Emotions, learning and animal training

Course closing in…

Yes, you’re in the right place!

This is where you’ll learn some key insights about how emotions impact learning in animals. Scroll down to find the videos!

Also, be on the lookout for a relevant link or two, as well as the discussions going on in the comments’ section below!

Note that these short videos will only be available until January the 23rd, so don’t put viewing them on hold!

An introduction to the Core Affect Space and how we might navigate it to best optimize learning – and wellbeing!
How we can harness the Core Emotions SEEKING and PLAY to optimize learning and training outcomes.
How to build a good relationship – and why it’s important!
In the final video, we’ll discuss ways of preventing and diminishing fear.

Here’s the blog post on counterconditioning that I mentioned:

One of the 5 most important words in animal training: counterconditioning

Curious about the full course? Look no further:

Click the image to check out the extensive course!
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166 replies on “Emotions, learning and animal training”

Lesson 4) Loved this video. I see how my vigilant dog who is hard to reach on a walk is struggling with fear responses and how I might be able to support them more. It also really got me thinking in respect of latent inhibition and proactively building a positive outcome on first encountering a stimulus. This seems to be the exact opposite to the approach of many novice puppy owners who throw their puppies into many overwhelming situations after being poorly advised to expose them to as much as possible. How sad that without knowing it, they may well be setting their beautiful puppies for a more fearful life. It just shows: if you know better you do better. So important to spread the word!

Video 3). I use the consent to touch approach with my dogs. One is a sensitive soul and her cues to continue or stop are so subtle but visible. The other thing I have noticed is that arousal affects what types of touch one of my other dogs enjoys. She quite enjoys a gentle touch under the chin or on the side of her face in low arousal but touching her anywhere on her head in moderate or high arousal seems quite offensive to her. The great thing about the consent to touch approach is you see what the dog is enjoying right now, and not what you think they enjoy. Loving the course

Oh, such a great observation about how the state of arousal influences preferences! 🙂

I so appreciate you making these mini series available to all, in particular this one! I’ve seen it three times now and every time I get another gem out of it.

My biggest lightbulb moment was from video 2, I have been encouraged to play as reward with my doggo more, instead of using just food, this time it clicked – understanding the why that might be really beneficial in infecting places with positive connotations, which I think would be really valuable for her.

Video 3 – consent test: I have done this with various dogs, but my own dog keept puzzling me, I never seemed to get a clear “yes” (no would be clearer – moving away), she would just look at me but not move in. I discovered that she particularly liked vigorous scratching on the neck, and then I waited for any tiny movement at all, a tiny nod of the head, and then would resume scratching. This way I shaped her to very clearly nod with her head and then eventually lean into my hands for more, and stillness or moving away would be a signal for me to stop. It’s really nice when we manage to communicate together more clearly for both of us!

Hi Joana, welcome back – great to hear that you’re still learning new things the third time around! 🙂

Lovely that you’ve been able to develop such a clear communication about touching with your dog! Win-win! 🙂

Hi Audra, try again? You’re the only one reporting this so it’s likely at your end… sometimes just waiting for a while, or trying some other browser or device, will do the trick. 🙂

In response to video 3, I am more conscientious of the rest and digest response, as well as hugging. I think people, including myself at times, have a belief that if an animal allows a hug or an embrace, it means they like or want to connect with an individual. I think I have more awareness that an animal may indulge in or resign to a hug despite not really wanting to for various reasons. I also have more awareness that I sometimes rub my dog’s head, as modeled with the cow dog. I caught myself rubbing my dog’s head in that manner, and although she did not react in any type of manner, I stopped myself, wondering, “Does she even really like that?” I think awareness of your own actions is important in building a positive relationship with both humans and animals.

Thanks so much for sharing, Jaime! I think many of us have done the same! 😉

Hi,
I am wondering about options for play and/or seeking for a very low energy dog (zero chase drive) who does not like to explore with her mouth (no medical issues, she just doesn’t like anything except food in her mouth), and a very poor sense of smell, so finding hidden food is minimally motivating.
Thank you!!

Is there a fear issue somewhere, Diane? In a very negative emotional state animals will generally not be interested in / motivated by enrichment. Many times these things need to be introduced gradually so as not to overwhelm the animal.

Hi,
The only fear issues are some very mild thunder phobia. In general, she is just very under reactive. If something falls near her, she never startles, just kind of casually looks at it. She willingly approaches all people for pets. She likes playing with other dogs for small amounts of time, and then seems done. She never seems overwhelmed, just low energy. I would love to use play/seeking as a way to encourage engagment, but it’s difficult to find the right thing.

You may have to be really systematic in your search; different options, different times of day, before / after eating, different locations – perhaps also multiple times with the same enrichment (since it might be neophobia; the fear of novelty). And be mindful of overwhelm – and observant for even small signs of interest. best of luck! 🙂

Sometimes it’s really complicated. Dog, 2 and a half years old, socialization, training… everything done by the book 🙂 No fears, active therapy dog. At one point he slipped on slippery, white stairs, since then he’s only afraid of those and similar stairs. (We have stairs in our house and he’s not afraid). We’ve been training him exactly the way you described for a while now, but there’s no progress. Do you have any advice?

Assuming there’s no residual pain from slipping (maybe he strained himself?), I would perhaps explore adding a start button behaviour to the training. That way the control over the training is in his paws, and it not only diminishes negative emotions but also might make it more fun and interesting. Here’s more info:

https://evabertilsson.com/startbuttonbehavior/

jI am inreste in taken the course but I`m not really sure about the payment. How much would it cost for me who live in Sweden? is it more expensive than what you told it will cost in US dollar?

