@chiere If you’re curious, there’s lots of great resources online. You’re mixing two different concepts together, I’d recommend doing some reading on classical conditioning vs operant conditioning
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
also if you’re on Insta; dogminded, thelivesofwilddogs, and bravodogtraining are great accounts that really simply break down some complex concepts into easy to understand pieces.
Classical conditioning is the act of applying positive (or negative) stimulus in the presence of a trigger to change an underlying emotion. This has to be done under threshold, so if you’re feeding treats to a reacting dog, nothing is really happening (the treat is definitely not reinforcing the reaction, because they’re not in a learning headspace, the reaction itself is the reinforcement so long as the trigger goes away) - you have to start at a distance the dog feels more comfortable and very slowly work to decrease that with the use of treats. This requires no outward behaviour change essentially because you’re not addressing the barking, you’re working on the dog associating the calm mind stage and yummy treat with the presence of the trigger and over time that
might stop the barking because the dog no longer feels fear towards the trigger.
If you want to shape a new
behaviour that’s operant conditioning (which is basically a dog learning to offer something new by the application of either reward or correction), but again you have to work under threshold and you teach the dog what to do when they see the trigger instead of barking. This will allow them to choose a different space seeking behaviour that is more desirable to the handler.
I have a dog who was red zone (uncontrollable), literally no threshold, another dog within eyesight would get a reaction. We’ve never once used a correction and he can now calmly be in spaces with other dogs, just won’t tolerate off leash dogs with poor social skills molesting him while he’s on leash, which is fine because that’s a pretty normal adult dog behaviour and I don’t expect him to be a perfect robot without opinions on how he’d like to socialise. We’ve worked with plenty of similar dogs and helped them only using tools like BAT 2.0, so I can safely say that R+ really works for all kinds of dogs
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
I’ve never met a dog it doesn’t work for (and I see about a hundred dogs through our program each year), but I have met a lot of handlers this doesn’t work for because they are unfortunately shaped by a system that values animal relationships of compliance and convenience.
Wait for the dog to bark, apply correction for barking, is insanely easy training wise. And if your correction is unpleasant enough, it works really quickly. But again, it’s literally the laziest and least ethical form of teaching - and from a sustainability perspective, dogs taught with corrections are more likely to have issues with latency to cue and can experience aversive fall out.
If there’s a better and more ethical way to handle a dog, I personally will do that. But some people will find ways to justify introducing discomfort and punishment to their training because in some countries it’s very much normalised, so I always try to remember I come from a privileged position in that respect
![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)