Work Ethic involves both training and counter conditioning. The following is about counter conditioning, and I will add more about the nuts and bolts of training at a later date.
Michael Shikashio wrote the following in a sharable Facebook Post on September 8, 2024.
A very common question I received from clients was, “but how do I *stop* the aggressive behaviors?”
There is a pervasive mindset of “punishing” or “eliminating” the aggression. This is very understandable because our society typically reaches for punitive measures for undesirable behaviors and it can be difficult to recognize how R+ can “stop aggressive behaviors.”
Call in the DRs! Well, not the doctors, but differential reinforcement!
But first, yes, we may call in the doctors (veterinarians) to ensure the dog is healthy. We also consider and adjust the variables that can impact the likelihood of behavior (enrichment, welfare, emotions, safety, stressors, etc.) before starting any behavior change strategy. (See the Layered Stress Model on the Foundations Page.)
There are five common DRs, but the three I may incorporate in training and behavior plans for aggression cases are DRA, DRI, and DRO.
DRA – Differential Reinforcement of Alternative behavior – reinforcing a target alternative behavior that serves the same function. An example might be reinforcing a dog for moving away from a scary dude instead of biting. The function of the behavior (getting distance) is met while we reduce the frequency and likelihood of the undesirable behavior such as biting. This is a procedure I recommend often because it is a very straightforward technique that can be used in a wide variety of aggression cases.
DRO – Differential Reinforcement of Other behavior – reinforce the absence of the target behavior. An example would be giving the dog a treat when sniffing the ground, touching your hand, giving you eye contact — or any other behavior that is not the target undesirable behavior such as biting.
This is another procedure I recommend often because I find it allows for most agency in the environment and reduces the potential for inadvertently removing the flight option (more on that in DRI).
And when setup well, the dog should feel safe and not need to reach for biting out of its behavioral repertoire. That part is on us as their coach in the process – setting them up for success by varying distance from, duration, and intensity of the provocative stimulus.
DRI – Differential Reinforcement of Incompatible behavior – reinforcing an incompatible behavior that serves the same function. The classic example is giving a dog attention when they sit instead of jumping up on the person they want attention from. The dog cannot jump up and sit at the same time.
In aggression cases, I am careful to generally avoid DRI procedures for dogs who experience FEAR. Why? An example would be asking a dog to station on a dog bed when a stranger comes through the front door. The dog cannot physically bite the person at the doorway and stay on the bed at the same time, however, we are artificially removing the dog’s agency and “flight options.” In fact, if the dog “breaks a stay” and decides to move away, I would immediately reinforce that because it’s better than biting! That can be tough to wrap one’s head around if focused on an “obedience” paradigm.
DRI procedures however may be most appropriate for when dogs are not experiencing a negative valence emotion. An example may be a dog from a breed that has been selected for guarding properties or people. We aren’t as concerned with preserving flight options in this case, if we suspect the dog is experiencing positive valence emotions/emotional systems (ex: SEEKING) (measured by body language, behavior, and physiological signs).
In all of these procedures, we are reducing the likelihood of the dog “reaching for the aggressive behaviors” because we are reinforcing desirable alternatives. And of course, we have classical conditioning coming along for the ride where “the good things happen in this environment where previously bad things happened” which can help the dog feel safer around the provocative stimulus.
And here’s the thing about barking, snarling, snapping, lunging, and biting. They are normal, naturally occurring behaviors for dogs. It is actually unfair to try to “eliminate” them, similar to expecting dogs not to ever run, or roll around in dead things, or sniff each other’s butts.
With aggression cases, we just help them learn alternative strategies to when a provocative stimulus presents itself by setting a safe environment for learning — no punishment needed to “stop” aggressive behaviors!
“But Mike! What if my dog starts barking and lunging?”
First, it’s always best to move our dog away, even if there is a risk of reinforcing those behaviors. We certainly don’t want them to continue to panic in the deep end of the pool. (see the Management page)
Next, we go back to the plan – well thought out and effective use of positive reinforcement while managing the distance, duration, and intensity variables. (I know, some environments are tough, such as shelters or downtown in cities, but there are options for that as well! Perhaps another post for that topic!)
“But Mike! What if my dog finds biting more rewarding than anything else?”
That’s on me. My job is to:
– Determine what are high value appetitive stimuli for the dog that can be used for reinforcement; and build the value of those reinforcers (ex: tug; play; leveraging olfactory/consummatory ‘combos’)
– Ensure the rate of reinforcement is high
– Ensure enough “deposits into the bank account of reinforcement” for the desirable alternative behavior have been made
– Exercise patience and understanding that DR procedures can (but not always) take longer than suppressing aggressive behaviors, but know that there is much less risk of negative outcomes such as increased fear when using a DR over a punishment based procedure.
*Disclaimer – I’m just scratching the surface of DR procedures and speaking from my experience in aggression cases. I’m going to tag some of the folks I know who are great at diving into the details of DRs!
About MIchael Shikashio: Advocate for helping dogs with aggression. Keynote speaker and collaborator. Website: AggressiveDog.com