Hi Margareta, VAT (moms, 25% for Sweden) will be added as you check out. Since the VAT rate is different for different countries, the prices is given without VAT… 🙂

Looks like with the exchange rate today it’s about 3459 SEK. :-))

I really like you talking so much about prevention. That is what I believe in in animall training and interaction with animals. Thats why my training method I teach in Japan and Denmarkis called RPTM (Reese Preventing Training Method)

Well you know what they say – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! 🙂

I’ve recently noticed an increase in dog trainers who recommend against rewarding good behavior with treats. What’s up with that? Are there valid disadvantages to using treats, or are some trainers just looking to “stand out” with “new methods”?

I would guess that you’re referring to trainers calling themselves “balanced”, meaning that they use all four operant techniques. The type of argument I’ve heard them say is that sometimes using positive reinforcement doesn’t “work” and they resort to punishment instead.

I’ve come to realize that it may be because they really have no idea how to use reinforcement-based training when there are competing reinforcers about. I discuss this problem in this critique of a recent publication where that type of incompetent training was on full display.

https://illis.se/en/shock-collar-critique/

I’m not sure if this is the kind of “you shouldn’t reward good behaviour with treats” argument that you’ve heard, or if it was in some other context that it supposedly doesn’t work?

What I might consider would be that sometimes, depending on context, food might not be the appropriate reinforcer. If we want real’ high arousal, we might choose to reinforce with vigorous play instead (many people do this in agility, for instance). Or conversely, if we want low arousal, we might reinforce with gentle touch. In other words, the choice of reinforcer may be a way to regulate arousal.

The context is crucial in this situation. When I train Border Collies to perform any herding behaviours, they are unlikely to accept food, especially outdoors. We use games, toys and work as rewards as these become much higher value reinforces in these circumstances.

Our fairly new pug adopted at 8 years old is super vocal but the sweetest dog loves attention but for some reason kind of barks and growls in what I feel like is almost demanding the attention like “hey look at me pet me” as as soon as she gets attention she is happy and fairly relaxed but this behavior is offputting and besides friends and family preventative to her desires. This has been really hard for me to try to counteract. I have used redirection and rewarding her for doing different things like keeping her focus on me which has helped to some extent but would love to be able to change the behavior such that she can get the reward of attention she loves.

I can see how that’s frustrating, for sure! I think the important thing would be to teach her an acceptable replacement behaviour, not simply redirect.

She wants attention, and she has learned that barking gets her the attention she wants. I would teach her that being quiet is what makes attention happen.

It’s really important to maintain the desired consequence, the attention – but as a consequence of some other behaviour than barking and growling. Best of luck! 🙂

I have used consent working with my animals. My horse Gunner has 3 favorite scratching spots just above his tail, his armpit area and where his neck and shoulder meet.

Thanks for sharing this information. I have definitely experienced this. I call it treat brain when my animal is too aroused and excited for my positive reinforcement treats and is super hyper focused on the treat instead of the action I am asking for so need a less reinforcing treat for better learning. I ahve also definitely noticed this when my horse is too hyper alert and can’t be focused enough to respond normally. I try to figure out how to reduce the fear or change the subject usually.

Yeah, sometimes the contrast between non-training food and training food can be overwhelming… there are two ways to reduce that contrast, you may want to explore both: increase the value and accessibility of non-training food, or decrease the value and increase the accessibility of the training-food…

Som kommentar på hur vårt känslomässiga läge påverkar våra hundar så kan jag berätta att för mig och min mycket utåtagerande hund så blev det något bättre den dagen jag bara tänkte att “jag gör alltid så gott jag kan för att lugna min hund och försöka klara av situationerna som uppstår och jag skall idag sluta bry mig om vad andra tänker om oss och bara fokusera på min hund när hon hade det jobbigt i ett hundmöte”. Detta gjorde att min hund kände att jag tog hand om problemet och att hon inte behövde göra det. Både hon och jag kände att hundmötena avlöpte bättre, enklare möten där jag hjälpte henne i stället för att skälla på henne, dra i kopplet och skämmas inför de som vi mötte. Jag hade ändrat mitt känsloläge och var lugnare och tydligare. Detta var skönt för både henne och mig.

I’ve got a 1-1/2 year old dog who in terms of intelligence and friendliness and ease of training is truly a wonder. My only hesitation is cutting his nails. He’s very easy about me holding his paws but he jumps and pulls away in fear when I even show him the nail cutter. Any tips? Thank you.

Hello Karolina,

Thank you for sharing some exciting information. I was particularly intrigued by what you mentioned about dogs generally loving to search and find things, and how it gives them great satisfaction. That sounds fascinating.

I’ve done a bit of nosework training with one of my dogs, but I can only keep his motivation up for a few searches. After that, he prefers sniffing for dog-related scents instead. I’d also like my dogs to sniff more during our walks, but it seems they’re more focused on moving forward – forward – and just walk without sniffing much.
I haven’t heard anyone else express so clearly that dogs generally love to search and find. Could you elaborate on that, perhaps with some examples, tips, articles, or other resources?

