and thus reducing the frequency of the unwanted behavior.
This is not a "quick" fix and it takes some practice on your part to look for the right opportunities; but I know from experience it works great! I used this exact same approach to condition my dogs to stop "begging" at the table.
I have also seen it work very well in some other settings.
A while back I did a dog training workshop at the Upper Valley Humane Society in New Hampshire, and they were using this very same method to reduce barking in their kennel.
I have to say; even I was amazed at how well it worked in that environment.
Typically kennels like that are so loud when you walk in that you can barely hear yourself think.
The folks there applied this process so consistently that when you walked inside the main kennel you could practically hear a pin drop.
The way they were able to accomplish this was pretty simple.
Every time they had a guest that was looking at dogs or touring the facility; they would hand them a few dog treats prior to entering the main housing area and instruct them that if they passed by any dogs that were NOT barking, they could go ahead and give them a treat.
Brilliant! The key to making this successful for your dog is to teach yourself to look for behaviors you CAN reinforce.
If you get in the habit of doing this regularly and consistently, you will see results.
It may seem like a lot of work initially, but it can save you much time and frustration in the long run.
You will develop a better relationship with your dog, and you will have fewer problems to worry about.
It all sounds good on paper; but what if you already have some problem behaviors you want to get rid of? How can you reduce the frequency of a nuisance behavior without using punishment? Well, there is a great and very effective method of doing this.
The secret is a focused reinforcement schedule known in the behavior modification world as Differential Reinforcement of Other Behavior (or DRO for short).
What In The World is DRO? I understand this is a pretty big word and sounds complicated; but it really is not.
In fact, it is actually quite simple to put in motion.
All that this fancy term means is that you reinforce ANY behavior OTHER than the nuisance behavior you are trying to eliminate.
Still confused? Let me use a simple example to demonstrate.
Let us say you want to reduce the amount your dog barks.
Well, reinforce him for any OTHER behavior than barking.
This might be lying down, wandering from one room to another, or watching TV...
whatever.
Literally, anytime your dog is NOT barking, take the time to walk over to him and give him a good reinforcement.
The key is to condition yourself to look for those opportunities and act accordingly.
Now let us take it one step further.
There is a "sub-category" of DRO called DRI.
This stands for Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behavior.
All that this means is that instead of reinforcing any OTHER behavior, you target a specific behavior to reinforce that is directly INCOMPATIBLE with the target behavior you are trying to reduce.
For example, if your dog likes to jump up on you when you walk in the door, you teach him to sit instead and reinforce "sitting".
The behavior "sitting" is incompatible with "jumping".
In other words, your dog cannot jump up on you when he is sitting down.
You will have to help him at first by giving him some direction (I.
e.
, ask him to sit); but over a period of time he will learn that when you walk in the door something good will happen when he sits down.
How Does It Work? The principle behind this application is you are increasing the frequency of appropriate behavior by reinforcing it (the definition of reinforcement), and thus reducing the frequency of the unwanted behavior.
This is not a "quick" fix and it takes some practice on your part to look for the right opportunities; but I know from experience it works great! I used this exact same approach to condition my dogs to stop "begging" at the table.
I have also seen it work very well in some other settings.
A while back I did a dog training workshop at the Upper Valley Humane Society in New Hampshire, and they were using this very same method to reduce barking in their kennel.
I have to say; even I was amazed at how well it worked in that environment.
Typically kennels like that are so loud when you walk in that you can barely hear yourself think.
The folks there applied this process so consistently that when you walked inside the main kennel you could practically hear a pin drop.
The way they were able to accomplish this was pretty simple.
Every time they had a guest that was looking at dogs or touring the facility; they would hand them a few dog treats prior to entering the main housing area and instruct them that if they passed by any dogs that were NOT barking, they could go ahead and give them a treat.
Brilliant! The key to making this successful for your dog is to teach yourself to look for behaviors you CAN reinforce.
If you get in the habit of doing this regularly and consistently, you will see results.
It may seem like a lot of work initially, but it can save you much time and frustration in the long run.
You will develop a better relationship with your dog, and you will have fewer problems to worry about.
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