Behavioural Topics - Desensitisation and Counter Conditioning

For her latest behavioural topic Lisa Hird looks at how desensitisation and counter conditioning should work when training your dog.

Discover more about her work and training experience  on her website: https://www.dogbehaviourclinic.co.uk/

Desensitisation and Counter Conditioning

I often hear about operant conditioning (obedience training) being used to try to change unwanted behaviour, especially in fearful dogs.

Asking a dog to Sit or Look at Me while unpleasant things happen is not a good way to help him! Would you sit down in a roomful of spiders?

Asking a dog to do something in the presence of a scary thing could lead to that behaviour actually being associated with the scary thing! Using food during something the dog finds aversive, scary or unpleasant does not mean you are counter conditioning him! You may even cause an aversion to that particular food/toy or treat. Feeding food while something unpleasant happens is NOT counter conditioning. In order for counter-conditioning to occur (changing an emotional response), the order in which it is carried out is essential.

The scary thing needs to be presented FIRST and at a level that does not provoke a fearful response in the dog, then the high-value food/toy or whatever you’re using FOLLOWS.

The SCARY THING leads to a WONDERFUL thing, not the other way around.