When training horses using food as the reinforcer, you have to be very careful over the level of arousal. I always use the least reinforcing food possible- damp chaff! Clicker training horses often goes horribly wrong because the food is Ferrero Roche instead of cooking chocolate in the scale of yumminess! I save the good stuff-carrots and apples, for the harder training aspects like injection fear modification training or loading into trailers where there has been a fearful or punishing history.
Horses get over aroused by hard feed so very easily so getting the balance right from the off is sooooo important. It must never be all about the food

Such great and important points you’re making Melanie! It’s always good to gauge arousal, regardless of species! 🙂

Hello Dr. Westlund,
I’ll try posting this response a second time, since it doesn’t appear that my initial response was posted. I have 6 yr old spayed female Lagotto Romagnolo, Giorgie, who is very noise sensitiv/reactive. We compete in canine scentwork and I can absolutely attest to the game of sniffing/seeking odor helping to manage my dog’s anxiety, over-arousal and fear. At three of our last trials, there were noise challenges while in the midst of the competition which together we could work through so that she could continue the game/seeking/play. In the most recent competition, Giorgie was waiting in the car between searches while I went to the restroom, only to hear the sound of gunshots in the distance (Opening day of deer hunting season.). I returned to the car to find her panting, whining and trembling. I sat with her, gave her an anti-anxiety supplement, got out her self-soothing toy and put on some chanting/calming music. After about thirty minutes, Giorgie had calmed down enough for me to consider continuing the competition. (We had 4 searches to complete in two search increments.) Even though she remained aroused and anxious as we waited outside to begin our searches, once we approached the start line, I gave her the start cue, Giorgie was able to set aside her anxiety and complete the two back to back searches. What is even more amazing is that the first search area after her arousal was blank, so no odor, but the thrill of playing the game and drive to seek odor, overcame her anxiety/fear, and in a blank search there is no reward at source, just reward and praise at the completion of the search. I have videotapes of her searches that day and it is amazing to watch the transformation of behavior. I also have a videotape of her overcoming her fear/anxiety/arousal in another search at trial where upon entering the area, there was a loud noise from clanging grommets on a metal fence. (It was a windy day.) In this video, Giorgie’s rapid change of behavior is again easily seen…once I can help her reset, she can put aside the anxiety to search. In both of these trials, Giorgie earned a title. I’m happy to share any of these videos. I worked with both a behavioral vet and behavioral trainer and upon seeing the videos, they think it’s remarkable. Both said that they see a happy, focused, motivated dog playing a game she loves, despite the initial anxiety and arousal. We also play noise desensitizing games on regular basis! I’m so enjoying your videos and look forward to watching installments 3 & 4.

Hi again, new comments are in limbo until I see them and approve them, that’s why it didn’t show up immediately! (lots of spam, unfortunately)
From now on however, you should be able to comment and see what you wrote immediately. 🙂

Thank you! I get it with spam and posts not happening instantaneously. I appreciate the explanation.

My 3 yr old Lagotto is afraid of children. To my knowledge he has never had a negative experience with kids – they are just different. He barks at them and runs away coming back to bark some more. He interacts primarily with adults and once he is familiar with adults he is fine . His behavior is upsetting for my grandchildren who would like to be friends with him. They have dogs of their own so they are not afraid of dogs per se. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks I did get a few clues in the last video. My Lagotto is training in scent work and his favourite reward is a small piece of cabanossi. Next time I know the kids are coming to visit I will say they names (he responds to their names) and give him loads of sausage before they arrive. Hopefully he will associate their visit with the rewards. Not sure how to adapt that to strangers children but it might work if I reward him before he starts reacting.

Sounds like a good starting place, but it would be ideal if you could continue the training when the kids are around, too – ideally in a way that doesn’t overwhelm him. I’m thinking perhaps you want to look into the pattern games developed by Leslie McDevitt in her Control Unleashed concepts. Here’s a video (I haven’t seen it myself but seems great): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7tNH-GTa48

I have a 6 year old female spayed Lagotto and she is not a huge fan of children either and I think this concern of something “not normal”
can be somewhat breed characteristic; they are soft breed. I spent a good deal of time socializing her at places like the local hardware store and big box stores.

I’ve rewatched video #2 and want to say “thank you”. I’ve trained my dog (who is both fearful and dog reactive) quite successfully in several dog sport venues using play as a training motivator and reward. However, I’ve been having some difficulty getting him motivated to do barn hunt (seeking rats in a tube through a maze of hay bales). Barn hunt is new to me as well… so I think I have not been nearly as much fun/playful as I have been when doing the other dog sports. I will give it a try.

Hi Barb, this made me laugh because I have a terrier with high prey drive who also had no interest in barn hunt! He was great at going through tunnels and jumping on the hay bales, but showed no interest at all in caged rats! He didn’t even want to enter the rats storage room! We moved on to Fast Cat. Good luck.

Hi Gail, ya barn hunt is like a double edged sword. I believe my dog fully gets what he is supposed to do, but thinks rats in tubes are stupid since he can’t get to them. On his way into the enclosure he tries to pull me toward where the “other” rats are… the ones awaiting their turn to be put in the tubes. My dog is not stupid, just has a different opinion as to what’s worth his time and effort. We did some fast cat, he loved that, but he’s 8 now, and I don’t want to chance any injuries, if I can help it. Good luck to you as well!

Hi and thanks a lot for your Videos.

