Do behavior problems freak you out? Have you ever thought "I wish I could fix that" about a nuisance behavior your dog exhibits? Do the intricacies of behavior modification overwhelm you, though you feel comfortable teaching your dog performance behaviors?
This class is for you. Learn how to analyze a behavior by understanding what proceeds it and what follows it, rather than worrying about the behavior itself. Then learn to alter these circumstances, thereby watching the behavior change before your very eyes!
Gold students will have a behavior they'd like to modify, and they will work through the assignments to get to that light at the end of the tunnel. Behaviors that are perfect here are nuisance household behaviors (door dashing, whining to be fed, barking for attention, counter-surfing). The only behaviors that will not be taken at gold are those related to separation anxiety (see Nancy Tucker's course for that!), and human or dog-directed aggression. Potential golds should send a note to Sarah to find out if their target issue is a good fit.
Note: If you're not sure if your problem behavior is suited to this class, please send me a note BEFORE you register so we can avoid unhappiness all around!
Don't have any big issue going on, but want to get better at behavior modification as a professional? This class is a great fit for you at bronze!
Teaching Approach:
This class is nerdy and information-heavy. If you have a problem you want solved but aren't interested in getting down and dirty with the details, this isn't for you. Sarah does not write a behavior modification plan for anyone in this class: you are expected to work through the assignments with her guidance to solve your own problems. She will make you think, and her method of teaching is very Socratic in nature. Following gold threads will be very valuable, but hoping to get your answers simply by following a forum thread that contains behavior issues similar to yours is unlikely to garner the same results as working through the assignments. Most lectures contain short videos, and students are encouraged to actively push their skills of observation and training throughout.
[INST]
Syllabus
Pre Class
Health Check
Mechanical Skills
Reinforcement Procedures
Repertoire of Replacement Behaviors
Non-Restrictive Management
Week One
The ABCs
Functional Assessments
Sample FAs
Ethics to Consider
Feelings Vs Consequences
Week Two
Management Solutions
Building Reinforcement Procedures and Replacement Behaviors
Building a Plan
Keeping Data
Week Three
Differential Reinforcement Procedures
Staircase Planning and Implementing
Week Four
Punishment’s Role and What Ifs?
Sample Case
Mid-Staircase Assessment
Week Five
When Plans Fail: What’s Broken, What’s Not
Sample Case
Week Six
Case Analysis
Lateral Thinking
Sample Case
Prerequisites & Supplies
No formal prerequisites are required! Dogs that have a collection of reinforcement strategies (food, toys, etc.) and good solid behaviors (like sit, stay, go to a mat, and more) will do best at gold. No special equipment, just access to the environment in which the problem behavior occurs is requires.
There are several different types of differential reinforcement procedures, and they all have one thing in common: selective (differential) payment (reinforcement) of NOT the problem behavior. Sometimes we pay for anything other than the problem behavior (that’s a DRO-differential reinforcement of other), sometimes we pay for a predetermined alternative behavior (DRA-differential reinforcement of alternative), and other times we pay for an incompatible behavior (DRI-differential reinforcement of incompatible).
In this class we will focus on the DRI procedure, but we can certainly get into where the other procedures fit in over in the discussion forum if anyone is so inclined.
Essentially, a DRI is what I have described so far in my other lectures. In the A-B-C scenario where the problem behavior occurs, we insert a prompt for an incompatible behavior, and then reinforce with either a new C or the old C.
So, in plain English, here are a few video examples of DRI procedures:
Ghost likes to body-slam the back door. This is problematic for a multitude of reasons. The ABC in that scenario is: A-human indicates it is time for dogs to go outside B-Ghost races to back door and slams into it (usually while screaming) C-human opens the back door Here, watch as the same antecedent is set up, but Ghost is prompted to get onto a station. She is paid for getting on the station, and then the final consequence remains the same, the back door is opened.
Mika will lunge and jump on strangers. The ABC in this scenario is A-strangers walk in a 5 foot radius of her B-Mika lunges at them, trying to lick their faces and make body contact with them C-strangers retreat Mika is prompted to station on a mat while strangers pass. She is fed strategically when the stranger approaches, and then is allowed to watch them retreat.
My dogs will pull on leash when they know we are approaching the off leash area. I don’t like this because I work hard on reinforcing loose lead walking and don’t want it wrecked in this situation, and also because my chronic pain really doesn’t allow for pulling dogs! The ABC in this scenario is: A-Dogs are leashed and heading for their off-leash walking space B-Dogs pull into the leash C-Dogs are let off leash to run I have decided to ask them for stays instead, and I will walk ahead of them then release them down the trail when I see that it is clear. The stays are fluent already, and so I can provide the same consequence: running.
Testimonials
A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...
Sarah, This was an amazing class and you worked so hard since each team had a very different area that they were working on. I really LOVED this class and extra KUDOS to you, because these are the harder areas to tackle. I also enjoyed that you included videos in the lessons because video examples punctuate what can be a great deal of reading, even though it i all helpful. I thought it was great that one Silver student wrote in at the very end and was able to glean so much from your comments, as did I. BRAVO to you--cannot wait to take another class with you here. Maybe you can do an entire class on Muzzle training-so important for all of our dogs. Thank you!
The class materials and presentation were very clear and organized. Even though I knew the steps to behavior change intellectually, I really learned a lot from following the lectures and the gold threads about how to apply the theory to real situations.The class materials and presentation were very clear and organized. Even though I knew the steps to behavior change intellectually, I really learned a lot from following the lectures and the gold threads about how to apply the theory to real situations.
Super course Sarah and thank you very much. I have learned so much. I loved the style of the lectures and the lateral thinking.
Thank you for all the hard work you put into this course! Applicable to some behaviour for everyone with a dog... whether we realize it or not. Before the course I couldn't 'think' of anything that seemed to apply but I knew I wanted to take it... after the course I have a long list I'd like to apply these protocols and thought processto.
Perfect match of theory and practice (the golds). The variety of issues people were working on really illustrated the information provided in the lectures. I took the course more for general knowledge than to work on a specific issue but found I was looking at all my dogs’ behavior through the abc filter. This course really increased my confidence in dealing with my dogs.
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