Book_Report

Book Review Burch, M.R., and Bailey, J.S. (1999) How Dogs Learn New York: Howell Book House Mary Burch & Jon Bailey's How Dogs Learn is a very well written, fundamental guide to learning theory and its application to dogs. At the outset, the comparable early accounts of dog training and behaviourism are investigated, introducing us to such pioneers of training as Karen Pryor and the work of scientists like BF Skinner and JB Watson’s morally questionable study known as ‘Little Albert’. This is followed by learning concepts such as reinforcement, punishment and stimulus control. Later chapters cover more complex concepts such as shaping and chaining and antecedent control. The book presents a well balanced and structured approach to learning theory, taking the reader from its early inception in 1927 with Ivan Pavlov’s work, right through to the present day. The chapter headings and sub-headings give a welcome clue as to each concept eg: Flooding: Sink or Swim and Prompting & Fading: Can you give me a hint' Diagrams and tables are present throughout the book providing the reader with additional material to support the text. The book is divided into five parts, each with its own chapter list, which all follow on nicely from the preceding ones, enabling the reader a smooth transition from one concept to the next and so ensuring an easier read. For those people looking for a ‘dog training manual’ however, this book isn’t really suitable. The heavy emphasis on theoretically based concepts puts this book in the category of ‘academic text’ rather than ‘dog owner’s guide’ although some people could glean certain useful information from it, theory aside and those people wishing to enhance their knowledge of canine learning should find this book an informative and constructive read. Chapters One and Two concentrate on introducing us to the early scientists involved in developing learning theory and the pioneering trainers who subsequently put this theory into practice. The development of operant conditioning in 1938 is explained here with a brief summary of the work of B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) and how his move away from the laboratory meant that operant conditioning was “ expanded to become both a science and a technology for changing behaviour”. Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949) and his ‘Law of Effect’ laid much of the groundwork for operant conditioning. He concluded that any action for which the consequence was rewarding, would increase in incidence. Introducing the reader to these principles and the pioneers of them at the outset, is an informative start and helps the reader to understand the basic thinking behind these principles which are the focus of the book. The authors go on to introduce the reader to the trainers who helped dog training to develop into the methods we see used today. William Koehler whose methods relied on harsh aversive techniques which today may be considered cruel, was one of the first trainers to make dog training popular. Blanche Saunders and Milo Pearsall both published books on dog training in the 1950’s. Saunders methods were based on using positive punishment for incorrect behaviour like Koehler, however she also encouraged the use of positive reinforcement for good behaviour which from my point of view, was a step in the right direction. In Chapter 18 ‘Using Punishment’, the authors give their own view on these methods, “The use of aversive procedures can be justified only if the problem behaviour presents a threat to the dog’s well-being or the safety of other people or animals”. The reader who perhaps, like me, comes from the end of the spectrum which is against positive punishment may well feel at this point that the authors are indeed condoning its use, albeit “never…..put in the hands of unskilled, novice dog owners”. However the next sentence seems to be in conflict with the preceding one, “The bottom line when it comes to ethics is that our dogs love us. We owe it to them to treat them the same way we’d like to be treated”. This philosophy seems to be more in keeping with a lot of present day trainers thinking, who will not consider using positive punishment as a way of changing behaviour. Chapters Three to Seven concentrate on clarifying different areas of reinforcement and their application in dog training. The authors make good use of text boxes on each page to highlight important points which are useful for the reader when wanting to recap on a chapter, such as, “Secondary reinforcers become reinforcing by being paired with primary reinforcers”. These chapters take the reader from classical, operant and respondent conditioning through extinction, stimulus control and punishment. Each chapter is clear and concise, sometimes presenting real cases to further elucidate the approach, however one such case on page 90 describes systematic desensitisation to a wheelchair. I felt this ten step process could have been elaborated on by informing the reader of the dog’s emotional state at each step, rather than just listing the steps in order. Not knowing how the dog was reacting each time the wheelchair was moved closer limits any knowledge the reader can glean from this example, especially if they wanted to try this method for themselves, so I feel a more detailed illustration would have been more constructive here. Chapter Eight, ‘Functional Analysis and Behavioural Diagnostics’ looks at the process of determining the cause of the behaviour. Several tables, diagrams and questionnaires have been included with the text to enhance the reader’s understanding of descriptions, although some may find this chapter a tad verbose or jargonistic. For example, “ When researchers and behaviour anaylysts conduct a functional analysis, they collect data on the behaviour, systematically manipulate the antecedents and consequences of the behaviour and…….”. Those readers who perhaps feel this chapter among others is a little jargonistic, may be less receptive to learning theory and to what this book is trying to communicate. Chapter Nine tells the reader about the possible medical and environmental causes for behaviour. Again, some case examples are given here, similarly without the aforementioned description of exactly what behaviours the dog was presenting with, which would have been more informative and enabled the reader to see exactly how learning theory pertained to that particular example. The authors do stress though, through a highlighted text box, that the need for basic training is important, whatever behaviour the dog is presenting with. Tables are again used which the reader can modify for their own use. In Part Four of the book, the authors introduce the reader to the more complex techniques of shaping, chaining and prompting and fading. On page 137 there is a description of backward chaining, which at first glance may look quite scientific to the lay person as it uses symbols in the explanation. However underneath each line of symbols is a short narrative which gives an adequate description of the procedure. I found this part of the book to be the easiest to follow in terms of considering the descriptions and examples given, such as the basic explanation of conditioned reinforcement ie: clicker training and target training is agreeably communicated. The final part of the book brings the reader to recap on how behaviours decrease both in intensity and duration. The authors explain ‘extinction’ offering ten ‘do’s and don’ts’ and a case example with accompanying graph showing how a whining behaviour was extinguished in a welsh springer spaniel. The subject of extinction was covered in more depth in Chapter Four but this three page example towards the end of the book leads nicely into ‘Differential Reinforcement’. Here the reader is taught how using extinction with reinforcement can manipulate the frequency and probability of various behaviours. The text here gives easy to follow examples of all four differential reinforcement patterns with accompanying text boxes, again with highlighted points. Antecedent control is recapped, covered more in depth in Chapter 6 but leading on comfortably from the previous ‘memory jogging’ chapters. To make it easier, the authors have broken down the procedures of antecedent control into six parts. In the last description ‘Increase The Response Effort For Problem Behaviour’, the authors stress, “We don’t want to simply make it harder for dogs to engage in problem behaviours; we want to analyze the problem, eliminate the behaviour and replace it with new, adaptive skills”. I think this is an important point as some readers may miss the point of this part completely, thinking that it’s more about making life difficult for the dog to be ‘naughty’, than it is to teach the dog what is acceptable behaviour instead. Finally, the book closes with a chapter on the ethics and guidelines surrounding the use of punishment. It feels as though the authors are uncomfortable with the use of punishment from a personal point of view but have obviously included it in the book as it is an important part of learning theory, “Try the punisher on yourself. Any trainer who considers using aversive punishers such as a shock collar should first try the shock on himself or herself in order to be aware of the level of physical discomfort the animal will experience”. In conclusion, I feel the undertaking of this book was to persuade readers that using the strategies of learning theory in dog training is an important concept and to enable readers who have an interest in canine behaviour to improve the depth and quality of their knowledge. The authors have shown learning theory for what it is, an evidence based approach to dealing with specific behaviour and training problems, but have also promoted the area of dog training and behaviour as an answer to most problems involving canine behaviour in a way that is both appealing and accessible to the general dog owning public, hopefully allowing them to develop or enhance their knowledge of canine behaviour.