We adopted a dog 4 years ago and still dont know how to get her playful or excited about things. She isnt interested in playing with other dogs, toys dont interest her at all and even with the best tread in Hand we Never can be sure that she will take it when we are offering or throwing or hiding it for/to her. She grew up in a shelter and has been there for her First two years. So she probably Never learned how to deal with new things or that it can be fun to be with humans. She also isnt much of a cuddler. It seems as if she is having her best time when we let her stay in her bed all the time and dont touch her. Also she is afraid of almost everything. If there is something new in the sourrundings, it seems as we start all over again. From her Looks we guess that she is a Runner and a seeker. Long nose, Long legs – reminds us of Greyhounds. So we try to Build confidence by doing a lot of nose-work with her. But this only works when everything fits together. No wind, no rain, no Heat, no noises around and so on. It is very Hard to get her into „seeking-Mode“. Sometimes i am so sad for her, because she seems all fear and depressive and i dont know the Tool to get her in a different mood.

I’m sorry that you’re going through this with your pooch!

One thing that comes immediately to mind is that if she is really really anxious, she’s not in a place emotionally to engage with enrichment or training. I would recommend seeing a veterinarian and getting some anxiolytic medication that will help normalize her brain chemistry so that she’s in a better place to engage with the activities and stimulation you’re offering.

I’d also be very careful not to overwhelm her – start reeeeeeeaaaaaaallly slowly and be mindful of avoiding trigger stacking. Best of luck!

Hi Karolina,

Having an eye on the left lower quadrant…

I wonder if you might have an idea of what is happening inside my dog’s head/emotions in this situation and how I can help him cope:

My dog is 18 months old. He is a fast learner and has enjoyed obedience training, but for the last six months, he has often vanished into what I would describe as a “coma mode.” He looks like a “robot,” wandering (not running) around and sniffing on the floor. He moves like in a slow-motion movie, not aroused, rather the opposite, so he is not actually sniffing for something.

To me, it feels like he is totally checking out. I think it is him expressing anxiety.

It happens (I think) when he becomes unsure of what to do and what I want him to do in the field. For instance, it can occur in a split second when he runs toward a goal as fast as he can, seemingly enjoying the fast running.

The abrupt, fast stop, with nose to the ground and back feet flipped into the air, can be hilarious to watch. However, I know he is struggling, so I want to help him in any way I can. Unfortunately, I am unsure of what is going on.

Do you have any suggestions? And/or solution?

HI Maria – I don’t work hands on with dogs so have no practical experience with this type of issue, but two things come to mind:

– at around this age many dogs enter puberty and we can see some rather massive behavioural changes, specifically with regards to anxiety and willingness to engage and respond to their primary caregiver (which tends to be reduced, sadly). So it could be as you’re saying, that he’s overwhelmed and in a state of immobilization, in which case easing off on all demands and cutting back on any too stimulus-rich environment might be the way to go.
– any sudden change in behaviour can have a medical reason. Have you had him checked out by a vet?

Hello Dr. Westlund,
This is a follow-up to your Fun and Focus video. I compete in canine scentwork with my 6 yr old female Lagotto Romagnolo, Giorgie. She is extremely noise sensitive and has challenges with impulse control. I work with both a veterinary behaviorist and a behavioral trainer. I have competed recently in three trials where noise was a huge problem but through the searching game, Giorgie was able to set aside the noise anxiety and search with joy and happiness. She received a title in two of the three trials (and a qualifying score in the 3rd) where she had to overcome her noise fear but could do so. It has been amazing to watch; I am lucky to have it on videotape, so I can see how her behavior changes and how the anxiety is set aside. In the most recent trial, she had to work through her fear of the sound of gunshots (deer hunting season) in the distance but Giorgie could do once she realized that the game was coming. In that trial, the first search area was blank, and she did an amazing job..I have a vide of it and you can see that she is clearly happy about the search and this search does not result in a reward (no odor) until after we finish the search. So it really is all about the seeking and not the reward! I am happy to share with you any of my videos. The behavior change is profound. We also do games to help with noise sensitivity. Thanks so much for your videos!

Hi Kris – please call me Karolina (I’m Swedish, and we tend to put titles aside…)

Great to hear of your successes – and yes it would be fun to see some video if you would like to share! 🙂

Hello Karolina,
I don’t believe my videos can be added to this post. The files are too large. I could email them to you but not post them here. We also played after nosework class today…My dog was so happy! She got to play her favorite game and then before we left the training club, play some more in the parking lot! We’ll see how that helps imprint some new problem-solving from today’s class.

I have now watched video 1 and 2 – and I still don’t get it – “Emotions spread backwards in time” 🙁
Hopefully I will catch the meaning in the next 2 videoes 🙂

Hi JB, thanks for asking! Let me see if I can clarify:

Say the phone rang, you took the call and someone at the other end of the line started shouting in your ear – and this made you feel uncomfortable.

The ringing happened first, and then the shouting.

The shouting caused discomfort – that’s the emotion. The emotion infects backwards in time, in other words, it infects the ringing of the phone.

So from now on, you’d be likely to feel discomfort when the phone rings.

