Last updated April 11, 2004

Learning Theory in Action
(Thanks, Lisa, for this one!)

... the main problem involved house training. Upon questioning I discovered they were taking him out for a long run and play time until he did his business and then they brought him in the house and left for work. I had them reverse the order and take him out on a leash, wait until he was bored enough to do the deed and THEN take him for a run and a play session. It worked like a charm.

Describe WHY Lisa's recommendation worked and why
what the people were doing before wasn't.!


HERE ARE YOUR ANSWERS!!

First to answer - Nancy !!!!!

Each step of the initial routine was leading towards being alone! Not exactly a wonderful, positive thing for the dog. The routine enabled the dog (as long as he could hold it) to be in control of when the people left for work! The longer he could hold it, the longer the play time would last and the longer the people were home. That means it was positive reinforcement for the dog to delay elimination as long as possible.

By changing the routine and being totally non-reactive and boring, the pup 1) wasn't distracted and 2) had not a lot better to do than to sniff around and eliminate. Then, after he did his business, WHOO-HOO!!!! It was party time! Essentially, he was rewarded for going eliminating!

It turns into a positive reinforcement for eliminating! It also breaks up what used to be a totally negative journey.

And hot on her heels, Diane!!!

Lisa's recommendation worked because Premack puts "first things first" . The issue is peeing. So you go out supervised, on leash so you can't sneak away and the owner has no idea if you did the deed or not. You get the business done and THEN you get to have the fun! Playing is the controlled reward for the correct behavior. It's very important for the owners to be there when the behavior happens, so they can praise at the moment of, then follow up with the life reward of the happy run and playtime.

If you take the puppy out with the "run till you pee" theory, it puts the run and fun behavior in limelight. A puppy who needs to pee can forget to do so temporarily when there's fun to be had instead. Then, the desired behavior isn't the focus, and the need to pee gets lost in real life till it just has to happen. It may have accomplished the goal but it didn't teach the objective.

Thank you Lisa, for sharing this story!

My reply:
(I always write my answer before I get yours.)

Antecedent - Behavior - Consequence.
Learning occurs when the dog can predict the outcome of performing a behavior.

The dog in Lisa's scenario learned by repeated experience: prompt elimination was followed by the owner leaving. The desired behavior deteriorated because it was being punished by the consequence. Dilly dallying was being reinforced with attention, a walk and a delay in the owner's leaving.

It's important when making these recommendations that we not only explain WHAT to do, but WHY. If we don't explain the why, the owner will quickly fall back into old patterns of "go potty" = owner leaves. And the result will be spontaneous recovery and they'll be right back where they started. ("I did what you said, but it didn't work.") If they understand the principal, perhaps they will also understand that when they don't have time for that walk or the weather is ugly, that they need to find another way to reward quick elimination (a special treat and a few minutes of snugging on the couch or something else the dog would value) to replace the walk.

The brilliant part of this recommendation involves Premack: a behavior contingency: making a rewarding behavior (the enjoyable walk with the owners) contingent on performing another less rewarding behavior (elimination).

This is extremely valuable recommendation for a common puppy owner complaint: pups ask to go out and then play instead, and come back inside and pee. Puppies who are taken out on leash and when elimination is accomplished earn freedom to play or a fun game, prevents the possibility of getting sidetracked and forgetting why they were out there; thus the behavior they wish to correct, peeing inside, is eliminated. (The bonus is a dog who will pee quickly on command while on leash when taken out when the owner is on vacation and staying in a motel. The owner also has the benefit of reinforcing the dog for going in a preferred location.)