How to Use the Premack Principle to Train Your Dog

Not many dog owners may be aware of Professor David Premack's existence but many dog trainers are because his principle comes handy in training dogs. Just as Isaac Pavlov, Burrhus Frederic Skinner, and Edward Thorndike have helped countless humans and canines with their interesting research and psychological findings, David Premack deserves a place of honor when it comes to understanding how dogs learn and how to effectively train even the most stubborn dogs.

His interesting studies involving mostly primates helped gain a better insight on reinforcement training and its correlated dynamics. After extensively studying Cebus Monkeys, Professor Premack came to the conclusion that ''the more probable behaviors will reinforce less probable behaviors''. This principle was named in his honor, ''Premack's principle''.

To put it simply, he discovered that animals or people are willing to perform a less desirable activity to get at the more desirable activity. In every day living, parents may unknowingly use the Premack principle many times when they tell their children: ''You have to finish your homework first if you want to go to the game'' or ''You have to eat your broccoli if you want a slice of cake''.

In the above scenarios, engaging in desired behaviors are contingent upon engaging in less desired behaviors, therefore children appear to be more likely to engage in the undesired behaviors to simply get to the desired ones. Children therefore readily clean their rooms if they know they have the promise of watching T.V. right afterwards or they gulp down broccoli in anticipation of a dish of ice cream . The same principle can be used in dogs, and we will take a look at this in the next paragraph.

Now, you will have to figure out things your dog loves to do and add them to the equation. Just as kids love to have dessert, go to a pajama parties, or watch their favorite cartoons on T.V. your dog will have its favorite list of favorite things to do. Each dog is an individual so you will have to put yourself in your dog's mind and think carefully. It is not always about eating food.

Dogs may love to go play with their favorite play mate, swim in the pond, herd sheep, get groomed, play tug, chase ducks, fetch a Frisbee, or go on a car ride. Exclude obviously all the things dogs may love to do that can be counter-productive or behaviors you are trying to extinguish such as chasing cats, eating poop, stealing socks, chewing socks, or raiding the trash. You do not want to encourage bad behaviors!

Once you know what drives your dog, you need to implement a less desirable behavior. For instance, let's say that Buddy loves to play with his friend at the dog park, but literally drags you there eager to go play. Stop allowing him to drag you. Instead, try to ask for eye contact and the moment he gives it to you, the leash comes off. Too concentrated on the other dog? Turn around. Put him in the car and try again after a few minutes later. If no eye contact takes place, go back home and try another day. Work in small steps and practice asking for eye contact at home with little distractions and work from there in more and more distracting environments. The first days at the park, a simple glance will suffix, then ask for a few seconds of eye contact and so forth.

Does Misty love to swim in the pond? Ask for a sit before allowing her to cool off in the water. Too focused on the sparkling water to listen to your command? Then turn around and try a few minutes later. Dogs sits, you take the leash off and your dog has earned the privilege of a cool bath. No cooperation? Drive back home and try again another day.

You must be consistent. If your dog does not sit, there are no excuses such as ''Ok, I will let you go this time'' or ''Heck, we drove all the way here, go get your bath''. And the same applies to the dog park, no excuses like ''you must get your daily exercise so heck, go play''. Instead, take your dog home and burn off his energy by taking him on a brisk walk or play a game of Frisbee.

Consider this: if you allow your dog to drag you to the lake, the leash pulling will be associated with going to the lake. This means your dog will engage more and more in leash pulling and even though it may be uncomfortable for your dog to feel the collar tighten and make him gasp, he will still associate it with something positive and this behavior will be difficult to extinguish over time. Same with ignoring you and failing to give you eye contact at the park, if your dog is so focused on the other dog, looking at the other dog is reinforcing and looking at you will be increasingly out of question the more he gets to practice the focusing behavior.

Benefits of The Premack Principle

Truth is, most dogs that appear to lack attention and appear to be unable to focus, in reality have great attention and focus, but it is channeled wrong. So the benefit of the Premack principle is that you offer an alternate behavior and create a positive bond.

If you think about it, when your dog sees another dog, or wants to go play in the lake, you are blocking your dog from doing what he really wants to do. With the Premack Principle, instead you offer the key that unlocks the world of things your dog loves to do.

But the best part of the Premack principle is that it comes with a bonus. After repetition, your dog will start to love the activity that leads to the wanted behavior. So if your dog learns to associate sitting with being allowed to go jump in the lake, the dog will be eager to do the sits, even automatically at times. If your dog learns that eye contact brings you to snap off the leash so he can go play, he will be more eager than ever to give you eye contact, even in other circumstances. So, while in the beginning, more probable behaviors were used to reinforce less probable behaviors, now the less probable behaviors have become worthy at the same levels as the more probable behaviors.

Alexadry, All Rights Reserved.