The emotion (discomfort) infected backwards in time – to the phone ringing (which happened before the shouting)

I’d like to offer an example of how emotions can work backwards. When I first adopted my dog at ten weeks old, she was extremely fearful of vehicles, to the point where just seeing my van parked in the yard would send her running in fear. Over the past year, I’ve been consistently working with her, even during her challenging adolescent stage characterized by heightened fears.
Today, at 2 years of age, her transformation is remarkable. Instead of bolting at the sight of the vehicle, she now responds with joyful enthusiasm whenever I take out her harness to head out for a walk. As soon as I open the door, she eagerly runs to the vehicle and sits patiently, eying the van door – waiting for me to open it. She knows that inside awaits a special treat that I’ll toss in for her. This association of joy—tied to the high-value treat—has significantly changed her feelings about the vehicle. Her happiness while enjoying the treat has completely altered her emotional response, turning once-terrifying moments into sources of excitement and joy. Happiness when seeking and eating the high value treat tossed into the van, infects how she ‘feels’ about the vehicle, and how she ‘feels’ starts when she sees the harness come out. The harness means a good thing is going to happen when she goes out to the vehicle. And the vehicle now predicts good things for her instead of fearful things. Joy has worked backwards from eating the treat – to being in the van – to seeing the harness.

Utrolig bra og kjekk video! Jeg opplever veldig godt dette rundt arousal med mi frøken, senast rundt nyttår. Da var det to dager etter feiring at noen fyrte opp raketter rett ved siden av oss i mørket. Hun vart vettskremt, føk opp i stress og frykt og gjorde det hun kunne for å komme seg vekk. Totalt avskpret fra å høre meg. Eg lot ho springe drn veien ho ønska til me kom et stykke vekk. Då roa ho seg såpass at eg fekk kontakt igjen. Dagene etterpå vart hun stresset (ikkje så mykje ) bare hun såg stjerner eller fly på nattehimmelen. Men da var hun såpass nedpå at vi kunne mer bli i situasjonen og jobbe med å snu følelsen av frykt.
Mptte ta det pæ norsk – beklager!

Hey Karolina
I have heard a lot about you and your work from others, so this is a great way to have a light introduction to you as a teacher.
I have just seen the two first videos and already learned a very valuable lesson… My sweet and happy young male dog is a bit overexcited in the start of a training session, and when I say a bit I properly should say, he actually is overwhelming with joy – he just love to train and play and seek. In the beginning of a session he therefore can’t wait on my signals and just offer everything he can and now I understand completely why! And most important, I can do something about it, so that the beginning of the sessions will be more playful and more free seeking and then we can practice “the boring things” like changing positions on my signal, when his good arousal level is a bit lower – and hopefully we will have a much better relation in the beginning to. Really an eye-opener, because I hadn’t thought about it like that. I have usually started with whatever is most difficult after our warm up, where he is nearly highest in arousal, so that we can practice the difficult when he is fresh and I have been a little frustrated, because he just offers everything at once and therefore does a lot he shouldn’t, and now I know I can try to plan the training differently.

Hi Bodil – so glad to hear that the penny dropped..! 🙂 Best of luck with trying the new routine! 🙂

I agree play is so important for healthy development in many aspects. It is important for humans and animals.
We adopted a dog who had been mostly locked in a crate the first two years of her life. Without play, she had no social interaction and was aggressive toward some humans and all animals.
Also, I had to laugh at “your mother-in-law’s kitchen.”

Hi Karolina,
My example of high arousal=stupid actually has to do with rewards. I can’t use any really good rewards, as my dog gets so excited she does not think any more. My training is done with her kibble and apple pieces. Occasionally she gets something better, but usually only one or two pieces until we’re back to kibble.

This is such a fabulous course, I am not sure how many times I have seen it, but there is always something new I pick up . Thank you so much.

I’m asking this question because you will be able to give a much more informed answer that I ever would.
I am delighted to have persuaded someone from a social media discussion to be curious enough to come over and watch at least your first video .
They give the impression of many years of successful training dogs, but currently does not see that there is any problem with the use of aversives shock and prong
I have given them an answer to this question, and encouraged them to keep watching as this might give them more of an answer

but it didnt feel adequate, so asking it here too . So they may be able to read the reply directly

You say that punishment is also unavoidable in real life and that dogs learn to avoid the aversive stimulus. We do indeed teach a dog how to avoid that stimulus, that is called training a dog.

Hi Jenny, glad to see you back – and that you keep learning even if I haven’t updated it for a few years now..! 🙂

Animals learn from aversives, absolutely. But I would say that often they don’t learn what we think they learn when we bring aversives into our training. I go into the details of my 20 problems with punishment here:

https://illis.se/en/punishment-problems/

Hi Karolina,
I’m a retired dog behavior consultant that worked for many years with shelter dogs. Karen Pryor and Jaak Panksepp totally changed dog training for me, so I was very excited to see your 2nd video! I hope there are dog trainers and owners alike taking advantage of your presentations. Looking forward to your next videos and happily recommending them to others. Thank you so much for making this information available to everyone!
Meredith

Hi Meredith – so glad that you’re enjoying this series! I share your enthusiasm for both Karen and Jaak! 🙂

Thank you for this video on play. Our dog likes to play with our kitten, but my husband often calls her (dog) away as he is worried that the kitten will get hurt. We do see a high arousal in the dog, almost like she is overstimulated. Is there a way to bring down her arousal and yet let them play?

Hmm… I can’t say that I’ve seen that done – rather I can see the risk… Sudden movement tends to trigger predatory behaviour, too (SEEKING) so depending on which breed your dog is I might be concerned for the cat’s safety (or any small dog breed too) if there’s a large difference in body size.

Hi! About the dog going absolute bonkers in an arousal and pleasant state – and being just plain stupid – boy do we see this a lot in the agilitycourses They do zoomies, and then all of a sudden runs to fast too close to a non-playful dog, and they get a correction from that dog without understanding why.

I’ve only seen agility once or twice live, but it’s hilarious watching the over-the-top-excited dogs as a spectator (less fun sometimes for the people involved..!)

