@elbrant said in Operant Conditioning (explained):
@eeeefarm said in Operant Conditioning (explained):
some professional trainers suggest to their classes that they starve dogs that aren't all that food motivated
This is just disturbing... in today's society, this type of behavior would be considered animal cruelty. Certainly we can find a way to encourage compliance without depriving an animal basic care.
I know, it shocked me too when I heard it. The first instance was a friend of mine whose Border Collie was disinterested in food rewards, and she was advised by the instructor not to feed the dog anything on class days so there would be an incentive to accept treats. The second instance was my niece, and in this case a German Shepherd dog that again didn't want to take treats, and she was given the same advice by a different trainer, in fact in a different city, so it appears that it isn't unusual. Both these dogs work well for praise and in both cases the owners declined to starve the dogs....