I have a rescue who was extremely shy and reluctant interact. I literally spent two months on the floor playing with him to gain his trust and to engage him in other activities that he was reluctant about. Thank you for explaining all the mechanisms and the importance of play and seek. After a year together he’s much more confident happy dog and has learnt to be off leash, engage with other humans and trust the world. Thank you for these great succinct and informational videos. I find them so helpful and appreciate the physiology of the brain as we engage with our animals.

Hi Lou – and congratulations on taking such big strides with your pooch! So glad that you’re enjoying the videos! 🙂

Thank you for making this available.
You asked about high arousal states and learning.
I am a yard owner and equine trainer. We are pioneering equine scentwork with horses here (UK) and the high/low arousal is apparent in its impact on learning. One horse is very mellow, he learns quickly, his owner is very sensitive to his emotional state with very small signals from him, but he never gets into really big arousal. His outward expression of being giddy would be considered inconsequential by most people. Thankfully his owner is very well tuned in to him. We already use the ‘backwards learning’ with a number of routines before the training so that he knows what we are going to be doing and he expressed a happy positive state.
My own mare switches between high positive state and high negative states very quickly. An example is that in her stable she gets stressed if her buddy next door goes out of his stable, calling out to him, fretting and walking back and forth to find him, but (it would appear that even if he breathes in the wrong way) she can fly into a negative state very quickly, kicking the walls between them, pinning ears back etc. She’s an ‘all or nothing’ sort of personality. This is reflected in her scentwork training. She gets very giddy excited and her learning is slower as a result. All the learning is done through positive reinforcement, and on a consensual basis with leadership being transferred back and forth between horse and handler on a dynamic basis throughout the session.
In order to reduce my mare’s high arousal state, I tend to opt for lower value reinforcement and allow her time to explore and get the giddiness out of her system before anticipating learning. She’s an older horse (26) so I will admit that anything which gives her a positive experience is considered a good thing by me. Her being super-happy is, for me, at this point in her life, more important than the learning, which is a ‘me’ thing.
As for her behaviour in the stable, well I am not sure I can do anything to help her maintain a more consisitent state, though I may discuss it with an equine behaviourist.

Thanks for sharing – and nosework for horses sounds so very intriguing! 🙂
Love how you’re prioritizing your horse’s emotional experience rather than the goals you’ve set!

I appreciate the connections between psychology, including operant and classical conditioning, and emotions/behaviors of both animals and people. I taught psychology for many years, and I am also a licensed therapist. The connections between emotions and experiences and how they shape personality and behaviors is important to me in order to help people and animals. I have worked with many rescue horses, as well as survivors or trauma, and understanding how emotions affects learning and behaviors is essential is building healthy relationships to support positive growth and mental health and wellness. The quote, “Empowerment helps animals cope with hardships,” stood out as a way to support both people and animals who are reacting to aversive stimuli and encouraging them to instead respond, which also connects to the quote, “We behave emotionally, not sensibly.” Thank you!

I am enjoying and learning from your webinar. I especially like the reminders that emotions spread backwards and we behave emotionally and not sensibly.
I have a dog who is incredibly sensitive to high pitched noises i.e. the beep of a truck backing up, whistles, the ping of an aluminum bat when it strikes a baseball. Note that he is not sensitive to thunder or fireworks … knock on wood. I quickly reviewed the blog you referenced above and we have worked on many of those tactics and have made some progress. I will read the blog again, but I was wondering do you have any thoughts as to whether the high pitched sensitivity would benefit from the application of any different or additional tactics?

Hi Barb! Hmmm… I can’t think of anything I would do differently, except perhaps discuss with a veterinarian. I myself find that nowadays high-pitched noises are painful in a way that they weren’t when I was younger (and also I can’t hear the highest pitched noises at all any more…).

My small dog is reactive to dogs he doesn’t know who we pass on leash walks. I have been using classical conditioning to try to improve the situation. As soon as my dog perceives another dog – best treats appear, generally scattered on the ground (depending on space etc.). He LOVES food and LOVES walks. In fact I would say i have had some success in increasing pleasantness and some reduction in reactivity but I have also increased arousal as he is so excited about possibly getting treats that he is increasingly hyper vigilant looking for a dog to start the whole behaviour chain again. That’s not quite what I was hoping for!

Hi Karin, I can see how that could be a problem! I don’t have any first-hand experience with this (very limited experience with dogs) but here are my thoughts.

This is a prime example of a Conditioned Emotional Response, or CER, bleeding into operant behaviour.

See-other-dog –> treats happen (Classical conditioning causing a CER)
Look-for-other-dog —> —> treats happen (Operant learning)

Some ways of breaking this arousal chain might be to:

– break the association between seeing another dog and getting treats. For instance by treats appearing non-contingently or randomly – or in response to some other behaviour – in addition to when other dogs appear.
– ask for some other behaviour in between seeing-another-dog and getting treats. For example, orienting towards you and giving eye contact. You may want to check out Look-At-That. https://bestfriends.org/pet-care-resources/look-lat-training-reactive-dogs

Thank you Karolina for your prompt reply and links.
I have wondered if rewarding for other things on the walk would be good or would weaken the countercondtioning we’ve been working on for so long. He has good eye contact and a default drop behavior. I try to keep him under threshold but you never know on a walk just when a dog might appear. I will try expanding my criteria for reinforcement to almost anything incompatible with reactivity and see if I notice a change in his behavior.

Yes it would likely weaken the association, that’s true! YOu may also consider of course offering reinforcement in some way that doesn’t increase arousal. I would have thought that sniffing would do that, but perhaps also licking a reinforcer ; licking apparently reduces arousal, too. Or if tactile reinforcement will be well received..? Best of luck! 🙂

Nice to see this again. You Asker about examples of «closed» ears. Ours very much like cross country skiing. When we put on the harness for that, she is a little hard to get in touch with, but it is possible. BUT when we put our skies on – it is almost impossible! So far we have let her run and drag us until she calms down a little. Then the teachings done by foot kicks in. Working on shortening the ears closed perio by contiune to work on those commands when not skiing.

Thank you! Very interresting reading! We have let her work through her excitement while waiting for her to figure things out herself a lot. (She is 2,5 years old). That has worked well in a lot of situations. She is basically a happy dog but tend to be on the high arousal in sertain situations. Reminding her of the commands before skiing and then repeat skiing often seems to be a key. I think a part of it is altso that this is a energetic dog. She loves to run really fast. When she has met her need for that, it becomes easier for her to listen.
When her selfcontrol get better I think we can use running as an reward altso when skiing. We do that when we dont go skiing.

I have 2 border collie intact males. One of them is very noise and space sensitive. So if there are fireworks or jets or thunder or even air coming in through the chimney it’s really quick to see him move from neutral to highly aroused. He goes looking for relief from his brother. Now his brother hears the same sound and moves away from wherever his brother and moves from neutral to low arousal. I find if I can hear the sounds I can control the first dog/reassure him/ chill command so his level stays slightly higher than neutral and the second dog then can stay in the more neutral zone also. I find this hard to do if his hearing hears the noise before I have as it’s a very quick unpredictable and as you say he gets stoopid very quickly and can remain there depending on the duration of the noise and way beyond. We live in an area with what feels like a lot of these noises but it’s not enough to be able to predict when they will come with any certainty and as such have found it hard to control my emotions when they come and how I am feeling can sometimes influence negatively or positively the behaviour of noise space sensitive collie.

Video 1 – The matrix explains something I had noticed. I train my dog with the kibble from every meal. Sometimes, especially when meal is late and he is very hungry he starts off unfocused and offers any trick to get the food reward. He’s on the CES matrix left side (hunger/unpleasant) and top (very excited). So starting the session with easy/calm tasks – sit or stay and a few hands full of kibble for awhile adds resources and provides hunger relief. Then learning can proceed from the center of matrix! I am eager for video 2 tomorrow!

Very very interesting course, again. J
Thank you for doing this for us. Im only a bit strugling with some basics. Could you give an example of negative punishment?

Hi Marieke, you’re welcome!

I think one reason why it’s difficult is the meaning of the terms positive and negative. Negative simply means removed. And punishment implies that the animal will stop doing whatever behaviour that brought about the undesired consequence; in this instance, having something that they wanted removed.

A couple of examples:

– When the cat meows in front of the person, they turn their back on him. They’re removing the attention and petting, which is what he wanted. He stops meowing in front of the person in the future.
– When the puppy bites a person’s hands, they stand up and walk away – the fun ends. The puppy stops biting hands.

People typically combine P- with some type of R+ – in other words, a way for the animal to get what he wants; so you might teach the cat to come up and bop his nose to your legs for affection, or you might redirect the puppy’s biting to some other object.

Looking forward to insights that can help me with my human directed aggression cat cases! The idea that an over-aroused animal will not respond to known trained cues makes perfect sense.

I am looking for ideas how I can most effectively explain to the caregivers why it is so important to look at the entire environment, schedule and stimuli surrounding the animal. And why aversives are damaging (even though they are effective in the moment).

Your frameworks make it very easy to understand and I will continue to encourage them to watch this video! Thank you.

Hi Chris, glad to hear that this resonated with you! 🙂 hopefully you’ll get additional ideas and insights in the upcoming videos!

Thanks once again Karolina. I am watching this video series for about the 4th time and am still learning more each time.
I have a 5 year old Border Collie who’s passion is Scent Work. I have successfully trialled her to Masters level, but would like to share with you and your students something I have noticed in her behaviour (and that of my students also) that has me somewhat baffled.
When she is focussed during a search, she will quickly and efficiently find the available hides. Occasionally, she will alert on anything and everything, especially when searching containers (I have labelled it as “just being silly”). I am not sure if this behaviour is caused by being too highly aroused or frustrated.
Do you have any insights you could share please?

Hi Gael, so happy to see you back! I don’t do scentwork myself so I can’t quite picture what you’re describing, but over-arousal tends to make animals lose focus..?! Or if it’s specifically containers perhaps there’s been some contamination of scents (of which all the humans are unaware..?)

Thank you Karolina!
Just watched your first course and loved it!
“Emotions spread backwards in time” – thank you for that!
Can’t wait to watch the next 3.
Jitka

Hi Jitka – great that you found some new insights! *see* you in the next video! 🙂

I have a very high anxiety boxer. She afraid of strangers and new places. She reacts in flight mode not agression. She is resently started to ignore commands and also runs away when I take out her harness. So I need this info and look forward to watching your videos. If you have any suggestions on what is going on. Thanks

Hi Cathy, hopefully you’ll get some insights in videos three and four! Is she adolescent, by any chance? THe “ignoring commands” is common behaviour for teenagers, not just human ones..! 😉

You asked about high arousal state and the dogs/animals reactions. As soon as I obtain the lead to take them for a walk they are very high arousal state. I ask them to sit before putting their lead and collar on, which because of their state makes it difficult, so I wait for them to undertake the cue. Before leaving the premises I wait for eye contact this helps in ensuring they calm down and pay attention to me. Whilst out on the walk, I am constantly observing the environment and if we see another animal/dog, I inform the dogs that I have seen them and thank them for bringing them to my attention. Walking passed them relaxed and with the dogs under contol.
I enjoyed the way you have put the course content across and look forward to the future videos.
Regards Phil

Thanks for sharing, Phil – helping animals calm down is often very valuable, it reduces vigilance and reactivity I would say! 🙂

I love the “populate backwards in time” concept. It gives a new way of looking at those chains that our dogs build, making them easier to see ahead of time, and to manipulate, if we need to.

Such a lovely summary of CAS. My favourite is once again the “infection backwards” as I have really learnt to use this with dogs that have had a negative or scary experience.

missed this last time…… the “backwords in time” concept is just so so good and important for any moving forward…. thankyou so much!

Oh, great to hear that you picked up something new – and that concept is absolutely vital! 🙂

Hello and Happy New Year from Romania! My mentor introduced me to your courses last year, and now it’s my second time watching these videos! It’s always good to relearn something, with a new perspective and new info I gathered along the year thanks to the dogs I worked with. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Hi Andreia, and welcome back! 🙂 Hopefully you’ll pick up some new information! 🙂

Hi Karolina, thank you so much for the important work you do in sharing your knowledge!
I am 72, been with dogs my whole life from (1,5 years of age). They have always been my best and most beloved friends, and for many years easier to communicate with than humans. I never needed a leash, they would follow me where ever I went. No problems with aggression, overexitedness or anything else. I even helped people get over their fear of dogs.

Up till 2008. Then there were so many new opinions on dogtraining, and instead of following my gut-feeling, I started to check out and listen to all the new “information”, which made me confused and loose faith in myself. Even though I knew deep down that the most important thing to do, is to build a relation on trust.
The dog I have now has been very overexited with other dogs, a behaviour I am not accustomed to – but I guess, due to my wanting to do everything “right”, according to new standards. This has been a huge burden, untill I found people like yourself, Hélène Lawler, Melanie Uhde and several others who explaine behaviour through behaviouristic understanding and the way the nervous system and brain works, all with emphasizing the impact of emotions.

And now to the point:
Within a few days after changing my opinion of my dog’s overarousal/overexitedness, and taking controle of my own emotions “due to her behaviour”, not letting them take the better of me, our relationship changed and is growing stronger.
Humans are also animals and that is so important to take into consideration. When we take responsability for our own emotions and actions, instead of blaming our dog for bad behaviour, good things begin to happen!

So thank you so much again, I’m so looking forward to the next videos!

Hi Kari – so glad to hear that you’re taking such huge strides! Indeed, the concept of co-regulation is vitally important (and an often ignored topic I think); in other words, how our emotional state impacts those around us, and that we by being intentionally grounded and calm can help others achieve the same state.

Nice review of key concepts learned in the Resolving Challenging Behaviour course! I have also shared this on social media.

You’re in Colleen – check your inbox, let me know if you don’t find the welcome email!

Hello! I have tried a couple of times now but I keep comming back to this page when I’m trying to sign up.

I’ve added you to the course, Johanna – the welcome email should be in your inbox! 🙂

Hi, l have signed up a few times but just keeps returning to the start. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. Please add me. Thank you.

Looking forward to connecting on a more personal & understanding level with my reactive Romanian rescue dog.

Hi Lynn! I’m so happy every time I see someone who adopted from my home country, Romania. I hope you and your doggy will help you. It’s my second time doing it, and as a beginner animal behaviourist, i find it very useful!

Done! Check your email, the welcome email should be there already! 🙂

I have a pony who I love and I believe he loves me, but I still feel a disconnect. I hope your mini course will give me the confidence and trust that we both need in order for me to start riding again.

Hi Louise, hopefully you’ll get some ideas and insights in the course!

Looking forward to learning how to connect more with my dog and horse. Thank you for offering this course.

Hello, I’ve tried to sign up several times and haven’t gotten a confirmation email. When I submit it just brings me back to this page ‍♀️

Hi Taylor – I’ve added you to the course! Let me know if the welcome email doesn’t get through! 🙂

I’ve added you, Marie – check your inbox for the welcome message! 🙂

Hi Karolina,
Wishing you the very Happiest and Healthiest of New Years both Now and Always ✔️
And I am getting the Same Result as Jan Sawarski above. (Just letting you know)
“Thanks” and Wishing you ALL Good Things in 2025 Cheers Bruce Stone and
Dr. Alena Bykova DVM
INTERDYNE INTERNATIONAL K-9
Sheepshead Bay Brooklyn’s Local Business of the Year for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 ✔️

I’ve added you to the course, Bruce, hopefully the welcome email should be on its way! 🙂

Hi, l have signed up a few times but just keeps returning to the start. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. Please add me. Thank you.

Hi Jan. She doesn’t release the first video until January 9th. I’m sure you are registered. Have a great day!
Lori

Hi Jan, I can see that you were added to the list about 7 hours ago. Did you get a welcome message? 🙂

Hi Angela – great to see you here! 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy the course! 🙂

So looking forward to seeing this! You are a brilliant teacher and just the incentive I need this time of year.

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